Women's Contribution to the War and Their Right to Vote
I agree partially that women's contribution to the war helped them
gain the vote for over 30s in 1918. But I don't agree that it was the
only reason that they got the vote, there were many different
arguments as to why they gained the franchise in 1918 but there are
three main ones and these are the arguments I will be discussing. I
believe that all three of these arguments aid in the progression of
granting women's Suffrage, but not one is responsible entirely.
When the First World War was declared, women decided to abandon their
Suffrage campaigning and join together with men to defend their
country. This can be analysed in two different ways. Either they
wanted to help defend their country from the Central Powers purely
through their strong nationalism, or they saw the opportunity to show
the government that they were able to handle the country while most
men were away fighting.
Women were still just as passionate about gaining the right to vote
during the First World War, but now they had seen a new way to go
about this campaign. In 1914, there were still jobs regarded as men's
jobs and those regarded as women's jobs. With many men away on
military duty, women had to step in and take over. A poster produced
by the government in 1916 (source F) shows that the government was
also keen for women to step into the men's jobs. Working as a
munitions worker would have definitely have been considered a man's
job but now the government needed the women to help. Many occupations
acted similarly to this for women between 1914 and 1918. For example
in 1914 only 2,000 women worked in government offices, by 1918 this
had risen to 225,000 (source G). There was also a women's army corps
set up.
There are many contradicting reasons to the giving of suffrage to some
women after the war. Some people believe it was due to the efforts and
is only a snapshot of one moment in history. It does not tell us about
Throughout the 1800s, women across the world began establishing organizations to demand women’s suffrage in their countries. Today, there are still women in countries fighting for their right to vote. Some countries who’ve succeeded in the mid to late 1800s were Sweden and New Zealand. Once they expanded women’s suffrage, many other countries followed. Like Sweden, countries first granted limited suffrage to women and other countries approved to the full national level. Additionally, there were quite a few countries who had taken over a century to give women the right to vote, Qatar being a prime example. Although the fight for women’s suffrage varied in the United States, France, and Cuba in terms of length and process, each effort ultimately
Kale Reed, In previous times, the equality between men and women was at a dramatic difference. It is frequently believed that women's suffrage was desired and fought for only in England and the United States during the 19th century. Though these movements changed in their reasons and tactics, the battle for female suffrage, along with other women's rights concerns, cut through many national boundaries. Women's rights and suffrage changed drastically from the 1890s until the time of Nixon's Administration. During this time, women were treated poorly, and they felt as if they weren't equal to other citizens of the world, especially men.
World War II opened a new chapter in the lives of Depression-weary Americans. The United States of America had an unusual importance in the war, it had been spared the physical destruction that had taken place throughout the world. Americans on the home front did not see the fighting and brutality as other countries experienced it. However, the events and changes on the home front due to the World War transformed America. One of the greatest conversions was that of the American woman. Women around the country were transformed from the average house wife into a person with a voice and most importantly a purpose.
The early rush of volunteers and later the conscription of men led to a shortage of manpower on the home front. Women, already working in munitions factories were encouraged to take on jobs normally done by men.
to vote the same way as their husbands did, or used to if they had
The War in Europe came to an end on the 8th of May 1945, after a
During the late 19th century, women were in a society where man was dominant. Women did not have natural born rights, such as the right to vote, to speak in public, access to equal education, and so forth, did not stop them to fight for their rights. Women's lives soon changed when Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony played a prominent role to help bring about change.
"Leeds Express: 4 March 1868 I wonder, Mr Editor, Why I can't have the vote; And I will not be contented Till I've found the reason out I am a working woman, My voting half is dead, I hold a house, and want to know Why I can't vote instead I pay my rates in person, Under protest tho, it's true; But I pay them, and I'm qualified To vote as well as you. " Sarah Ann Jackson The purpose of this investigation is to analyse the issues surrounding the eventual enfranchisement of women in 1918, to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the militant Suffragette campaign in the early years of the twentieth century and to decide whether the outbreak of war was instrumental in achieving enfranchisement, or merely a fortunate coincidence. The poem written by Sarah Ann Jackson underlines the fact that many middle class women had, throughout the reign of Queen Victoria, taken issue with men's dominance over their lives and had worked hard throughout these years to draw attention to women's right to equality. For these women, enfranchisement was not their sole aim.
During the reconstruction of the South many people had opposing views on black rights. The south predominantly thought blacks were inferior, but the North was more accepting of black rights. After years of fighting between confederates and abolitionists black rights were finally put into place. Black rights caused disunity between the people just as Women's Suffrage in the 20’s did. Just as black rights were sanctioned with time, Women's suffrage should also have been acknowledged. Throughout the 20’s many woman tried to obtain popularity in women's suffrage by holding meetings. The Seneca Falls Convention, organized by Elizabeth Staton, was a convention held by women's rights activists. These meetings addressed many issues that affected women's rights. These meeting were held to start giving notoriety to the issues pertaining to woman. Women's rights in the 20th century was an extremely controversial topic. Although women had been seen as inferior for many years, looking at the documents it’s unequivocal that woman should have been given the same domestic, political and social rights as men.
Women's Suffrage and World War I In my opinion British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918 without the First World War. In my research to substantiate my view, I obtained my information from my history book and the Internet I will state the source of my information and explain how the information links to the causes and effects that enabled women to get the vote. During the war, women were given responsibility and knowledge to carry out skilled work.
After reading Francis Parkman's article, "Women Are Unfit to Vote", I found myself both offended and annoyed. His arguments were not only shaky, but they were also illogical. He states that the family has been the political unit; consequently, the head of the family should be the political representative. He goes on by stating that women have shared imperfectly in the traditions and not in the practice of self-government. Lastly, he suggests women might vote that men should go off and fight in war. Not only are these statements wrong, but they are very much so offensive. Women are humans, too, and they should be treated how a man is treated. We are, after all, of an equal race, so why do we women not get the right to vote? In my opinion,this question cannot be answered logically. Many reasons can contradict Parkman's statements included in his article, and I plan to do so.
The time before the Revolutionary War women’s main role was in the home. They were the manufactures of the home, taking raw materials and turning them into household goods. The women were the consumers and before the Revolution they led the boycotts against British goods. During the Revolutionary War they became the men at home on top of the roles they already had. They became spies, nurses, propagandists, and even took over on the battlefield. After the Revolutionary War the push to go back to normalcy again put women back to where they were before the war as the household manufacturer. Inclusion during this time meant being allowed by society an independent and self-sustaining person. Inclusion also means being able to express an opinion and have that opinion be heard. Through the transition
Women's suffrage refers to the right of women to participate in democratic processes through voting on the same basis as men. In the medieval and early modern periods in Europe, the right to vote was typically severely limited for all people by factors such as age, ownership of property, and gender. The development of the modern democratic state has been characterized internationally by the erosion of these various limitations following periods of collective struggle. Women's suffrage has been achieved as part of this process of modernization at different times in different national contexts, although very few nations granted women the right to vote in elections before the twentieth century (Freedman, pp. 63).
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.