Date: Friday 15 December 2023

Title:
Who were the Suffragettes?
Key words: Votes For Women
Key word Definition
WSPU The Women’s Social and Political Union was formed in 1903 by
Emmeline Pankhurst to put pressure on the government to give
women the same voting rights as men. They used militant
(military like) tactics such as wrecking political meetings and
smashing buildings.

Suffragist A group formed in the 1800’s of around 50,000 women who

aimed to gain the same voting rights as men. They used peaceful
campaigning methods such as giving out leaflets, running
newspapers and organising petitions.

Suffragette The name given to members of the WSPU by the newspapers.

Parliament The part of government responsible for making laws. Made up of

the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Suffrage The right to vote in an election.

Liberal Government The elected government in power when the WSPU was
campaigning for the vote. A liberal government should support
social and political change.
The Journey to Universal Suffrage – Equal
Votes for Everyone
• The first national movement for women’s suffrage began in 1872
when the National Society for Women’s Suffrage was formed.

• There were two main groups known as the suffragists and

suffragettes who tried to achieve votes for women in two very
different ways.
The Suffragists
• The National Society joined other societies and
formed the National Union of Women’s Suffrage
Societies in 1897.

• Their aim was to be granted the vote using

peaceful and legal means such as holding
meetings.

• They were known as the suffragists and were led

by Millicent Fawcett.
 The Suffragettes

• These campaigners were more militant than the

suffragists. This means they would break the law to
try and achieve their aim.

• Many Suffragettes came from the Women’s Social

and Political Union which was set up in 1903, They
were led by Emmeline Pankhurst.

• They damaged buildings and lots were jailed. Some

even died for their cause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0QVQcqkPDs
Suffragette Tactics

WSPU leader Emmeline Pankhurst is arrested outside

Buckingham Palace in 1914 for trying to break in to see King
George V.
The Suffragettes
committed over
300 acts of
arson (lighting
fires) and
bombings. They
At Epsom Derby (1913) Emily Davidson targeted
stepped in front of the King’s horse. She may buildings, not
have been trying to pin a WSPU badge to the people. They
horse. She died 4 days later. This gained a lot bombed the Tea
of attention for the suffragettes House at Kew
Gardens in 1913
 Suffragette Tactics

In 1913 the Suffragettes attempted to blow up his summer

David Lloyd George was a government house that was being built.
Minister- Chancellor of the Exchequer
(responsible for government budget)
Suffragette Hunger Strikes
Arrested Suffragettes went on hunger strike in
prison.

It would look bad on the government if they

died in prison so they began to force feed them
meat and lime juice.

In 1913 the British government, fearing the

death of a hunger-striking prisoner, passed the
Prisoner's (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health)
Act.

Ill prisoners would be released from prison and

rearrested when they regained health. The
Suffragettes called this act the ‘Cat and Mouse
Act.’
What is the purpose of these Suffragette Posters?

Suffragettes tried to use their harsh treatment in

prison to gain sympathy for their cause.
What were the arguments for women to gain the vote?
Why were they using militant tactics?
Why Votes for women?
• Some Women pay taxes.
• Some Women have the same qualifications of
TASK
men.
• Government was not democratic if it excluded Listen carefully to the interview with Christabel
women Pankhurst from 1908.
• Women should get to express their opinion
Note down some bullet points in response to the
Why Militancy? questions.
• After 40 years of campaigning women still did
not have the vote
• Government only respond to pressure
• Women are refusing to wait for political
Connect your learning
justice
https://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Early-spoken-word-recording What is oral history?
s/024M-1CL0025836XX-0100V0#_
Reaction to Suffragette Tactics
Did the actions of the Suffragettes help or hinder Women’s Suffrage?
The suffragettes engaged in daring and brave deeds, often putting their own
lives at risk, even when engaging in peaceful demonstrations. But from 1912,
more violent tactics were adopted including window-smashing raids in
London's West End and the vandalising of pillar boxes. Such a change in
strategy, which never endangered human life, was a response to the
stubbornness of the Liberal government of the day that, over a long period of
time, had debated women's suffrage bills but never passed them, and then
prohibited women from protesting in public arenas.
The suffragettes contributed to the making of our modern democracy by
bringing about a cultural change in the way in which women were seen. They
aroused a passionate discussion about women's status and inequality in
society so that men's ideological (thinking and ideas) hold over women was
never the same. No longer doormats, but assertive, strong-minded women,
without their struggle the 1918 franchise act would not have been passed.
Interpretation 1:
From the Article ‘We Owe them
the vote’ by Historian June
Purvis. The article was published
in 2008.
Interpretation 2:
Given its lack of numbers, the WSPU had been obliged
to rely on moral effect rather than force, and, in its early
years, this strategy was highly effective. Political
violence, however, threw away this advantage. The
‘double shuffle’, depending as it did upon presenting
suffragettes as whiter-than-white idealists persecuted for
demanding ordinary political rights, worked so long as
they could be seen as victims, but public sympathy
rapidly evaporated when they emerged as aggressors.
WSPU strategy was inept in the party political as well as
the general political sense. The organization only
represented a threat to a Liberal government when it
had the support of public opinion, because the majority
of those who supported votes for women were Liberals
or Labour voters. Violence directed against the
Liberals – in particular, the threats to kill and injure
ordinary voters who attended meetings – was a colossal
mistake which alienated the natural supporters of
women's suffrage, and by the time the WSPU realized
its blunder, it was too late.

