Did Women Get the Vote Due to Their Efforts

970 Words4 Pages
“Women proved by their work during WWI that they deserved the vote.” How accurate is this view that women only received the vote because of their war efforts? Introduction: Notice the difference in debate and line of argument. By doing something like this, it immediately gives the impression of a top band ‘A’ essay. The line of argument is decisive and removes all ‘sitting on the fence’! This provides your essay with a clear, structured argument. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave women over 30 the vote, if they owned property or were married to a property owner. The major reason for women receiving the vote has been a fundamental source of debate amongst historians. Whilst traditional schools of thought argue that women’s work during WWI radically changed male ideas about their role in society with traditional historians such as Ray suggesting that giving women the vote in 1918 was almost a ‘thank you’ for their efforts, revisionist historians, however, find this analysis too simplistic. AJP Taylor, for example, argues that the war ‘smoothed the way for democracy’ and so there are other factors of significance, such as, suffrage campaign groups (WSPU & NUWSS) and growing equality with men. Whilst this essay will recognise the importance of the view that WWI was significant to women receiving the vote, it intends to argue that AJP Taylor’s analysis is best supported by existing evidence and as such is the most accurate view. Paragraph 1: Isolated factor (WWI) In this paragraph, you should be showing balance but ultimately arguing that even though WWI played a role in women gaining the vote, it was NOT THE ONLY REASON. In 1914, when the First World War broke out, men were required to fight for King and country. This left a large void in the workforce and allowed women to secure employment in a range of industries; from making shells
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