The Suffragettes and votes for women

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The Suffragettes and votes for women

• Arguments for and against female suffrage

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What do you need to know?

• Why womens rights were a major issues by 1900
• The arguments for and against female suffrage
• The Suffragettes campaign and why authorities
  found it difficult to deal with these women
• Whether the womens violent campaign helped or
  hindered their cause

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Background

• In 19th century men and women were not equal
• Society was dominated by men
• However by 1900 this was beginning to change.
  Greater opportunities at work and in education
  for women e.g. the invention of the typewriter
  and the telephone opened up new types of work,
  educated women were teachers.
• As a result a womens movement demanding equal
  rights developed.
• The right to vote became the focus of their
  campaign.

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The womens movement

• In 1897 moderate women supported the suffragists
  who believed in peaceful tactics e.g. protests
  and marches, letters to MPs. Led by Millicent
  Fawcett.
• However, in 1903, a more militant group emerged
  called the suffragettes led by Emmeline
  Pankhurst.
• They used more violent methods to achieve their
  aims e.g. smashing windows, assaulting
  politicians and even arson.

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Emmeline Pankhurst
Millicent Fawcett
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Arguments FOR and AGAINST female suffrage

• AGAINST
• Politics was for men. Women would not understand
  political issues
• Only middle class people wanted to vote
• Not all men could vote, so why should women?
• The violent tactics of some campaigners for
  womens rights showed they did not deserve the
  vote
• Women could not fight in war, so they should not
  be involved in making decisions.
• Many women, including Queen Victoria, were
  against the idea of giving women the vote
• There were many more important social issues to
  be fighting for

• FOR
• Women had as much right to vote as men
• Votes for women had already been introduced in
  other parts of the world such as New Zealand and
  Australia
• Some women were allowed to vote in local
  elections
• Women were becoming more educated and independent
• It would be democratic to give women the vote

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Suffragists

• In 1897 Millicent Fawcett founded the National
  Union of Womens Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
• This was a moderate, peaceful organisation which
  campaigned for votes for women.
• Its members were called the SUFFRAGISTS.
• It won much support by its more radical members
  lost patience with its approach and slow pace of
  change.

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Suffragettes

• In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter
  Christabel founded the Womens Social and
  Political Union (WSPU).
• The WSPU became known as the SUFFRAGETTES.
• They believed in taking action to bring the issue
  of female suffrage into the public eye
• They staged demonstrations, disturbed public
  meetings and chained themselves to park railings.
• As time passed the Suffragettes became
  increasingly violent and were often illegal, many
  were arrested for smashing windows and assaulting
  police officers.
• Many MPs sympathetic to the womens cause were
  put off by the violent acts of the suffragettes.

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Why do you think this cartoon was published in
1906? Support you answer by referring to details
in the cartoon and your own knowledge. (6)
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This cartoon would have been published in 1906
because this is about the time when the public
began to take notice of the suffragettes. The
Suffragettes were only started in 1903. By 1906
they were doing things like shouting in public
meetings and chaining themselves to park
railings. The cartoonist probably is quite in
favour of votes for women because the cartoon
seems to show that he or she is worried that the
violence of the suffragettes will do more harm
than good. You can see this because the sensible
woman talks about our cause, meaning that she
wants the vote but that she knows the violence
will just put everyone off. So the cartoonist is
warning that these tactics wont work.
M E B
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The inclusion of women in politics would harm the
number, character and strength of our future
race. It would limit womens ability and
inclination for motherhood, and would lead to
their unwillingness to manage the home, and the
home is the first and lasting strength of social
life in all countries. From a speech given in Feb
1912 by Charles Hobhouse, a member of the Liberal
Government.
How far does this source explain the arguments
against female suffrage? (8) Use the source and
your own knowledge to answer this question.
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