From the Article ‘An army without

discipline’ by academic C.J Bearman.
The article was published in 2007.
What do they interpretations argue about the impact of the Suffragette
Movement?

TASK

1. Read the two

interpretations

Consider: How are

they different? What
is each one saying?
What do they interpretations argue about the impact of the Suffragette
Movement?

TASK
Summarise the view of each interpretation
and choose a quote to support.

June Purvis argues that the Suffragettes…

In her interpretation she tells us ‘…’

(quote)

Whereas Bearman argues that the

Suffragettes…

Which we see in the interpretation when

it says….
 Did the actions of the Suffragettes help or hinder Women’s Suffrage?

TASK
1. Study the Sources.

2. Complete the table.

Key Words For each source

Hinder consider if the actions
To make it difficult of the Suffragettes
for something to
happen helped or hindered
their cause.
 Source 1
‘The activities of the
Suffragettes had reached a
stage at which nothing was
safe from their attacks.
Churches were burnt,
buildings and houses were
destroyed, bombs were
exploded, the police assaulted
and meetings broken up. The
feeling in the House of
Commons caused by the
actions of the suffragettes
hardened oppositions to their
demands. The result was a
defeat of their Bill by 47 votes,
which the government had
previously promised to
support.’
The Speaker of the House of
Commons writing about the
events of 1913.
Source 2
‘What good did all this violent
Source 3
campaigning do for us? For one thing
our campaign made women’s suffrage ‘It was hardly a tactful way to convert us
a matter of news-it had never been by burning down our churches and putting
that before. Now the newspapers are bombs in our Cathedrals.’
full of us.’
The Bishop of London writing in 1918
Emeline Pankhurst (leader of the WSPU) in
a book about her life (1912)
Source 4
Source 5
A poster
‘No class has ever got the vote
published
except at the risk of something
by the
like revolution. By what means,
Suffragettes
but screaming, knocking and
in 1908
rioting, did men themselves ever
gain what they were pleased to
It shows a
call their rights.’
woman in
prison on a
Daily Mirror Newspaper , 24
hunger
October 1906
strike being
force fed.
What was the Impact of the Suffragette Movement on Women’s Suffrage?
Source Help or Hinder? How did this help or hinder women’s suffrage? Pick a quote/description from the
Did it gain support for the vote or turn people source to support.
against the Suffragettes?

Hinder The violent activities of the suffragettes have put ‘The feeling in the House of Commons
members of Parliament off supporting the movement. caused by the actions of the suffragettes

1
hardened oppositions to their demands.’
They disliked the use of violent tactics such as
destroying buildings, using bombs and assaulting the
police.

5
 Which interpretation do you most agree with and why?

The interpretation which I most agree with is the one

by…

This interpretation argues… (use direct quotes)

This is accurate because… (Support with evidence from

the sources)

Whilst there is some validity to ________’s

interpretation because…

Ultimately, __________’s interpretation is the most

Key Words
accurate as it shows that if women had not behaved in Validity
this way then… How true something is
 Date: Friday 15 December 2023

Title:
How did the War help women gain the
vote?
Recap: Women’s Role in World War One

Retrieval Time!
1. Identify 3 types of war work done by
women

2. Identify 2 ways in which the lives of women

changed during World War One

3. Identify 1 reason why there was a demand

for female workers in World War One
Recap: Women’s Role in World War One

Retrieval Time!
1. Identify 3 types of war work done by women. Clerics,
farmers, nurses, munitions workers.

2. Identify 2 ways in which the lives of women changed

during World War One. Paid employment, better wages,
long hours, accidents at work.

