Essay on Women's Voting Rights

During the nineteenth century, women were not equal to men in a social or political setting. Women were viewed as being in charge of the home and the children whereas men were responsible for work and politics. Women were viewed as too 'delicate' to vote, however many changes developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to change this. The main reason women were granted the vote in 1918 was arguably due to the part they played during World War One. This helped women get the vote because it showed MP's they were willing to do their part to help Britain and therefore capable of voting. Other factors also contributed to the granting of universal suffrage including the work of the suffragist and suffragette groups, the influence of other countries making changes, and new responsibilities for women.

The most important reason women were enfranchised was due to their war work. Women's war work was important to Britain's ability to fight and win and women stepped into the gaps when around three million men went to fight. Women worked in a variety of jobs e.g. as conductors on trams, typists, and secretaries, and 20,000 women worked in government departments. This helped women get the vote as it proved to the public and politicians they were capable of taking on a working role as well as running a household. Women also worked in munitions factories. Over 810,000 women worked in munitions, 30,000 in Scotland alone. Explosions were commonplace and TNT poisoning caused women to be nicknamed 'canaries.' It is believed around 400 women died from TNT poisoning during WWI. This also helped women gain the vote because it showed MPs that they were willing to do dangerous jobs to help defend the country and politicians saw this as women taking a positive role in society.  The work of women was an important step in changing the opinion of MP's towards women as they put up billboards all over the country with 'The Nation thanks to the women.' However, The war was merely a 'catalyst' that served to change the views of politicians who still opposed women's suffrage e.g. it would be easier for MPs to give the vote to 'heroines' in 1918 than 'terrorist Suffragettes' in 1914. Therefore upon evaluation, it can be argued that war work was a very important factor in helping women gain the vote in 1918 because this patriotic attitude of the women impressed the public, politicians, and the press who were now praised for their patriotic efforts. However, it can also be argued that the campaigns of the suffragettes were also important in helping universal suffrage because their protests drew attention to the cause.

The suffragette campaigns were a contributing factor in the vote being granted to women in 1918. Some of the methods they used to raise awareness included smashing windows, pouring acid in letterboxes, arson attacks, and sending letter bombs to MP's. This helped women get the vote in 1918 because the Suffragettes succeeded in their aim of publicity; they regularly made national headlines and were discussed often in parliament. In 1909, Suffragette Marion Dunlop started a hunger strike campaign in prison designed to embarrass the government. Hunger strikers were violently force-fed by doctors, it gained massive publicity for the cause of women's suffrage. This also helped women win the vote as suffragettes went to great lengths to gain support and admiration from some people across the country who believed the government should give women the vote to end the disruptive militant campaign. Nevertheless, Historians argue that the Suffragettes also undid some of the progress that the Suffragists made between 1897 and 1903 and caused votes for women to regress due to their bad behavior. Therefore, upon evaluation, it can be argued that the suffragette campaigns were a factor of moderate importance in gaining the vote for women because they forced the government to take action, for example, the Cat and Mouse Act was passed in 1913 to let hunger-striking women out of jail temporarily until their health recovered. However, the campaigns of the suffragists, which came first, also won the support of the public and some MPs for the vote.

The suffragists, or NUWSS, also campaigned to grant women the vote, and their work before World War One also contributed to success in 1918. The suffragists believed in moderate, peaceful tactics or 'peaceful persuasion to win the vote for middle-class women. They campaigned using meetings, pamphlets, petitions, and parliamentary private members bills to give women the vote, which was introduced by sympathetic backbench MPs. This helped women get the vote in 1918 because they impressed many people, male and female, including politicians, and showed that they were intelligent, well organized and mature, and capable of organizing a successful nationwide campaign. However, many historians have claimed that the suffragist campaign was tedious and slow-moving and was too easily ignored by anti-suffrage politicians like Prime Minister Asquith and the suffragists were never able to achieve the publicity and impact of the Suffragettes. Therefore, upon evaluation, it can be argued the suffragist campaigns were also of moderate importance in helping women get the vote because membership was around 53,000 by 1914 and they reached agreements of mutual support with some male Trade Unions and the new Labour Party which showed their appeal to some MP's. However, the impact of other countries had a somewhat effect on women being enfranchised.

The foreign influence of democracy also impacted the government's decision to grant women the vote in 1918. Britain's empire included around ¼  of the world – with colonies such as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. However, more democratic nations around the world had granted women's suffrage much earlier e.g. New Zealand in 1893, Finland in 1906, and Norway in 1907, which had been very successful. This helped women get the vote in 1918 because the fact that women had been enfranchised abroad, particularly in colonies like New Zealand, may have added pressure on politicians. However,  it was likely that between 1914-18 British politicians were far more concerned with the war effort on the Western Front. Therefore, upon evaluation, it can be said foreign influence was a factor of low importance in helping women gain the vote in 1918 because there exists no evidence to say that foreign influence played any part in the government's decision to extend the franchise in 1918 and no evidence to say it was even discussed by MPs in parliament. It can be argued that war work was a more important factor because it can be said women were given a reward of universal suffrage for helping in the war effort, as Arthur Marwick suggests.

In conclusion, there were many important factors, which contributed to women being granted the vote in 1918. On the other hand, the campaigns of the suffragettes drew a great deal of public awareness to the camping and called the public to feel sympathetic towards women going to extreme lengths to gain the vote. The suffragist campaigns also contributed to success in 1918 because they gained the support of many MP before the war. On the other hand, foreign influence could also be argued as a factor because other countries such as New Zealand granted universal suffrage with great success and Britain did not want to fall behind democratically with other countries in the empire. Arguably, the most important factor was women's war work because women proved themselves to be responsible and capable of doing the jobs of men. Furthermore, the patriotic attitude of the women impressed the public, politicians, and the press who were now praised for their patriotic efforts.