Women’s Rights in Great Britain

Vocabulary

Suffrage, Franchise: the right to vote. Suffragette: Woman who fought for the

right to vote.

Mary Wollestonecraft

Vindication of the Rights of Women

Queen Victoria

“Let women be what God intended, a helpmate for man, but with totally different duties and vocations." 

Victoria & Her Family•R 1837-1901•19 when took throne•9 children•Prince Albert died 1861

Victorian England

19th Century Legislation 1839: If parents separated, children under 7

would be allowed to stay with their mother. 1857: Women were allowed to divorce a

husband who beat them. 1870: Women were allowed to keep money

they had earned. 1891: Women could not be forced to stay with

their husband if they didn’t want to.

Florence Nightingale

•Nurse during Crimean War•Set standards for Nursing•Red Cross

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies

1897 Millicent Fawcett Little success

Women's Social and Political Union 1903

Emmeline & Christabel Pankhurst"this was the beginning of a campaign the like of which was never known in England, or for that matter in any other country.....we interrupted a great many meetings......and we were violently thrown out and insulted. Often we were painfully bruised and hurt."

Emmeline Pankhurst

1858-1928 1889: Formed Women’s Franchise

League. 1903: Formed Women’s Social & Political

Union. Arrested six times 1808-1812, went on

Hunger Strike.

Suffragette Strategies

Interrupted meetings. Picketed & used loudspeakers against

Parliament. Refused to pay their taxes When they were assaulted & arrested by police

they began to… Burn down Churches of England. Break windows of men’s establishments. Chained themselves to Buckingham Palace

(home of Royal Family)

Fire bombed houses of members of Parliament

Hunger Strikes When imprisoned, Suffragettes went

on Hunger Strikes Government ordered

them to be force fed. Public outcry. Passed Cat & Mouse Act

(Temporary Discharged for Health Act)

Allowed Suffragette to starve till too weak to resist, then released her.

Rearrested her when she joined another

protest.

On December 20th Miss Selina Martin and Miss Leslie Hall were arrested in Liverpool, and were remanded for one week, bail being refused.Accordingly, while still unconvicted prisoners, they were sent to Walton Gaol, Liverpool. There, contrary to regulations, intercourse with their friends was denied to them. As unconvicted prisoners they refused to submit to the prison discipline or to take the prison food.

Forcible feeding was threatened and Miss Martin therefore barricaded her cell. The officials, however, effected an entrance, fell upon her and handcuffed her, dragged her to a punishment cell and flung her on the floor, with her hands tightly fastened together behind her back.

Emily Wilding Davison 1st Suffragette martyr. March 30th 1909: One month in prison for obstruction July 30th 1909: Two months in prison for obstruction September 4th 1909: Two months stone throwing White City,

Manchester October 20th 1909: One month for stone throwing at Radcliffe November 19th 1910: One month for breaking windows House

of Commons January 10th 1912: Six months setting fire to postal boxes in

London November 30th 1912: Ten days for assaulting a vicar who she

mistook to be David Lloyd George

Died after throwing herself in front of the King’s Horse Amner at the 1913 Derby

Women’s Suffrage

1914: Suffragette Movement stopped in order to support World War I

19I8: Representation of the People Act Gave women of property the right to

vote at age 30 1928: All women over the age of 21 could

vote.“If votes are given to "flappers" and if the constituencies are flooded with new and inexperienced voters, men will be placed in a minority in two-thirds of the constituencies.”