The National Archives
Education Service
Britain 1906-1918
Background and Big
Question – Gallery Three
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Britain 1906-1918
Gallery 3 Background
Contents
CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................................................................................2
GALLERY BACKGROUND...................................................................................................................................................................3
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE VOTE ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
THE CASE FOR WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE .................................................................................................................................................................... 3
THE CASE AGAINST WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
WIDER ISSUES RELATING TO WOMEN.................................................................................................................................................................. 4
GALLERY THREE: THE BIG QUESTION .........................................................................................................................................5
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Britain 1906-1918
Gallery 3 Background
Gallery Background
The campaign for the vote
The campaign to achieve women's suffrage went back many years. Its origins were said to lie in
1832. In that year there was a Parliamentary Reform Act, which extended the vote to a larger number
of men (though still not very many, and you had to own a certain amount of property to qualify to
vote). A woman called Mary Smith handed in a petition to Parliament asking that women who
qualified for the vote should also be given the vote. The campaign developed through the 19th and
into the 20th century. Many different groups and organisations supported women's suffrage. There
were political parties, especially the Labour Party, which committed itself to full equality in 1912.
There were also many individual politicians within the three main political parties (Liberal,
Conservative and Labour). There were organisations of women workers, especially in the textile mills
of Lancashire and Yorkshire. There were also many women's suffrage groups like the Women's
Freedom League, which worked with other female suffrage groups. However, the best-known
campaigners were:
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
The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), formed in 1897 and led by
Milicent Fawcett
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), formed in 1903 and led by Emmeline
Pankhurst
You can find out more about these groups and their campaign for the vote in Gallery 4.
The case for women's suffrage
This was based on a number of arguments. The first was simply that women and men should qualify
for the vote on the same terms. Many women's suffrage campaigners pointed out that wealthy,
educated women were unable to vote while poor, uneducated workmen could vote. To them, this
seemed to be unfair and unreasonable.
Other supporters of women's suffrage wanted the measure because they believed that all adults
should have the vote. Groups like the Labour Party support- ed giving the vote to all men and women
over 21 whether they owned property or not. This sometimes brought disagreements with some of the
women's suffrage groups. Critics claimed they wanted 'Votes For Ladies' and not 'Votes For Women'.
There were many other arguments in favour of women's suffrage. One of the points made most often
was that working conditions and laws in Britain discriminated against women. For example, women
worked long hours in factories, especially in Northern England. By the early 1900s men could vote in
order to change this, but women could not. In 1901 Selina Cooper, a Lancashire textile worker, led a
delegation of women workers to Parliament with a huge petition demanding the vote. Another
complaint was that government measures helped sick or unemployed working men, but left women
and children without protection.
Female suffrage campaigners also pointed out that laws relating to marriage were often unfair to
women. Many women suffered domestic violence but sentences for men were usually very light.
When a marriage broke down, it was generally assumed that the woman was to blame. There were
also many laws relating to child welfare that were unsatisfactory. For example, there was very little
protection for young working class girls from sexual abuse or being forced into prostitution.
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Britain 1906-1918
Gallery 3 Background
Women pointed out that men were supposed to look after them, but the laws in Britain proved that
they had failed to do so. This meant that they should be given the vote so that they could get laws
passed which would protect them properly.
Finally, by 1913 many states in the USA and countries in the British Empire had given the vote to
women. This had not caused the disasters that had been predicted. In fact, most countries believed
giving women the vote had helped them.
The case against women's suffrage
The arguments against female suffrage were not simply about men denying women the vote. There is
no doubt that this was a factor. Many of the oppo- nents of female suffrage believed that men and
women belonged in different 'spheres'. The men's sphere was politics, government, work, war, trade
and business. The role of the woman was as wife and mother and in running the home. It was felt that
getting involved in politics was not right for women. For one reason, it would put too much strain on
them! Second, men saw politics as a hard and dirty business, and they genuinely wanted to keep
women out of this arena.
It is important to remember that many women felt this way. Opponents claimed that the majority of
women were opposed to women's suffrage, though it is virtually impossible to know whether this was
true. There certainly were many female opponents of women's suffrage.
Some of the opposition to women's suffrage was political. The Liberal Party feared that giving votes to
women would be politically disastrous for them. Most of the women who would get the vote would be
from wealthier families. They were most likely to vote Conservative. Labour wanted completely equal
voting, rather than simply giving the vote to some better off ladies.
Another reason for opposition was that the issue was simply not seen as important. In the early 1900s
Britain was facing many challenges. Relations between trade unions and employers were very bad
and there were many bitter and violent strikes. There was conflict in Ireland that looked as though it
might turn into a civil war. The Liberal government was busy with welfare reforms to help the
unemployed, the old and children. Finally, the situation in Europe was very worrying, with the
possibility that Britain might end up at war with Germany. Compared to these issues, many people felt
that female suffrage was simply not an important issue.
Wider issues relating to women
It is important to remember that women were involved in many other issues apart from the vote. By
1900 women could vote in local council elections and serve as councillors. They often served on
School Boards, helping to run schools. Organisations like the Salvation Army did a lot of work with the
poor in Britain's cities. The Women's Temperance League campaigned to reduce or even ban the
drinking of alcohol. The Women's Labour League campaigned for better working conditions for
women and also better health care and sanitation.
Women were very active in areas other than politics. For many, this was enough and they had no
interest in the vote. However, many women felt that they should be involved in charitable and social
work and they should campaign for the vote. They felt that the work of the Salvation Army helped the
worst off people in society. They also felt that if they had the vote they could stop the worst off people
getting into hard times in the first place.
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Britain 1906-1918
Gallery 3 Background
Gallery three: The Big Question
THE BIG QUESTION IN THIS GALLERY IS:
THE BIG QUESTION IN THIS GALLERY IS:
IN THE
EARLY
1900S1900S
WHO WHO
WAS FOR
AND
AGAINST
IN THE
EARLY
WAS
FOR
AND AGAINST
WOMENS
SUFFRAGE
AND WHY?
WOMENS
SUFFRAGE
AND WHY?
Most people have heard of the Suffragettes. After that, their knowledge of the issue of women’s
suffrage is a bit hazy. It tends to be something like this: ‘The Suffragettes wanted the vote for women
and men wouldn’t give them the vote.’
This view is not actually wrong. However, it misses out huge chunks of the story. It is a rather
stereotypical view because it does not consider issues such as:







What were the main arguments for giving women the vote?
Were the Suffragettes the only group campaigning for women’s suffrage?
Did men campaign for women’s suffrage?
Did the supporters of women’s suffrage want the vote for?
What other issues concerned women in the early 1900s?
Why were some people so opposed to women’s suffrage?
Were the opponents of women’s suffrage all men?
In this Gallery, your task is to prepare a presentation that will give ordinary people a more
complete picture of women’s suffrage.
Stage 1 Research
You will need to use the Gallery background information, the sources and the recommended web
pages to research your presentation. Each case study contains information about at least 2 of the
issues and some contain information relevant to all 7. There is a table to help you research each
issue.
Stage 2 Presentation
Prepare a presentation on women’s suffrage using your research. You can present your views any
way you wish. You could use presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint. We have provided a
suggested structure for your presentation in the Big Question 3 Presentation Template. Remember
that you are trying to keep the presentation simple and clear. Try and stick to lists of bullet points, and
have your evidence on separate notes. You could do this by having a separate notepad to go with
your presentation or use the notes view facility in PowerPoint.
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