The First World War and Women's Suffrage in Britain Essay

The suffrage movement roots go back to the anti-slavery movement before the eruption of the Civil War (19). American women recruited their efforts through political activism to bring slavery to an end. Consequently, joining the antislavery movements was used as a platform where the feminists articulated their claims about women’s rights. Moreover, they gave them the needed experience and self-confidence to launch their own movement. By the end of the Civil War, feminists realized that they need an independent political groundwork to base their movement on since America was going through radical social changes after the end of slavery (19).

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many European women were still struggling for basic rights such as choosing who they married, obtaining full citizenship and having the right to vote. Because so many women were fighting for the same thing, many formed groups or alliances that were designed to fight against the male-driven political parties that wanted to deny them their rights. As the “woman question” became a bigger deal in politics and society, people began to form stronger opinions about whether or not they thought women should be allowed to vote. The eighteenth century in Europe began a revolution on the topic of women’s suffrage. An overwhelming amount of feminist groups argued for women’s suffrage and fought against

The battle for suffrage was a long and slow process. Many women tried to initiate the fight for suffrage, like Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. “These were the New Suffragists: women who were better educated, more career-oriented, younger, less apt to be married and more cosmopolitan than their previous generation.” (pg 17) Eventually, in 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified; allowing women to vote, but it was not any one person or event that achieved this great feat. It was the confluence of certain necessary factors, the picketing and parades led by Alice Paul, militaristic suffrage parties and the influence of the media that caused the suffrage amendment to be passed and ratified in 1920. But most importantly, they successfully moved both

In 1869, The National Women's Suffrage Association was started by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Suffrage became the main goal of the movement. "Leaders of the movement believed that if women had the vote, they could use it to gain other rights" ("Women's Rights and Citizenship Throughout US History"). In order for improvement to occur in regards to women's rights, something had to be done that others will remember. Elizabeth knew nothing would change without a powerful voice stating this information. Both Elizabeth and Anthony contributed "50 years to the woman’s suffrage movement" (“Woman Suffrage: History and Time Line”).

In the cartoon, it states “20,000,000 American Women Are Not Self-Governed” (Doc 7). This cartoon establishes the idea of women not taking part in the process of developing their own government. This is a necessary part to uphold as the equality of women leads to the right to vote, a key point in basic American rights. Two major women that fronted women's suffrage movement were Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Lucretia Mott initially started this movement with Elizabeth Stanton, in Seneca Falls, NY. In the letter to Elizabeth Stanton from Susan B. Anthony, she asks the question, “If only now--all the women suffrage women would work to this end of enforcing the existing constitution--supremacy of national law over state law over state law” (Doc 2). The idea of women's suffrage is not a simple task, as enforcing this law is a difficult task to continually maintain within both the national and state

The Importance of the First World War in Achieving Votes for Women in 1918 The First World War had a serious effect on womens suffrage. Just as Britain was going to war against Germany in August 1914, the WSPU declared peace with the Liberals. So in theory the war of the sexes was swamped by the World War. However, it has been argued that the greatest effect of the war on women's suffrage was that women were given the vote towards the end of it.

make 120s, or 60 pence, a day. It was reasons such as this that women

The women’s suffrage movement is thought to have begun with the publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft in 1792. Wollstonecraft is considered the “mother of feminism” and wrote of the sexual double standards between men and

Women's Suffrage During World War One World War 1 in 1914 brought all the campaigning for women's suffrage to a standstill. The campaigners believed that serving their country was of mroe importance than coercively trying to win the vote for women, and pursuading the Government. Mrs Fawcett, the representative of the N.U.W.S.S, said this,'Women, your country needs you. Let's show ourselves worthy of citizenship, whether our claim is to be recognised or not'.

In 1776, Abigail Adams writes to her husband, John Adams, asking him to “remember the ladies” in the new code of laws. Adams replies, “The men will fight the despotism of the petticoat.” Through feminist movements and new laws being passed, women gained the right to vote. The women’s suffrage movement began in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention.

Campaigns for Women Suffrage and their Effectiveness Throughout the nineteenth century, the suffragists and the suffragettes worked hard campaigning for women suffrage. Finally, in 1918, the vote was given to women, but only women over thirty. But suffrage campaigns, although important, were not the only reason that the franchise was granted. Some other reasons include, a fear of the return of suffragette activity, the government following an international trend, the government making changes to the voting system anyway, and the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, being more sympathetic to the cause that the previous Prime Minister was.

Social change in Britain has been achieved primarily through the hard work of organized political groups. These groups created events to recruit and educate supporters of social equality to join them in fighting for progress. The Women’s Suffrage Movement between 1866 and 1928 in Britain is no exception to this trend. The reason for the great efficacy of these political groups, including the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies and the Women’s Social and Political Union, was the women who pioneered the groups and fought alongside them to create the change that they believed in. The goal of these political groups was finally realized in 1928 with the passing of the Representation of the People Act. However, the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain would not have been successful without the influential actions of several significant women. In addition to the overall necessity of female leadership for British Women’s Suffrage, the central efforts of Millicent Fawcett, Lydia Becker, and Emmeline Pankhurst particularly played a large role in the movement’s success.

factor in the granting of the vote to women at the end of the war.

Women’s rights is apparent in the fight for suffrage in the late 1800’s-early 1900’s . It can

In the United Kingdom, the women’s rights movement was considered a national movement around the 1880s. In their early days, the Women's Suffrage Society was able to encourage and secure the passing of the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 which allowed “married women absolute control over their property and earnings”. It provided the means for women to be considered legally “separate”, whereas before the bill was passed, a woman lost her legal identity and “became one” with her husband at the point she married him. The passing of the act by the UK parliament fueled hopes that a women's suffrage bill would be a reality soon, however, no bills could pass even the House of Commons for them to be ever signed in to law. In 1903, frustrated and