British Depth Study 19061918

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British Depth Study 1906-1918

• How important were the Suffragettes in helping
  win the vote for women?

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Source A We believe hat if we get the vote it
will mean better conditions for our unfortunate
sisters. We believe that only through new laws
can any improvements be made and that new laws
will not be passed until women have the same
power as men to put pressure on governments. We
have tried every way. We have presented larger
petitions than were ever presented before and
succeeded in holding greater public meetings than
men ever held. But we have been criticised and
had contempt poured upon us. Violence is the only
way that we have to get the power which every
citizen should have the same kind of power that
the worst of men have. The same kind of power
that the wife beater has, the same power that the
drunkard has.

• What could a historian studying the Suffragettes
  learn from this source? (6)

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Source B
2. This is obviously biased, so it is of no
value to a historian studying attempts by women
to win the vote. Do you agree? (8)
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Source C Hasnt Mrs Pankhusrt the sense to see
that the very worst kind of campaigning for the
vote is to try to intimidate or blackmail a man
into giving her what he would gladly give her
otherwise.
Source D By 1913 the activities of the militant
Suffragettes had reached a stage at which nothing
was safe from their attacks. Churches were
burnt, public buildings and private residences
destroyed, bombs were exploded, the police and
individuals were assaulted and meetings broken
up. The feeling amongst MPs, caused by the
extravagant and lawless action of the militants,
hardened their opposition to the womens demands.
So on 6th May the House of Commons voted against
giving women the vote by a majority of 47.
3. Do you agree that these two sources show that
the Suffragettes did not have the support of men
in the country? (8)
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Source E
Source F
4. Why do you think these two pictures were
produced? (8)
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Source G It must be remembered that the behaviour
of the Suffragettes served a very important
purpose. Without the government could have (and
did before 1913) stated that there was no real
evidence that women even wanted the vote. The
militants destroyed this theory. By destroying
property, staging demonstrations and creating
riots, the militants kept the cause in the public
eye. The effects of World War are important
because they raised women in the eyes of
Parliament and of all men who remained in Britain
and they also raised many womens estimation of
themselves. But the militancy of the
Suffragettes is the main reason why women gained
the vote in 1918.
Source H It was in the year 1918 that disaster
took place. A member of the House of Commons
stood uo and said, If you are extending the vote
to our brave soldiers, how about our brave
munitions workers? that argument was difficult
to resist. Then how about a brave women
munitions workers? And having agreed to the
first argument it was impossible to resist the
second.
5. How similar are these two sources? (8)
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The Suffragettes were vital in helping women win
the vote. How far do the sources support this
interpretation? (12)