Women Over 30 gained the vote in 1918 mainly because of women’s
contribution to the war effort. Do you agree? Explain Your Answer.
The campaign for women’s suffrage had been going for almost 50 years
before any women in Britain were given the right to vote. In 1918
women over the age of 30 were allowed to vote for the first time. This
was after four years of a war in which women had played a much larger
role than ever before. The war was obviously a factor in women getting
the vote but how and to what extent?
When the war began Emmeline Pankhurst told the Suffragettes to support
the war effort. This led to a postponement of the violence and members
of the WSPU took to encouraging young men to join the army. Some
members of the suffragettes disagreed and thought they should not
support a government that did not support women’s voting rights. These
included Sylvia Pankhurst, Emmeline Pankhurst’s daughter. Most
Suffragettes supported the war effort though, and this was picked upon
by the press and gained them sympathy as they backed the very
government they had recently been attacking.
The Suffragists also supported the war, although as an organisation
they did not actively encourage men to fight. They had built up
considerable support by 1914 and by then it had become apparent that
any new reform bill to do with voting would have to include women as
well as men. In fact, they had built up so much support that some
people believe the war actually delayed the inevitable and that women
would have achieved suffrage earlier if the war had not distracted
attention away from them.
Many women wanted the “Right to serve”. This did not...
... middle of paper ...
...es without making any
major changes, since the women who could now vote would be likely just
to vote the same way as their husbands did, or used to if they had
died. This meant that the campaigns could be stopped while they tried
to restructure the country and they would not get in the way. By
claiming that it was the war that gained women the vote and not the
militancy of the Suffragettes they did not encourage others to use the
same techniques and also made the women who had actually made a strong
contribution to the war effort think that they had gained a reward.
Without the war women would probably have gained the vote at around
the same time due to the efforts of campaigners but if the campaigns
had stopped at the time they did and there was war then suffrage may
never have been attained for women in Britain.
Later, in World War II, there was another change in women’s rights. During World War I, women were unable to join the military; they were only able to help out as nurses and support staff; however, during World War II, women were able to join the military but were unable to fight in combat missions. In summary, as you can clearly see women’s rights experienced extreme levels of change during the 20th
After this Act, many women felt that if the majority of men, regardless of class, were able to vote, why should women not be able to vote as well? Later, in 1870, the first part of the Married Women’s Property Act was passed. Until this act was passed, when a woman married, any property she owned was legally transferred to her husband. Divorce laws heavily favored men, and a divorced wife could expect to lose any property she possessed before she married. The implications of these two Acts combined, was enough to start women questioning the reasons for them not being able to vote, it started the campaign of votes for women.
Most of their work became invisible and the women were referred to as amateurs. Many historians consider this time after the war as gender amnesia because everyone after the war forgot all the women did. Women were credited for their contributions. This amnesia caused the women to lose the little inclusion that they had and not many fought this because of the urge to go back to normalcy (Berkin). If the need to become a strong and steady nation had not meant a push back to normalcy, the women may not have been set back as much in terms of inclusion.
All adult women finally got the vote with the Nineteenth Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, in 1920.
White males over the age of 21 were the first to be able to participate in American democracy. Besides some taxpaying or property owning laws, the majority of all working class white males were eligible to vote by 1850. During this time, the nation was on the brink of a civil war. One of the underlying issues of the Civil War was slavery. Blacks were beginning to cry for equality, and their right to vote was not far off. The 15th amendment was quick to follow the Civil War, making it illegal to deny the right to vote to anyone on account of their race. Blacks did not actually gain the right to vote in all states until The Voting Rights Act in the 1960s.
“At the war’s end, even though a majority of women surveyed reported wanted to keep their jobs, many were forced out by men returning home and by the downturn in demand for war materials… The nation that needed their help in
When the war started, women had to take over the jobs of men and they learned to be independent. These women exemplified the beginning of change. Coupled with enfranchisement and the increased popularity of birth control, women experienced a new liberation. When the men returned from the war they found competition from the newly liberated woman who did not want to settle for making a home (Melman 17). This new class of women exercised a freedom that shocked society.
been able to vote at the legal age men were. At least they had drawn
factor in the granting of the vote to women at the end of the war."
WWI and Women's Right to Vote in 1918 The Campaign for women’s right to vote started in the 1860’s with mainly middle class women and some men. At first the campaigning was peaceful and respectable and the lobbying was conducted discretely, without causing hindrance to anyone. It commenced in large cities such as London and Manchester however soon more people joined and the campaign spread across England. The women were known as suffragists (NUWSS) and were an amalgamation of many suffragists’ societies but after four decades of campaigning some women felt they had made no progress and decided to take violent action. These were known as suffragettes (WSPU) and started in 1903.
the Nineteenth Amendment were signed into the Constitution, there granting women the rights to vote.
the laws and male African Americans at a certain age, were now given the ballot.
...n years later, the 19th Amendment (also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment) allowed the right to vote to all United States women over the age of 21 (SBA House).
However, when the war was over, and the men returned to their lives, society reverted back to as it had been not before the 1940s, but well before the 1900s. Women were expected to do nothing but please their husband. Women were not meant to have jobs or worry about anything that was occurring outside of their own household.... ... middle of paper ...
Then women were not allowed to vote and now women can. So we now have a whole new population of voters. You have to be 18 and not have any felonies to vote now. You can’t vote now unless you are not registered. Voting then was not private. It was noisy and chaotic. You could talk about whatever you wanted and convince people to vote for someone. Voting is a now a secret and private responsibility. Voting takes place in quiet locations, and people aren't allowed to try to convince you to vote for one candidate or another in the polling place. The candidates are not at the polling place with you. The 15th Amendment eliminated race as a qualification for voting in 1870, after the Civil War. Women received the right to vote by passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.The minimum age requirement was changed from 21 to 18 years of age in 1971 by the 26th Amendment. Today, through Constitutional Amendments, voting restrictions concerning gender, race, religious affiliation, and wealth have all been eliminated. The minimum age to vote is now 18. All voters must be citizens of the United