Womens Contribution to War Effor Gained Voting Rights free essay sample

The main idea is that they proved their worth by contributing relentlessly through work during the First World War when the men were away fighting. Others believe it was the work of Suffragists and Suffragettes which helped the cause. However, the work done by women during the First World War is believed to be what caught the most attention and proved that they were just as reliable as men. Women became actively involved in a wide variety of day-to-day jobs which only men had worked before. They took over jobs such as nursing, munitions, industry, fire-fighting, drivers, and farming in the Women’s Land Army. Many people within the country were impressed and took on more positive attitudes towards those who worked women were seen to be more trustworthy and mature, politicians saw them in a new light and had the view that they should be â€Å"rewarded† due to â€Å"proving their worth† to the nation. We will write a custom essay sample on Womens Contribution to War Effor Gained Voting Rights or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Historian Martin Pugh said â€Å"Male prejudice against women melted in the face of revelations about their capabilities during wartime and their contribution to the war effort†. These acts of help to the country proved that there was more to women than believed up until this point in time. Before 1850, women had little-to-no control over any of their own affairs. It was accepted that men were the bosses of everything they were the ones who worked in the marriage while women stayed at home, and they got all possessions, including custody of children, if there so happened to be a divorce. Angela Holdsworth, a feminist, said of women â€Å"All they could hope for was a marriage to a good man and a lifetime of keeping his house and rearing his children†. On political matters, it was believed that women were too stupid to fully understand any matters of that sort. MP William Randall Cremer said â€Å"Women are creatures of impulse and emotion and did not decide questions on the grounds of reason as men did†. Early feminist groups began to arise and campaigned for women’s rights more than just voting by holding regular meetings and produced their own newspapers and pamphlets. Their work resulted in a few acts which improved conditions for women. One result was the two Matrimonial Causes Acts; one in 1857, which gave mothers increased access to their children after divorce and also allowed them to keep their own post-divorce earnings and property from the marriage, and another in 1873, which continued the unequal treatment of women over grounds for divorce. Husbands could still sue for divorce if the wife was suspected of adultery, whereas the woman had to prove cruelty by the husband and adultery as grounds for divorce. There were also the two Married Women’s Property Acts; one in 1870 which allowed married women to keep their own earnings up to a maximum of ? 200 per annum, and in 1882 which lost husbands their automatic right to claim their wives property as their own. These proud results were what spurred on further feminist groups to achieve more rights for women equal to those of men. The Suffragists were one such important group. In 1897 they were founded and led by Millicent Fawcett and focused on the issue of female voting, only using peaceful methods in order to influence their MPs. By writing letters, holding public meetings and marches, and petitioning, they aimed to educate people on why they felt they should be awarded the vote. The Suffragists gained a lot of sympathy for women’s voting rights, especially among Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs, and did their bit to make sure working class women supported the movement as the group tried hard to be all encompassing even though it was mostly middle and upper class women who were involved. When New Zealand allowed women in the vote in 1893 and even sent MPs to the UK to speak on the Suffragists behalf, the cause was further enhanced. Despite support of the group, there was also a negative view. They were seen to be limited by using only peaceful methods which did not attract much press, and also by not joining forces with men who believed in their cause too Martin Pugh said â€Å"Suffragists would probably have done better to have made common cause with all un-enfranchised men and women from the start and thereby they ight have extended their power†. Some women seemed to take on this view and start their own, more controversial groups in an attempt to get themselves the vote. This group were called the Suffragettes, or the Women‘s Social and Political Union (WSPO). Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Sylvia and Christabel formed and led this group in 1903 with most of the women coming from the previous group of Suffragists. They acted differently from ea rlier feminist groups and chose to use aggressive, militant methods in order to attract press attention. Deeds not words† was the Suffragette Motto and they followed this saying by acting violently, slashing paintings, committing arson, destroying public property by pouring acid on a golf course, interrupting political meetings, and physically attacking MPs and their property. This behaviour quickly gained them a massive amount of publicity as well as a large membership. MPs paid more attention and actively discussed it in the House of Commons. Midge MacKenzie, a historian, supports these acts and said â€Å"Prior to 1914, it was the militant ranguard, the WSPU, that revitalised the questions of votes†. However there is also an equally negative view of what the Suffragettes would do to demand the vote. Most of their publicity was negative, saying these women were just being seen as immature and reckless, especially in June 1913 when a young Suffragette, Emily Davidson, committed suicide by throwing herself in front of the King’s horse at the Derby. Due to this, the Government began regularly arresting these women for criminal behaviour and MPs were very much against them. Anti-Suffragette Winston Churchill did not approve of their behaviour, â€Å"their cause has marched backwards†. While the women were in jail, they continued on with their cause by starting a hunger strike which resulted in the Government having to force-feed them. The cruel nature of this meant women were getting massive publicity and more embarrassment for the Government. This embarrassment pushed the Government to finally act on the issue. They introduced the Temporary Discharge Act (1913), otherwise known as the Cat and Mouse Act. It was called this as it involved letting hunger strike participants be released from jail until they had regained their strength, and then re-arresting them. It backfired on them as the public called it cruel. In 1910, a Conciliation Bill was passed with a majority of 100 votes which allowed MPs to vote on women’s suffrage. In 1911, another Bill was proposed but not passes which gave voting rights to women whose husbands were already voters, even when it was proposed for a second time in 1912. Winston Churchill and Lloyd George were against this Bill, as politicians were too worried that Conservatives would only benefit from it. The First World War then began and while the country was seen to be fighting for democracy, it was being hypocritical as they were denying the female population suffrage at home. This was likely to help out the women’s cause as the UK was seen to be getting â€Å"left behind† as places other than New Zealand, which embarrassed the country even further as it was part of the Commonwealth, had also given women the vote by 1914, such as Denmark and some US States. There were several different views on what exactly helped women get the vote. Some believe it was the hard work of feminist groups such as the Suffragists and Suffragettes who dedicated their lives and proved themselves worthy of the vote. However, many people fully believe the heroic work of women contributing to the war effort by taking over men’s jobs during the First World War was the main reason for this great achievement. Opinions of the feminist groups were that they did not prove themselves enough or simply did not act within reason, for example by conducting criminal behaviour. It was after the War that the Government decided to include female voters in the electoral register, so to say that women got the vote due to their contribution in the war effort is an accurate statement.