Bussiness Not Pleasure
In 1918 women over 30 got the vote. There were a number of reasons why this happened and people disagree about what the most important reason was.
The first reason is the war effort the suffragettes put into the war. On 14th August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. After that the NUWSS (national union of suffrage societies) decided that all political activity would be suspended until the war was over. Some leaders of the women’s social and political union such as Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter, Christabel Pankhurst, played a big role on recruiting young men into the army. When men left their jobs to go to fight overseas, they were replaced by women, women such as Octavia Wilberforce and Louisa Martindale from Brighton worked as doctors treating injured British soldiers. Many jobs that men did were overtaken by women jobs like tram driver, doctor, factory worker, navy and so on. This gives the government a good reason to give the women the right to vote. The historian Alasdair Gray has the view that the War was the most important influence in women gaining the vote, “No one will ever know if the suffragettes or suffragists had the better tactics for winning the vote. For by August 1914 Britain was at war . . . . Millions women became a key part of the war effort making shells, bombs, guns and uniforms. In January 1918, women were rewarded when the wartime government passed the Representation of the people Act giving a vote to all women over 30 years of age.”
Some people might disagree with this because they think it’s too immature and simplistic, ignoring the 1914 changes of attitude towards the women firstly after the war who had done men’s jobs were then dismissed from their jobs, it seemed as if the women’s place in the house was still as strong as ever.
Secondly women who worked a lot of hours in the munitions factories were mostly in their late teens and early 20s. The respectable women in their 30s that were given the vote either owned a
The first reason is the war effort the suffragettes put into the war. On 14th August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. After that the NUWSS (national union of suffrage societies) decided that all political activity would be suspended until the war was over. Some leaders of the women’s social and political union such as Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter, Christabel Pankhurst, played a big role on recruiting young men into the army. When men left their jobs to go to fight overseas, they were replaced by women, women such as Octavia Wilberforce and Louisa Martindale from Brighton worked as doctors treating injured British soldiers. Many jobs that men did were overtaken by women jobs like tram driver, doctor, factory worker, navy and so on. This gives the government a good reason to give the women the right to vote. The historian Alasdair Gray has the view that the War was the most important influence in women gaining the vote, “No one will ever know if the suffragettes or suffragists had the better tactics for winning the vote. For by August 1914 Britain was at war . . . . Millions women became a key part of the war effort making shells, bombs, guns and uniforms. In January 1918, women were rewarded when the wartime government passed the Representation of the people Act giving a vote to all women over 30 years of age.”
Some people might disagree with this because they think it’s too immature and simplistic, ignoring the 1914 changes of attitude towards the women firstly after the war who had done men’s jobs were then dismissed from their jobs, it seemed as if the women’s place in the house was still as strong as ever.
Secondly women who worked a lot of hours in the munitions factories were mostly in their late teens and early 20s. The respectable women in their 30s that were given the vote either owned a