For many of the women the war was ‘a genuinely liberating experience’ (first world war, accessed 07/01/09), and made the women feel useful as citizens. Also for some women it gave them the freedom that only men had enjoyed so far and ‘offered escape from jobs of badly paid drudgery’ (war and gender, accessed 22/01/09). In one women’s words it was said to be like ‘being let out of a cage’ (war and gender, accessed 22/01/09). The fact that it offered women freedom gives the impression that World War One did have a positive effect on the role of women. In support of the World War One having a positive effect on the women’s role.
Also I thought that the Suffragists played a vital role in getting the rights for women to vote because they proved to the men that they could protest and campaign without using violence or breaking the law, unlike the Suffragettes, who resorted to violence when they wanted their way or when they wanted to be heard. Before World War 1 there, were two groups of women that campaigned for votes for women and they were known as the Suffragists and the suffragettes. They called themselves the Suffragists because they were trying to mock the word Suffrage which means the right to vote. Then there were the Suffragists they were so different from the Suffragists yet they were so similar. Both groups of women were campaigning and fighting for the same thing, but the way they achieved the vote was very different.
Women were able, furthermore, to stand as candidates in local elections by 1888, enabling women to challenge opposition views that had always denied them their rights, and the increasing roles of women in society indicated greater social acceptance. However, limitations persisted in that these responsibilities were seen as ‘domestic’ and women were still openly denied the parliamentary franchise. In addition, these crucial changes remained restricted to only middle class women, thus losing crucial support from working class women who had already established highly developed unions. Hence, the Radical Suffragist Party focused on working class women thus ‘radical’ for these views. These contributed to social reform through peaceful means and set up successful women’s trade unions which created equal rights for women in payment and working hours.
I believe this is not only true for the women’s stories in this book, but true for all women. It is very hard for to pick one particular story within this book that touched me the most, they were all powerful and had such interesting details. However in chapter two “Prohibition and Prostitution” they speak about how people get away with enslaving and trafficking village girls. The idea is to crush modern slavery, but for political reasons this does not always happen. It is known that crackdowns do exist and with the right help, training and rehabilitations these girls and women can feel they have purpose and worth.
In response to women’s contribution in WW1 Women gained the right to vote. Because the women helped the government in order to win the war by creating ammunition and Farming, this changed the lives of women by having the right to choose who is going to control the country. I can also infer that, the group called the Suffragettes has been fighting for women's rights. Because, the leader Mrs Pankhurst believes that women and men are equal and should have the rights and this changed woman's life by getting the same amount of payment as the men. This can be seen on source A1 which states that ‘’ women had proved that they were just as important to the war effort as men in 1918 women were given some form of political representation.
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.
To what extent did the First World War change the lives of women in Britain? The First World War was a time of loss, heartbreak and an endless fight for victory. It was the worst war the world had ever seen. But in amongst all of this suffering came an unexpected but positive outcome for women in Britain which had a huge effect on their lives. A wider range of jobs became available to them, they gained more independence and weren’t viewed as second citizens but most importantly, World War One lead to women in Britain gaining the vote.
Before 1918, women in Britain were not enfranchised to the vote on an equal status with men, though; they often worked for a living and paid taxes, just like men. I chose to talk about suffragettes and suffragists in the period of 1905 – 1914 firstly because as a woman I am related to it, and I am telling myself that, if these women did not exist and did not accomplish all they accomplished in that period, I may not be able to vote today, and for me the right to vote is something very important, especially when you know what did women in order to obtain it. I also chose this topic because I consider that the suffrage for women was a kind of revolution, a breaking up with the norms and traditions, and a big step for society at that time. Two principal organisations distinguished themselves in that period: The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS, called the suffragists) and the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU, also called the suffragettes). These two organisations had the same aims (vote for women and equal rights with men), but were quite different.
I believe that it was because of Eleanor Roosevelt that changes really started to take place. Biles stated, “Perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt contributed most to the civil rights cause by acting as the voice of blacks in the White House” (182). She definitely proved to be a saving grace in the fight for racial equality. Although women weren’t treated the same as men during this time, they seemed to fare quite a bit better than blacks. According to Biles, “Women, like men, looked expectantly to the New Deal and experienced both stirring successes and disappointing setbacks” (194).
Interview Women’s Voting in: America Thesis: Today in society women play a large role in not only the economy, but also have created a large impact on the decisions to better the United States as a whole. The fight for women’s suffrage resulted in a very positive and life changing outcome for many Americans. However, the journey leading to this change in our society was brutally challenging. It took many years of determined activists and reformers to fight for this equality. There was no proven fact women were incapable of completing tasks that men could, women have always had the same ability as men.