VOTES FOR WOMEN

Contents Overview

Topics include democracy in Britain, women's rights to vote, and important laws that changed voting.

Key Laws

  • Secret Ballot Act (1872):
    Made voting private to stop people from being scared to vote.

  • Conciliation Bill (1911):
    This was the first attempt to give women the vote, but it didn't pass.

  • Cat and Mouse Act (1913):
    Allowed women fighting for the vote to be let out of prison temporarily if they were on hunger strike.

  • Representation of the People Act (1918):
    Gave the vote to all men 21 and older and women 30 and older with property.

  • Qualification of Women Act (1918):
    Allowed women to be Members of Parliament (MPs).

  • Equal Franchise Act (1928):
    Made voting rights equal for women and men over 21, no matter if they owned property or not.

Historical Background

  • Democracy in Early 19th Century Britain:
    In the early 1800s, around 95% of people couldn't vote; voting was only for property owners.

  • Great Reform Act (1832):
    This law let more men vote but still only if they owned property; it didn’t include women.

The Chartist Movement

  • Chartists Overview:
    This was a group of workers pushing for voting rights; they wrote down their requests in the People’s Charter.

  • Key Requests:

    • Everyone should be able to vote

    • Private voting

    • Elections every year

    • Fair voting areas

    • Paying MPs

  • Division of Chartism:
    Some wanted change peacefully (Moral Force) while others believed in using violence (Physical Force).

  • Impact:
    They helped more people become interested in politics, and their demands led to some reforms.

Changing Roles of Women in the 19th Century

  • Victorian Views:
    Women were seen mostly as homemakers and their main role was at home.

  • Education:
    Focused on training girls for marriage rather than encouraging them to study.

  • Industrial Revolution:
    More women started working in factories, which changed how people viewed women’s roles.

  • Legal Changes:
    Slowly, women gained some rights, like limited divorce and ownership rights.

Women’s Fight for the Vote

  • Suffragists vs. Suffragettes:
    They both wanted women to vote but used different methods; suffragettes were more aggressive.

  • Post-War Changes:
    The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) stopped after 1918, but new groups continued to support women’s rights.

Conclusion

  • Big Achievements:
    In 1928, women finally got equal voting rights, marking a big step towards gender equality, although challenges still existed.

  • Democracy in Early 19th Century Britain:
    During the early 1800s, only about 5% of people could vote; only property owners had this right. Most people, including women and many men without land, were left out of the voting process.
  • Great Reform Act (1832):
    This law allowed more men to vote, but it still only included those who owned property. Women did not get the right to vote at all, so many people felt that these changes weren’t enough for real democracy during the 1900s.
  • Social Inequalities:
    There were huge differences between social classes. The lower classes had very little political power and felt that just being able to vote wasn’t enough. They believed a true democracy needed to give rights to more people, not just a few fortunate ones.