Why Women Failed to Get the Vote Before 1914

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Why Women Failed to Get the Vote Before 1914 In this question I am going to highlight all the key points and sources of women failing to gain the vote before 1914. Votes for women were always a relatively low priority. Parliaments before the Great-war were composed entirely of men and concentrated more on the Irish home rule, serious industrial issues and threats from Germany. As the outbreak of war begun in 1914, women dropped their fight for the vote and concentrated more on the war cause. In 1908 the liberal Prime Minister Asquith, was less sympathetic towards women than Henry Campbell-Bannerman the former prime minister. Liberal leaders were scared that if women gained the vote then they would vote for the conservatives despite liberal M.P.’S being in favour of women’s votes. Many governments were happy for the women to have the vote but they made sure that parliament failed the bills. Women formed two groups the suffragists and the suffragettes. The suffragists were more moderate as they protested and argued with the M.P.’S for the vote, however the suffragettes took a more violent approach as they went round smashing windows and chaining themselves up to things to get the attention for the vote. The actions of some of the suffragettes antagonised the public opinion, suffragettes were seen by many sections of society as trouble-causes who were trying to look good. Women felt and remained powerless at that time as they had the pressures of looking after large families, most women saw politics as a man’s preserve. As not all men were allowed to vote many believed that not all women should be allowed to vote. This was unacceptable to people in the ruling classes as they didn’t believe men of the lower order should be voting. Others believed that some men would get more than one vote as they could influence their female partners to vote the same as them. When most women got married they had to give up their jobs to stay at home to look after their husband, kids and the

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