​Which Did More to Gain Women the Vote – the Actions of the Suffragettes or the Effects of the Great War?

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This essay will discuss the actions of the Suffragettes during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century; paying particular attention to the often extreme militant action they chose to use in order to promote their cause. It will also analyse the hostility and questioning of the their cause received from the public and why they chose to put their campaign efforts on hold following the announcement of the Great War. The tremendous unity displayed by women across the class system during the Great War and the importance of this from a political view will also be explored. Taking into account all of these elements collectively, this essay will summarise the debate and conclude by addressing the question. The Industrial Revolution in Britain had created an Empire, rich with wealth and prosperity. This affected the social class system during this time. New reforms made to the education system and the continuous growing wealth amongst the upper and middle classes, provided women with more leisure time and an increase in independence. Upper class women found that they had more time on their hands whilst middle class women were running their own businesses or taking up respectable positions as doctors, architects and teachers. However, there were significant differences between the female classes especially where the working class women were concerned. The position of working class women remained largely unchanged; they were generally employed in unskilled and very low paid jobs. ‘Despite a number of trade union and government attempts to improve wages, and working conditions, working class women remained at the bottom of the economic scale’ and thus remained there for some years to come.’ (Bartley.P 1998 p.3) It could be argued that The Reform Act of 1866, also known as The Household Franchise Bill, sparked a popular debate, causing public

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