The Pros And Cons Of The Suffragettes

Source E

Source E is a secondary written source as it is a transcript of an interview published in the BBC History magazine of February 2015. The interview concerns the Suffragettes helping get women the right to vote. Anita states that the government was not interested in giving women the right to vote. Anita commends the ‘very brave women’ indicating how hard the Suffragettes worked.

Anita Anand has a lot of knowledge of the suffragettes as she has authored a book on the subject. It is an interview in the BBC History magazine so it is a very reliable source. It discusses a real person ‘Sophia’ so is an actual historical account that Anand has researched.

However, the source has several limitations. Mainly it is limited as it is Anand’s

The source is a cartoon in a daily Newspaper, to is also intended to be humorous, not serious historical evidence thus not providing a factual account. This means it is very limited.

Source J

This source is a postcard published by the Artist’s Suffrage League; it displays an educated woman and a man who is a prisoner. The caption is ‘companions in disgrace’, followed by a poem how both women and convicts are not allowed to vote although convicts can vote when they are freed.

This source is useful because it provides a different perspective of the Suffragettes. The analogy makes it clear why women deserve the right to vote. The author of the source is unknown; it was a postcard that was posted to people around 1910-1912 (no specific date given).

The poster is limited, as it does not provide detail on the Suffragettes activities. It also does not inform us what crime the prisoner has committed, so it is unfair to say he does not deserve to

It informs us that the Suffragettes wanted a lot of media attention. They believed there is no such thing as bad publicity and look to gain attention by any means necessary.

This is a useful source as it provides details on the Suffragettes from a relevant person, Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the Suffragette movement. It also informs us why the Suffragettes were violent and outspoken.

The content is limited as it only a small extract out of a book, so it does not provide the full story. Also, Pankhurst does not address the criticism or the failures of the Suffragettes.

As the source is autobiography of the leader of the Suffragettes it is only going to tell her point of view, so it is heavily biased in favour of the Suffragettes and is unlikely to be accurate. Also, as it is a book intended for entertainment, its use as historical evidence is further limited.