British Depth Study

1. British Depth Study Votes for women

2. Arguments for and against votes for women • For • Parliament’s decision affects both men and women. • There are single women or widows who bear the same responsibilities as men. • Women’s opportunities are increasing and so the vote should come next. • Women have special skills and expertise and can help Parliament make better laws regarding education and home-life. • Uneducated men can vote whilst respectable well-educated women cannot. • Women pay taxes just like men. • Should be allowed to influence how PMs spend their money. • They can already serve in local elections and so how proved they can be trusted. • Against • Men and women have different interests and responsibilities.Women are home-makers whilst men debate and work. • Women are too emotional to be trusted and aren’t rational. • Women are pure and should be protected from the grubby world of politics. • Giving women the vote means giving it to all men such as riff-raffs. • Women don’t fight so shouldn't have a say in whether the country goes to war. • Most women do not want a vote or are already represented by their husbands. • Mainly middle class women are campaigning so would not vote in the interest of working class women.

3. Conciliation Bill-1911 Asquith agreed to work with the women and produced a Conciliation Bill which Asquith then dropped. Early campaigners for the vote. After 73 MPs supported votes for women, suffrage societies were set up. NUWSS was set up in 1897 Suffragists Millicent Fawcett was the leader. She believed in peaceful methods such as leaflets, petitions, organised meetings would win the vote. 1900- gained support of some Liberal and Conservatives. Views on suffragettes Suffragists believed you couldn’t claim a democratic right by violent methods such as smashing windows. Neither parties were prepared to adopt female suffrage as they had bigger worries and issues at the time.

4. 1910- WSPU calls off violence when Asquith agreed to work with them. When Asquith called off the Conciliation Bill, it leads of Black Sunday In 1903, the WSPU was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. Suffragettes were formed because the Pankhurst’s were impatient with peaceful methods of suffragists. Suffragettes Thewent about gaining the vote by smashing windows, bombing churches, setting post boxes on fire, damaging property mainly. In 1905 new methods were experimented with. At a Liberal Government Party meeting, shouting caused police to remove them. Christabel attracted much attention when she was arrested and charged for assault. Publicity showed them that militancy was news and attention. Men weren’t allowed to join and they recruited mainly middle and upper class. They wanted to make women’s suffrage a serious issue-one that the government couldn’t ignore. Their aim was militancy.

5. Methods of protest NUWSS- Suffragists Propaganda- published posters, leaflets and postcards. Meetings and demonstrations- Women’s Pilgrimage in 1913 was a success with thousands taking part and newspapers favouring peaceful methods. Demonstrations kept issue in public eye. Civil Disobedience- you could only vote if you paid taxes was on of the arguments so many women refused to pay taxes WSPU- Suffragettes Propaganda- published newspaper: “Votes for women” which gave suffragettes publicity. By 1914-huge circulation. Meetings and Demonstrations Attacking property- window smashing, pouring chemicals in letter boxes, attacking art galleries, golf courses. Attacking people- prison doctors attacked. Axe thrown at Prime Minister and narrowly missed. Hunger strikes- 1909 protesters tried to force authorities to recognise suffragettes as political prisoners not criminals. Won sympathy when authorities started using force-feeding which was brutal. Cat and Mouse Act 1913- Allowed hunger strikers to be released to recover health and then re-arrested when healthy.

6. Suffragettes turned to violence because: • Peaceful methods unsuccessful • Government banned them from meetings to peaceful protest was denied. • Government started harsh treatment first Were violent methods successful? • YES • Made female suffrage front page news and brought to public attention. • Once issue was raised, wasn’t going to go away so sooner/later they would win. • As time passed, the idea seemed less strange and gradually accepted. • Asquith against women gaining the vote so violence did not make anything worse. • NO • Violence gave government and excuse not to give in as you shouldn’t give in to violence. • Violence turned moderate MPs against the cause. • Violence supported the view that women weren’t responsible enough to have the vote. • 1913-14 NUWSS grew in popularity at expense of WSPU as women were turning away from violence.

7. Preparations for reform started in 1916 when thousands of men lost right to vote as they had been away for <1 year. On the 6 February a Bill stated that : • Women over 30 could vote or become and MP • All men over 21 could vote. • They didn’t have equal rights to men because: • MPs worried more women voters • Young women were too • Irresponsible to vote. In August 1914, Britain was at war. The Pankhurst's stopped suffrage campaigns and instead encouraged members to supports the war effort. By 1918 1 million more women were at work How did War help gain the vote? WSPU Suffragettes and the government worked together to encourage women to work as their was a shortage of workers. They renamed their newspaper “Britannia” and became very patriotic. They demanded military conscription and gave out white feathers to those who refused to fight. NUWSS Millicent Fawcett supported the war effort however opposed conscription and white feathers. She set up employment registers to recruit women to replace men and ran training schools for women. They also organised hospital units. They still held petitions and meetings for votes form women to ensure that pressure kept on Parliament

8. War work • War gave MPs a convenient excuse to give women the vote • Men were impressed by their contribution and without women, Britain may have lost. • One of the arguments against women was they didn’t take part in wars- PROVED WRONG • Government afraid suffragettes would restart their campaigns and they didn’t want to imprison the women who helped dying war. • Problems with giving women the vote • Many men didn't’ welcome women workers in WW1 as afraid they would take their jobs for lower wages. • Some women against war and did not support it so why should they deserve right to vote? • Women who did dangerous work were younger women who weren’t given the vote. Why did women win the vote in 1918? • Other reasons • Lloyd George replace Asquith and supported the cause. • Need for reform anyways as soldiers lost right to vote and so there was an opportunity to incorporate women's votes. • Conservative MPs happy that women under 30 couldn’t vote so young W-C would not vote Labor • Liberal and Labour please that over 30 got vote as WC could vote too. • Campaigns before the war • Historians argue that NUWSS + WSPU made votes for women an issue that wouldn’t go away and without it, it wouldn't have been considered. • Idea had been front page news and constantly discussed and so was had to happen soon/later. • Campaigning created a situation in which giving women the vote was possible