Votes For Women!

1. Votes For Women! “Votes for Women indeed! Soon the government shall be asked to give votes to dogs and horses!” “Women’s suffrage is a mad, wicked folly” The Changing Role of Women from the Nineteenth Century to the Great War “With the vote, women would become the most hateful, heartless and disgusting of human beings!” All these comments were made in the 1890s. By women. “Any woman who wants the vote should be given a damn good whipping!”

2. THE BEGINNINGS • In 1867, Parliament let around 30% of men vote. • J.S. Mill suggested letting women vote. • 73 MPs backed him, but almost 200 did not. • In 1869, women got to vote in local elections. • In 1874 General Election, Mill left Parliament. • Parliament forgot about women’s votes.

3. THE NUWSS • Some women campaigned – peacefully – for the vote in small, local groups • In 1887, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies was formed • Members were ‘suffragists’, and included men • Their leader was Millicent Fawcett • She organised speeches, marches, parades, petitions, events, pamphlets and articles

4. THE ARGUMENTS FOR… • Women could vote locally, so should be allowed to nationally. • Women paid taxes to the government. The government spent their tax money. They should get to choose the government. • Powerful women did not damage Britain! Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria both saw ‘golden ages’ • Women were intellectually equal to men. • All men could vote, even if they were irresponsible. All women couldn’t, even if they were sensible. • The Liberal government was becoming more ‘maternal’ – looking after the “family” by helping the old, the unemployed, and so on. This was traditionally the role of women, so women should vote!

5. THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST… • Women would vote for the most attractive MPs! • The brains of women were not equipped to make such difficult choices! • Women ought to concentrate more on the home rather than the vote! • Women who want the vote would quieten down once they got married! • Voting would make women infertile! • It was well known that women were second-class citizens – why should they be allowed the vote?

7. THE PROBLEM • When women campaigned peacefully, the government could ignore them! • Before 1900, there were 15 attempts in Parliament to give women the vote. • All of them were voted down, showing how little the work of the NUWSS was actually achieving.

8. THE WSPU • In 1903, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the WSPU. • This stood for Women’s Social and Political Union • It was more radical and militant than the NUWSS, and used violence to make a point.

9. THE ‘SUFFRAGETTES’ • To belittle the WSPU, the Daily Mail called the women who joined it ‘suffragettes’. The name stuck! • Their first attempts to make their voices heard were generally restricted to disrupting meetings and shouting at MPs like Asquith, who opposed votes for women.

11. THE CAMPAIGN GETS VIOLENT • After 1908, the Suffragettes chose ‘direct action’ to acquire the vote. • Examples included: • Edith New chained herself to the Downing Street railings and making speeches • Flora Drummond incited a crowd to ‘rush’ the House of Commons • One suffragette saw Lloyd George in a car. She got in, locked the doors, and spoke to him for an hour and a half about women’s suffrage (which was probably unnecessary, as he was already in favour!)

12. THE PROBLEM • Whilst Pankhurst felt that direct action made news, and thus put women’s votes into the political limelight, there was a big problem. • As long as women continued to act violently, the government could refuse to give the vote because a) it was giving in to ‘terrorism’ and b) women were clearly irresponsible. • As time went on, the relations between the NUWSS and the WSPU deteriorated.

13. VOTES FOR WOMEN WSPU – Use violence to make the point NUWSS – Use logic to make the point “Women are clearly irresponsible” “Women can easily be ignored” A "Catch-22" Situation

14. THE 1911 BILL • In 1911 a bill known as the Conciliation Bill went in front of Parliament. This would grant votes for women. The WSPU stopped their violence to improve the chances of it passing. • It was voted for, but suddenly, Asquith said he was abandoning it. • He said he wanted to give all men the vote, and would add an extra bit about women voting onto that bill instead. • The NUWSS and the WSPU were both enraged – Asquith had simply backed down from Votes for Women!

15. THE SUFFRAGIST RESPONSE • They formed an alliance with the Labour Party, who promised to grant votes for women if elected. • They held a mass march from Carlisle to London to campaign for the vote.

16. THE SUFFRAGETTE RESPONSE • They increased their campaign of violence, more than ever before! • They smashed windows, poured acid on golf courses, set fire to letter boxes, slashed paintings in the National Gallery, bombed warehouses, cut telephone wires and burnt churches. • Emily Davison was killed trying to attach flags to the King’s horse at the Derby • In prison, they went on hunger strike

17. THE ‘CAT AND MOUSE ACT’ • To prevent the hunger strikers dying from starvation, the government first tried force-feeding, but this was very unpopular and portrayed as barbaric. • Instead, they introduced the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’. A woman on hunger strike could be released. When recovered, she would be rearrested and serve the remainder of her sentence.