British Depth

Study Female
Suffrage

OCR History GCSE How was British

society changed, 1890-1918?

Arguments for votes for

women

Women paid same rates and taxes as men

Britain would not be not a true democracy
until women could vote
Many women were already involved in
politics at a local level
Votes for women would improve life for all
women
Lots of other countries permitted women
the vote (for example Australia and New
Zealand)

Arguments against votes for

women

Men and women have different responsibilities;

women belonged in the home
Most women did not want the vote
Women were represented by their husbands
The current voting system worked why change?
Women did not fight in wars and therefore did not
deserve the vote
Giving the vote to women would mean giving the
vote to all men, some of whom were not worthy
Women were irrational and would not vote wisely
Family life would be disrupted
Women lacked logical power because they are guided
by the womb

The Suffragists

Also known as the NUWSS the National Union of Womens

Suffrage Societies
In 1897 the various societies were linked together by Millicent
Fawcett
It was a national, democratic organisation and so made the
womens movement far more powerful
By 1914 it had more than 400 members and over 100,000
branches
They kept the issue of female suffrage in the public eye
Membership was mostly made up of middle class women, but
men were allowed to join as well
They were very good at propaganda produced newsletters and
posters
Held large rallies such as Hyde Park Demonstration in 1908

The Suffragettes

Also known as the WSPU the Womens Social

and Political Union
Founded in 1903 by Emmeline, Christabel and
Sylvia Pankhurst
Leaders were not elected by members, the
group was very much controlled by the Pankhursts
Impatient with peaceful methods of suffragists,
and frustrated with their lack of progress
Decided the only way to achieve female suffrage
was direct action
Men were not allowed to join

The Suffragettes Direct

Action

In 1905 Christabel Pankhurst attended a

Liberal Party meeting and began shouting
She was then removed by a policeman, before
punching him and having to spend 7 days in
prison
They began in 1908 to break windows in
Downing Street and chaining themselves to
railings
On 4th June 1913, Emily Davidson threw
herself in front of King Georges horse at the
Epsom Derby, she died four days later

Were the suffragettes

effective?

NO:
Did not achieve vote by 1914
Their violence turned some MPs off the idea of female
suffrage
Their violence proved that women were not responsible
enough for the vote
Some women were turning away from violence

YES:
Kept the issue of female suffrage in the media spotlight
Many people admired their willingness to suffer for
their cause
The idea of women having the vote became less strange
over time

Hunger Strikes

Prisoners stopped eating, thus winning

sympathy
Authorities started force feeding them,
however this was seen as cruel and inhumane
In 1913, the Cat and Mouse Act was
introduced:
Women were released from prison when they
became very ill
They were rearrested and imprisoned again
once their health had improved

Did women
contribute to the War
Effort?

Yes, despite women being no closer to achieving

the vote in August 1914, the suffrage
movement threw itself behind the war
effort
Other women helped also
Women could not fight, but they could do other
things to help, including:

Munitions work
Nursing, and driving ambulances on the front line
Land Army
Recruitment agencies

Women and
Munitions

Throughout the war many women worked in

munitions factories
This was dangerous work because there
were possibilities of explosions and there were
some adverse health effects
However, working in these factories gave
women a chance for independence and a
chance to earn money

Women on the Front

Line

Women did not fight in the trenches, but they

were very close to the action
The British army opened many hospital units
in France and Belgium which were staffed
mainly by female nurses
Many women worked in soup kitchens for
soldiers
The Womens Auxiliary Army Corps was
formed in 1918, these women worked as
drivers, secretaries and officials on the
Western Front

Womens Land Army

Around 260,000 women worked on Britains

farms throughout the war in the Womens
Land Army
This helped farmers to produce as much food
as possible due to the food shortages

Why were women given the

vote?

There were many reasons why in 1918 women

were given the vote
These votes can be put into three categories:
War
Campaigns
Other

War

The war proved that women were capable of

surviving on their own
Women had now helped to defend the country
Government felt indebted to women
Women had shown that they were not
emotional or irrational

Campaigns

The government feared a resurgence of

suffragette campaigns
NUWSS continued their campaign throughout
the war
Women had shown commitment
They raised public profile for votes for women

Other

David Lloyd-George became prime-minister in

1916 and was more sympathetic towards
womens suffrage and supported it strongly
Reform was happening anyway- the war
Parties realised votes for women may increase
their support