English History: Democratic Reforms--Suffragette Movement
Figure 1.--Here we see a Surragette rally somewhere in England. The photograph is undated. but looks like it was taken about 1910 as the Movement had become a major issue in British politics thanks the increasing militabcy of more and more young women. Notice all the boys. Children but not their husbands, brothers, and fathers often participated in these ralleys. We do not know who the women are, but perhapos our Britiish reades will be able to identify them. The seated woman may be Mrs. Pankhurst. This is probably a photgraph by Christina Broom, a pioneer British photo journalist.
In the long histoy of the development of democracy, perhaps the most under covered story is that of woman's sufferage. Given that voting only became widespread in the 19th century (even in America and Britain), this rather narrows the historical record. The Suffragette Movement, the struggle for women's voting rights, in America and Britain as the two most poweful democracies were at the heart of the struggle. France lagged far behind. The Suffragette Movement became a national movement in Britain during the Victorian era. One might think that the young Queen was behind it, but in fact Queen Victoria did not support the idea of women voting. Women were not banned from voting by any statute until the Reform Act (1832) and the Municipal Corporations Act (1835). Ironically this was the same decade that a very young Victoria rose to the throne (1837). The teenage queen may not have been as sure of herself as would be needed for such a huge change in British govrnance and society, but nothing about her upbrining or very limited education would have even raised the idea in her head, clouded as it was with romantic mysticism. And at the time even most men could not vote in Britain. The struggle for the vote in Britain lagged somewhat behind that in America, although in historical terms the timeline is remarably similar. Most men had the vote by the Jacksonian Era (1830s) and states began granting women the right to vote (1860s). The suffragette Movement began in England with the organizatiom of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (1872). The subsequent National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) prived even more influential. The Suffragette Movements was organized in Wales and other parts of the United Kingdom. It does seem strange given the prestige earned by Queen Victoria over her long reign that most people still opposed women's sufferage, including many if not most women. After the turn-of-the century and the passing of Queen Victoria, public opinion began to shift in the women's favor. And with this came greater militancy on the part of young women. The person most associsted with the Suffragette Movement is Emmeline Pankhurst (1856-1928) who founded the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) (1906). The Liberal Party won an election in the sme year. It was widely believed tht they would take actin on women's sufferage. When they did not, Mrs. Pankhurst and the WSPU launched a high profile militant campaign for which the Suffragette Movement is today best known. World War I (1914-18) was the turning point in both Britain and America. Politics was susspended for the duration. And the Suffragettes ended their militant actions. Women's grouops did continue to quitely press their demands quitely in the back corridors of Parliment. Given the hash men had made of affairs leading to the War and the contribution women made to the war effirt, there was no longer any major resistance to women voting. Lloyd George's coalition government passed the Representation of the People Act (1918). This enfranchised all men and women over the age of 30 years who met minimum property qualifications. This Act was notable not only for the inclusion of women. It was also the first to give nearly all men the right to vote. It extended voting rights to 5.6 million men and 8.4 million women. The women who helped neogiate the Act were criticised by young militants for the limited commitment to women's voting. But in fact once the principle was established, there would be no turning back. A Conservative government passed the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act (1928). The Act gave women over the age of 21 years the right to vote on equal terms with men. Much has been made about World War occurred befoe women were able to vote. I should also be noted that women had the vote in Weimar Germany as the NAZIs rose in power. And women had the vote in Britain and America where Appeasemnt and Isolationism was prominant.