3. Identify 1 reason why there was a demand for female

workers in World War One. Men were needed to join the
army/ the army needed weapons and ammunition.
Women and War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBeIDO2gqew
 Women’s Contribution to the War Effort

The army needed huge amounts of weapons and

ammunition. Women took the place of male workers in The Women’s Land army replaced male farmers who had
munitions factories. They made guns, shells, grenades joined the army. German submarines were preventing
and bullets. Britain from importing food so this work was essential to
feed the country.
Women’s Contribution to the War Effort

From 1915 women took on the work of men who had

joined the army. They became clerks (office workers and Over 100,000 women worked as nurses during
record keeping), bus conductors, window cleaners and World War One. Most belonged to units called the
coal carriers. Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD)
Why were women given the right to
vote in 1918?
TASK
1. For each of the reasons
provided, explain why it
would help women earn the
right to vote.

2. Consider the importance of

each reason. Mark an ‘X’ on
the scale to show the value
of each reason.

3. Justify the position of each

with a sentence.
Why were women given the right to vote in 1918?
Reason Why is this an argument for giving women the vote? How important?
Place a cross on the scale and explain why
When war began in 1914, the suffragettes The militant tactics of the Suffragettes caused them to lose Relatively Extremely
halted their militant campaigns to help the support. As campaigners halted their activities to help the war Unimportant important
war effort.
effort it resulted in a reduction in the number of people opposed
to giving women the vote. Through their war work women were Reason:
viewed more positively. The Suffragettes improved their reputation but the
cause did not receive as much attention as before.
Relatively Extremely
Men could only vote if they had lived at the Unimportant important
same address for a year. This was not the
case for several million men who were away
from home in the armed forces. 1 in 5 men
Reason:
would be unable to vote in the next general
election. ________________________________________
Extremely
________________________________________
Relatively
Unimportant important
By 1916 more than a million women were
doing war work. Thousands of women joined
organisations to help the government deal
with wartime problems. Women volunteer did
Reason:
things such as finding homes for refugees
and running air raid shelters. Relatively Extremely
________________________________________
Unimportant important
________________________________________
As more men joined the army, women took
the work of male workers in munitions
factories. They made guns, shells, grenades
and bullets.
Reason:
Relatively Extremely
important
________________________________________
Unimportant
________________________________________
Over 100,000 women worked as nurses
during the war. Most belonged to units
 The First World War 1914 - 1918
• When the war began, the suffrage movement largely stopped and the
members supported the war effort.

• They worked many of the jobs men had been doing before the war. It
showed women could do the jobs that men had previously done. This was
a major reason why women ‘earned’ the right to vote.
 The Representation of the People Act (1918)
• This was an important step towards voting equality.

• It gave men over 21 the vote and women, who were over 30
and owned property (or married to a homeowner) the vote.

• This was not equal … yet!

• That came in 1928 when finally women were given the same
voting rights as men (Voting age for all was 21).
What do these sources tell us about why women got the vote in 1918?

TASK

1. Read the two

sources

Consider: How are

they different? What
is each one saying?
Why did women get the vote in 1918?

Undoubtedly, the large part I do not believe we would

taken by women during the war have won the vote just
was a tremendous argument in when we did, except for
giving them the vote. Yet… the fact that it was
militancy…was a much stronger necessary…to prevent
factor. millions of men who had
Source 1 served their country from
Adapted from losing the vote.
Emmeline Pankhurst’s
autobiography, The
Suffragette Movement, Source 2:
1931.
From Millicent Fawcett, the leader of
Pankhurst was the the Suffragists. Taken from Progress
leader of the WSPU. of the Woman’s Movement in the
United Kingdom, 1922
What do these sources tell us about why women got the vote in 1918?

TASK
Summarise the view of each source and
choose a quote to support.

Emmeline Pankhurst argues women got the

vote…

I can see this in the source where she tells

us ‘…’ (quote)

Whereas Millicent Fawcett believed women

got the vote because…

Which we see in the source when it says….

 What was the main reason why Women gained the right to vote?

The main reason why Women gained the right to

vote in 1918 was…

This helped women to gain the vote by….

Suffragette Militancy
Another important reason why women gained
the vote was… because…

However _____ was key because without ….

KEY WORD CHALLENGE
Suffragette, Militancy, Munitions, War effort, protests, suffrage, reputation The role of women in war
 Legacy – What does this look like in 2022?
• We have now had 3 female Prime Ministers.
• In 1918, there was only one woman sitting in the House of Commons and
after the last General Election (2019) now there are 220. However,
Women still do not represent half of the MPs in the House of Commons
(650 Seats in total).
• Equality is an important British value and it’s important to remember
how far we have come and how far we still have to go!
A statue of
Emmeline
Pankhurst in
Manchester City
Centre, 2022