Enquiry 6a What’s the story of ‘Votes for Women’ in my local area?

1. Enquiry 6aWhat’s the story of ‘Votes for Women’ in my local area?

2. Enquiry overview Lesson 1: What can we discover about ‘Votes for Women’ in my area? Lesson 2: Who was important in my area? Lesson 3: Which was more influential in my area – NUWSS or WSPU? Lesson 4: What was the impact of the campaign in my area? Outcome activity: Consider how similar/different the local campaign was to the rest of the country and the impact that it had on the location itself.

3. Lesson 3Which was more influential in my area – NUWSS or WSPU?

4. Lesson 3 overview • Content covered in the lesson: • Comparing tactics of the NUWSS and WSPU in the local area • tactics • petitions • other actions • born out of desperation. • What part did men play?

5. What can we discover about ‘Votes for Women’ in my area? Recap • Recap: What’s the story so far? • Which individuals played a part? • What do we know about them? • What can we learn about‘Votes for Women’ in our area from studying the actions of individuals? • Are there any unknown stories to be told?

6. Tactics • Mary Wollstonecraft, 1792, ‘Vindication of the Rights of Women’. • Peterloo 1819 – lots of female support for adult suffrage – some female casualties. • Support for 1832 Reform Bill, including an amendment demanding ‘adult’ suffrage. • Chartists – 1830s and 1840s – many female Chartist supporters. • Petition, 1866 – 1,521 signatures in three weeks. • National Society for Women’s Suffrage, 1867 (became NUWSS in 1897). • WSPU, 1903. • Mostly – to begin with – middle-class women with quite limited demands. • Florence Nightingale (for example) – good idea in principle; will take a long time; but there are other more important short-term targets.

7. Petitions • 3 May 1832: Mary Smith, ‘Orator Hunt’, presented it to Parliament. • 1866: John Stuart Mill asked for 100 signatures to introduce an amendment to the 1867 Reform Bill – in a few weeks, he had 1,521 signatures. • 1871: 186,000 signatures. • 1873: 328,000 signatures. • 18 debates in Parliament between 1870 and 1904. Q:Why petitions? Q: Why so ineffective?

8. Other actions • public meetings • ask the candidate (many refuse to answer questions from women as they have no vote) • processions • newspapers, including Votes for Women • chalking • letters to newspapers • supporting candidates – whichever party – who are pro-female suffrage • songs • merchandise to raise funds • propaganda pamphlets • branches across the country • non-party Tactics like these were very effective for the anti-slavery and anti-Corn Laws campaigns. Q:Why were they so ineffective for female suffrage? Millicent Fawcett

9. Born out of desperation • chain themselves to railings • interrupt Parliament • break windows • riots • stone-throwing • deliberately getting arrested • hunger strike in prison • letter box bombs • digging up parts of golf courses • setting fire to stands at race courses • setting fire to houses of opponents of votes for women • slashing pictures in art galleries • stepping out in front of the King’s horse during a race • tins of treacle in letter boxes Q:How effective were these tactics? Q: Did support for suffragettes increase as militancy increased?

10. What can we discover about ‘Votes for Women’ in my area? Activity: What were their motives? • Tasks: • Discuss all the tactics used from 1832 onwards. How would you describe them? Can you sort them into categories? • Use the sources you have to decide which ones were used in your area. • Which ones would you describe as ‘suffragist’ tactics? • Which ones would you describe as ‘suffragette’ tactics? Your challenge is to sort the tactics used into categories: can you separate suffragist and suffragette activities?

11. What part did men play? • Don’t forget the men – either as supporters of the NUWSS or part of the anti-suffrage campaign. • A starting point for research on the national stage: • https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/henry-fawcett-forgotten-men-suffragette-movement/ • https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/overview/male-sympathisers/ • https://www.ool.co.uk/blog/men-supported-womens-suffrage/ Search the database. Q:Were there any men active in the suffrage campaign in your area?

12. What can we discover about ‘Votes for Women’ in my area? Plenary: • Decide whether suffragists or suffragettes were more active and therefore perhaps more influential in your local area. • It may not be quite so clear cut, of course, because ‘active’ and ‘influential’ are not necessarily the same thing.