How Important Was the Militancy of the Suffragettes in Preventing Women Winning the Right to Vote Before the Outbreak of the First World War

778 Words4 Pages
The suffragette’s militancy tactics they used to try and pressure the government into giving them the vote was an important reason as to why they hadn’t achieved the right to vote by 1914. However this was not the only reason, it was also because of Asquith’s personal beliefs that he would lose the vote to the Conservatives if women were given the right to vote. Another reason is that women’s role in society was originally to stay at home and look after the man and their house while the men played the political role, and men didn’t want this to change. Source B and Source C suggest that the suffragette’s militant tactics was the reason as to why women didn’t get the vote by 1914, but source A suggests otherwise. Source B comes from a labour party MP, Ramsay MacDonald who does support a revolution but he does not believe being violent by “breaking windows” is the way to do this. He describes them as being seen as “childish”, “silly and provocative”. Militancy gives the government an excuse not to support them, why would they give in to violence? Source C agrees that the militancy was important because “increasingly militant tactics” resulted in the Liberals “hardening its resistance” as can be seen by the ‘Cat and Mouse Act’ of 1913. This was where suffragette’s who had been arrested for violence would be allowed to go on a hunger strike letting them get weaker and weaker. When they were very weak they were released, and if they died out of prison, this was of no embarrassment to the government. Those who did not die were too weak to take part in more violence, and when they had regained their strength they would be militant again getting themselves arrested again starting the process again. Not only would they break windows but also set fire to people’s houses including David Lloyd George’s. Another extreme act they delivered was by Emily Davidson who flung herself
Open Document