The Effects of World War One on British Women

This maybe suggesting that if the war hadn’t taken place then Asquith would not have changed his view on the situation, otherwise the suffragettes would have continued acting violently. There were also many other reasons why women had achieved the vote in 1918. The fact that the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, was in favour of the female suffrage would have swayed many people’s mind. If the Prime Minister was supporting women, then they had a very important name persuading others to follow in his direction. In conclusion I would have to disagree with the statement in the question, because women have obviously tried in a variety of ways to make sure they could get the vote.

The Effect of the First World War on Women's Rights By 1918, when the war had ended, there had been a change of attitude towards women and the right to vote. The Representation of the People Act gave the vote to some women and before the war all attempts by the women's movement to get the vote passed through Parliament had failed. Therefore, the work done by women in the war (1914-1918) proved to be very important in bringing about the change of attitudes towards women and allowing some to vote. The work done by women in the war was a short-term reason. Attitudes towards women and giving them the vote had been changing for a long time before this.

Politics was an additional area where women were uninvolved. Political parties (except Labour) argued mainly against women’s suffrage. Certain individuals claimed that involving women in the world of politics would be wrong due to biological reasons. Movement groups who included women’s suffrage as part of their aims included National Union of Woman’s Suffrage Society (NUWSS) and the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Each of these movements employed very different tactics from each other in the hope that their message would be conveyed effectively and action would be taken by the public and the government.

Beginning in the early 1900's, though, women began to want changes in society. They wanted to have a say in the decisions that were made, especially in the area of politics. They did not believe that men should be the only people allowed to vote, when they, too, were active members of society. Women's suffrage changed the face of the earth in many ways. It was the most important movement in showing the equality of men and women, and while to this day, there still may be some people that believe that women are inferior to men, the majority of people see that women are truly capable of doing anything that men can do.

Other factors were far more important, such as the suffrage movement and other reasons. Thus the war was a catalyst in which eventually the government was forced to give women the vote. The suffrage movement was far more superior in gaining the vote for women because it led the way for the emancipation. In the 1900's the philosophy of separate spheres was so strong it dictated how women were treated. Women were seen as the underlings, the inferior sex in society.

During these time markers women had been treated poorly, they felt as if they weren’t equal to the other citizens of the world, especially the men. There are countless activities involving women, but the most spoke about topics is, women’s rights, their suffrage, and the roles they played. In the 19th century women began to take action to change their rights and way of life. Women in most states were incapable to control their own wages, legally operate their own property, or sign legal documents such as wills. Although demoted towards their own private domain and quite powerless, some women took edge and became involved in parts of reform such as temperance and abolition.

These constraints in society kept women far away from the public sphere and working jobs. This was a long term cause in why women didn’t get the vote, it was important because when women tried to gain the vote it was seen as shocking and the government wasn’t prepared to give women the vote immediately because it was such a revelation in society, this was a huge barrier for women trying to gain suffrage to pass. Throughout the demonstrations there was fierce government opposition. An important factor was that government was preoccupied with other issues. For example although Irish Nationalist party MPs were supportive of suffrage they voted against the bill because they thought it would take attention away from Ireland.

This left many women angry and in 1903 the Women's Social and Political Union was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. They wanted women to have the right to vote and they were not prepared to wait. The Union became better known as the Suffragettes. Membe... ... middle of paper ... ...t this time there were 460,000 women in the military and over 6.5 million in civilian war work. Without their contribution, our war effort would have been severely weakened and it is probable that we would not have been able to fight to our greatest might without the input from women.

Women's Legal and Political Rights Until the end of 18th century there was a large opposition to women's legal and political rights, though some improvements were made, the issue of giving women the vote was still highly opposed. Feminism is linked to the women's movement and is commonly connected with two basic beliefs, that women are disadvantaged because of their sex, and that this disadvantage should be overthrown. Since the nineteenth century women's movement gained a central focus of the campaign for female suffrage and the right to vote. It was Mary Wollstonecraft and Lucretia Mott, who can be considered as the most famous pioneer of women’s rights and feminism movement. They made a great impact and influenced nowadays world.

The Effect of World War I on British Women's Rights In the following essay I intend to give my opinion as to whether I agree or disagree with the statement, “Without the First World War British women would not have gained the vote in 1918”. I shall explain my opinion using the provided sources and my own knowledge on this issue. I only agree with this interpretation to a certain extent. However, World War One being the only reason for women getting the vote in 1918 is still a highly debateable and a very controversial issue. World War one was merely one of a few contributory factors to women getting the vote.