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NUWSS

Decent Essays

In this source, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), or suffragists, appeal for women to be given the vote. From this source, some of the aims of the NUWSS and their methods for gathering support are evident, and something can be inferred of the type of opposition being faced by the suffragists in their fight for suffrage.
The main request of this source, and of the NUWSS, was for votes to be given to women. The way that the NUWSS made their appeal in this source gives an idea of the opposition being faced. Their desire for voting rights here is encompassed in the language of the private sphere. Often, anti-suffrage arguments centred around fears that women's involvement in politics would lead to the neglect of their female …show more content…

The NUWSS had wide-ranging support, from both men and women from working and middle-class backgrounds. The approaches of different regional branches of the NUWSS varied, from passive to fairly militant, and the lack of specific location attached to the source also suggests that this could have been publicised cross-country. By softening their approach with the language of motherhood, the NUWSS could increase their audience and avoid alienation of their diverse audience, appealing to both moderates and those who were more radical. The form of the source may lend some support to this, as leaflets could achieve large circulation and reach a large audience. It is clear that the suffragists sought to create some form of cohesion and unity in their organisation, perhaps seen in this source by the “us versus them” mentality. The suffragists frequently address the reader as "you" and refer to "we", uniting the reader with the movement and pulling the entire suffrage movement into a single group. Though this level of unity was not actually a reality, with multiple suffrage organisations existing such as WSPU and Women's Freedom League, their presentation of the movement as such suggests a desire, and perhaps a need in the face of opposition, to appear

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