The movement for women’s suffrage

1. The movement for women’s suffrage 1850-1938

2. The Social and economic position of women in 1850 • The aim of all ‘respectable’ women was to marry an honest man and have children • Once married the woman literally became the ‘goods and chattels’ of her husband

3. The Social and economic position of women in 1850 • By 1850 stereotypical image of middle class family, with the male as the breadwinner/decision maker/protector and the wife as the carer and provider for the husband and children

4. End of the cottage system changed working class women’s role • Most working class women would have wished to aspire to the middle class ideal of marriage • prevented in doing so due to poverty and endless childbearing • Many working class men had a brutal attitude mainly due to drink and overcrowding • Women could not escape due to lack of legal rights and education

5. Changes to Laws • Many of the changes brought about in family law came from the efforts of middle class feminists • The issues of divorce, custody of children attracted attention

6. Changes in Family Law • Matrimonial Causes Act (1857): gave mothers increased to their children after divorce and keep post-divorce earnings • 1866: claim maintenance up to £2 a week • Matrimonial Causes Act (1873): a husband could sue for divorce on grounds of adultery, a wife had to prove cruelty • Married Women’s Property Act (1870): allowed married women to keep their own earnings up to £200 a year • Married Women’s Property Act (1882): husbands lost claim to wives property as their own

7. By 1895 women had additional rights • Right to become the sole guardian of their children on death of their husband • Right to obtain a separation order if husband is cruel or in prison

8. Cotton Workers 1872 Activity • In what ways did industrialisation bring change to the lives of women? • List the notable women who did not conform to the stereotype at the time