Suffrage For Women
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Explain why women failed to gain the right to vote between 1900 and 1914
In the following essay I will be studying women in the twentieth century. I will be analysing their roles in society, how they were valued, and more importantly how they tried, and ultimately failed, to gain the power of suffrage.
It is clear to say that women were treated very differently to men during the nineteenth century. They were not seen as important as the opposite sex and were certainly undervalued. They did not have the right to an education or to have a career; instead a women’s job was to be a dutiful wife to her husband, a mother to his children and a supervisor of his household. When a woman married, all her earnings, property and even herself became her husbands. Also, if the couple separated the mother did not have any rights over her children. The idea that women should stay at home was on the basis that they were irrational and wouldn’t be able to survive in the world that was seen as a �man’s business’.
As the nineteenth century progressed women’s rights began to improve, although they were still not equal. Better laws meant that women had more rights in marriage and divorce, possessions and their children. Education also improved. Several schools opened but these were very expensive and most women could not afford to attend. Women were allowed to attend lectures and tutorials but they weren’t respected enough to achieve a degree. Jobs such as teaching and nursing also became available for women.
Many women felt they had the right to vote, after all, the laws were changing and women were gradually being accepted. They were now being educated, more and more women were working and they were already allowed to vote in local elections. This showed they were responsible and perfectly capable of voting and using their vote wisely. It only made sense for the general vote to become the next step. It would also continue the battle for equality. Equal pay and marriage rights were already introduced so it was logical for the vote to follow.
Every man in society was allowed to vote, whether they were a criminal, lunatic or a drunkard. However, a woman could have an education and a job but still be seen as unfit to cast a vote. Women argued that it was ludicrous to suggest that these sorts of men were more rational and capable of voting than themselves. They also stated, along with many other people that believed in suffrage for women, that Britain could not call itself a democracy if it weren’t allowing women to vote like other countries such as Germany.
There was a huge number of women who believed they were worthy of the vote. However, there were also plenty of men who agreed with this too. One of these men was Mr John Stuart Mill, an MP and philosopher. He tried to change the laws in 1867 to get women the vote. Unfortunately he failed in this, but people were still determined and many women’s suffrage societies formed across Britain. These societies were made up of middle and upper-class women who had influence and importance in society. They were later named the �early suffragists’. They used tactics of persuasion, meetings and petitions. A number of MP’s had already supported John Stuarts appeal and so campaigners believed it would only take a few years for the majority of MP’s to support it as well.
In 1887 a woman called Millicent Fawcett brought all the suffrage societies together to form the first major society called the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Society (NUWSS), more commonly known as the Suffragists. Between 1897 and 1914 the Suffragists were joined by various different kinds of people, including men. They used the same tactics as the early suffragists. They took part in marches, processions and published books. In February 1907 the suffragists held the first major march. It was known as the �mud march’ and consisted of 3,000 participants. The NUWSS published its own journal in 1912 called The Common Cause, it had 10,000 readers. In January 1910 they held a General Election to organise a petition on male voters to support women’s suffrage. The petition contained almost 300,000 signatures. The Suffragists were determined and progressively continued their campaign of persuading MPs to join their cause.
Some members of the Suffragists believed their approach was too subtle. They didn’t think enough people were taking them seriously. One of these people was Emmeline Pankhurst. She had been a dedicated member of the Suffragists for a number of years but by 1903 she had decided something had to be done. She thought that the quiet, reasonable methods of the suffragists weren’t getting them far.
With the help of her daughters, Christabel and Sylvia, she formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) or Suffragettes as named by the media. Although they had the same aims as the Suffragists, their approach was completely different. This was partly due to the influence of Henry Campbell — a Liberal Prime Minister. In 1907 he advised the Suffragettes not to show �the virtue of patience’ but to �go on pestering’? Their actions were aggressive and with their motto �deeds not words’ to motivate them, they heckled politicians, set buildings on fire, slashed paintings and even chained themselves to railings. They would do anything to get their cause publicised. In June 1908 Suffragettes Mary Leigh and Edith New, threw rocks through two windows at 10 Downing Street.
Although the Suffragettes were in favour of actions, they weren’t totally against the idea of peaceful protests. On 21st June 1908 they organised a gathering at Hyde Park, London. Over 250,000 people attended the meeting.
On 1st march 1912 the Suffragettes began a huge stone-throwing campaign. At 4pm they broke hundreds of shop windows. 210 Suffragettes were arrested and sent to prison. This didn’t deter them, they thought being sent to prison was simply a way to publicise the cause for women’s suffrage. When they were imprisoned they went on hunger strikes. The prison authorities were terrified that a Suffragette would die in prison and cause uproar. As a result, they began force-feeding the prisoners. Eventually, in 1913 an act was passed by parliament called the �cat and Mouse’ act. This stated that a prisoner who was refusing to be fed had to be released until they were well enough to be re-arrested and sent back to prison to finish their sentence. Of course, once they arrived at prison