New
New
Year 9

Why it took so long for women to get the vote in Britain

I can explain why it took so long for women to get the vote in Britain.

New
New
Year 9

Why it took so long for women to get the vote in Britain

I can explain why it took so long for women to get the vote in Britain.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Despite the growth in female political participation, sexist attitudes prevailed by the late 19th century.
  2. Early suffrage campaigns led to a Conciliation Bill; this wasn't passed due to Liberal fears about how women would vote.
  3. WSPU tactics split the suffrage movement and hurt women's chances of getting the vote as government attitudes hardened.
  4. WW1 was a turning point in the campaign for women's suffrage due to their war work and the need for a new franchise act.
  5. A good explanation of why it took so long for women to get the vote in Britain will examine long and short term factors.

Keywords

  • Suffrage - the right to vote

  • Long-term - occuring over a long period of time

  • Short-term - occuring over a short period of time

  • Stereotypes - the expectation people have of a particular type of person

  • Sexism - prejudice or discrimination, often against women, on the basis of sex

Common misconception

The view that it was the work women did to support the war effort which gained them the right to vote.

Many people were convinced women should be entitled to vote before 1914; however, the violence of the suffragettes and the interruption of WW1 delayed this.

Students could consider whether long- or short-term factors were more important in delaying votes for women.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
is the right to vote.
Correct Answer: Suffrage, suffrage
Q2.
When war broke out in 1914, the suffragettes and suffragists suspended their and joined the war effort.
Correct Answer: campaigns, campaigns, protests
Q3.
In what year did the WSPU organise a protest march called ‘the Right to Serve’?
1914
Correct answer: 1915
1916
1917
1918
Q4.
Despite being employed in the armed forces during WW1, women could not...
Correct Answer: fight, Fight
Q5.
The 1918 Representation of the People Act gave the vote to...
Correct answer: all men
men with property
Correct answer: married women over the age of 30
all women
Q6.
In what year was the Equal Franchise Act passed?
1921
1925
Correct answer: 1928
1931

6 Questions

Q1.
Which statement best describes attitudes towards the suffrage movement in the mid to late nineteenth century?
Correct answer: Some men supported it, but the vast majority did not.
A great many men supported it, with only a minority opposing it.
All men opposed it.
All men supported it.
Q2.
Sexism was a __________ term factor that prevented women from obtaining the vote.
short
medium
Correct answer: long
Q3.
The __________ government opposed the campaign for female suffrage for much of the early twentieth century.
Correct answer: Liberal
Labour
Conservative
Q4.
Asquith's decision to drop the 1910 Conciliation Bill was a term cause of the delay to female suffrage.
Correct answer: short
medium
long
Q5.
Which of these best describes the state of the women's suffrage movement in the early twentieth century?
Correct answer: Divided
Triumphant
Successful
Unified
Q6.
Which of these events was a turning point in attitudes towards female suffrage?
The creation of the WSPU
The dropping of the Cnciliation Bill in 1910
Emily Davison's death in 1913
Correct answer: The First World War

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