Essay on The Change in Method of Suffragettes Between 1903 and 1915

During the 1900s, many women were beginning to stand up for themselves and no longer wanted to be inferior to men. Prior to 1918, women were disrespected and under - valued in society. There was a change in attitudes towards women as the image of the "New Women" began to arise. They were becoming involved in various different jobs, having the ability to be better educated and get involved in politics. However, this view that the "New Women" was the only factor that contributed to women getting the vote is untrue. Women began their own campaigns in order to get the vote. This included

Before the Suffragettes, women were not able to vote and the move for women to have the right to vote really started in 1897 when Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Women’s Suffrage. Fawcett strongly believed that women should have the right to vote but also believed in peaceful protests, patience and logical arguments. She felt that if any violence occurred then men would believe that women could not be trusted and therefore should not have the right to vote. She also made the argument that if women were made responsible for sitting on school boards and paying taxes that they should be part of the process to make the laws and should have the same rights as men. A main argument of hers was that even though some women who were wealthy mistresses of large manors and estates employed gardeners, workmen and labourers who were able to vote but women still could not, regardless of their wealth and social class. However, the progress of Fawcett was very slow and although she converted some of the members of the Labour Representation Committee (The Labour Party) but the majority of men felt that women would not understand how parliament functioned and therefore should not take part in the electoral

Why Women Gained the Vote in 1918 In 1918, women had finally gained the right to vote, after 68 long and hard years of campaigning and rebelling they finally got the vote they wanted. The women had tried everything like campaigning, getting them selves arrested, using the media and many more things were done. However, there were a couple of things that they did which really helped them get the right to vote and they were the fact that they helped the men in World War I, like loading the bombs shells with explosives and tidying the bomb shelters.

Before 1918, women were considered to be very much within their own sphere of influence separate from men. Throughout the 19th century women had slowly been gaining voting privileges, but only in areas considered to be within their spheres such as the vote for school boards, the vote for poor law boards and the vote for county councils. Traditionally many historians have argued that the main reason for the enfranchisement of women in 1918 was their work during world war one. This view is being disputed on multiple levels; some argue that the war itself called for a rearrangement of the whole electoral system. Alternatively other historians argue that the work of the women's suffrage workers such as the suffragist's and the suffragettes,

The battle for suffrage was a long and slow process. Many women tried to initiate the fight for suffrage, like Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. “These were the New Suffragists: women who were better educated, more career-oriented, younger, less apt to be married and more cosmopolitan than their previous generation.” (pg 17) Eventually, in 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified; allowing women to vote, but it was not any one person or event that achieved this great feat. It was the confluence of certain necessary factors, the picketing and parades led by Alice Paul, militaristic suffrage parties and the influence of the media that caused the suffrage amendment to be passed and ratified in 1920. But most importantly, they successfully moved both

"Describe the steps taken between 1832 and 1918 to extend the suffrage in England. What group and movements contributed to the extension of the vote?" Several groups, movements and reform bills passed between 1832 and 1918 extended the suffrage in England. The process took many years and the voting rights were first given to the wealthier and more distinguished men, then later to the less wealthy men, and finally to women. The major reform bills that extended the suffrage in England were the Reform Bill of 1832, 1867, and 1884, and the Qualification of Women Act in 1917. (Mazour, Peoples) The suffrage movement began in 1832 when the Reform Bill of 1832 was passed by parliment. The Prime Minister since 1830, Earl Grey, authored the Bill and

To begin with, the American suffragists of the 1900s worked very hard with a variety of strategies to bring attention to their cause. In document 2, a New York Times article from April 29, 1917, described that a publishing company run by suffragists issued fliers, leaflets, posters, and books detailing why women should be able to vote. This article also stated that the publishing company manufactured many common objects, (such as calendars, stationery, and postcards), with the phrase, “Votes for Women” printed on them. Furthermore, in documents 3a and 3b, photographs from the time depict women marching in a parade and picketing outside of buildings with large signs that displayed messages promoting voting rights for women. The propaganda and marches run by women fighting for suffrage were methods used to promote suffrage. Suffragists brought their cause to the forefront of the minds of

Women were trying to get the vote for many years before 1900, however this was not a serious concern and they were not doing much to achieve this. However in 1900 this all changed. The NUWSS (Suffragists) and the WSPU (Suffragettes) were set up in the early years of 1900; their goal was to allow women to get the vote. Their reason was that women were already allowed to work on city councils and become doctors, some notable ones too such as Florence Nightingale. The NUWSS believed that if women were house owners and had respectable jobs they should be allowed to vote. This is because men who were allowed to vote could be white slave owners and lunatics so why could these men vote and

use of fighting for a vote if we have not got a country to vote in?"

In 1916, Asquith was replaced by Lloyd George as prime minister, with Lloyd George being brought to the position, some hope was restored for the women. The coalition Government which was set up contained several politicians who were for the vote for women, this included Henderson who was totally for the suffrage for women. So the women were now represented

Women's actual presence in city streets definitively questioned outdated ideas of femininity and consequent limitations on women's behavior. The significant parades, organized between 1910 and 1913, revealed women's shared deployment while visually representing woman suffragists’, which challenged their suggested social roles (Borada, 2002). The performance of suffrage parades became an act of public celebration, an illustration of social protest, and an exhibition of women's ability to partake in political societies. Subsequently, in women's lengthy battle for the right to vote, new political strategies and, more accurately, an approach of strategic opposition were created within the movements (Borada, 2002).

Many women longed for a more active role in the war effort. Suffrage leaders criticized the government for not involving women more. So, when a shortage of shells was revealed in the spring of 1915, certain government ministers concurred. Munitions Minister Lloyd George encouraged the leader of the British suffrage movement, Emmeline Pankhurst, to organize a massive demonstration and march on the theme 'Women's Right to Serve' (Grayzell, 1999).

The Liberals were hesitant to support women's suffrage because it was hard to know whom women would vote for. Between 1911 and 1914 the Suffragettes became increasingly militant as the Liberals refused to find parliamentary time to debate the question. The party claimed the issue was 'a constitutional not a moral question'. The suffragette issue damaged the Liberals as their evident reluctance to treat it as a matter of belief weakened their moral standing. Their failure to resolve the issue proved to be a political embarrassment.

California women and men worked tirelessly to strengthen the women’s suffrage campaign from 1893, when the state legislature passed an amendment permitting women to vote in state elections, through the final passage of the amendment in 1911. The strength of the movements themselves, passionate support overcoming harsh opposition, pushed by the people and the organizations championing for the women’s vote were the main contributing factors which accumulated in the eventual passage of Amendment 8. Since California women have begun to vote, there have been many advancements and setbacks in the other women’s rights movements, including the Nineteenth Amendment and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Social change in Britain has been achieved primarily through the hard work of organized political groups. These groups created events to recruit and educate supporters of social equality to join them in fighting for progress. The Women’s Suffrage Movement between 1866 and 1928 in Britain is no exception to this trend. The reason for the great efficacy of these political groups, including the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and the Women’s Social and Political Union, was the women who pioneered the groups and fought alongside them to create the change that they believed in. The goal of these political groups was finally realized in 1928 with the passing of the Representation of the People Act. However, the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain would not have been successful without the influential actions of several significant women. In addition to the overall necessity of female leadership for British Women’s Suffrage, the central efforts of Millicent Fawcett, Lydia Becker, and Emmeline Pankhurst particularly played a large role in the movement’s success.