Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils analyse why it took so long for women to win the vote in Britain. They learn about the position of women in the early twentieth century, the campaigns for suffrage and the government's responses to these campaigns and women's contributions during the Great War.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain why the WSPU employed increasingly violent tactics and why they had little response or sympathy from government.

Key Notes

• WSPU protestors began undertaking publicity stunts, such as chaining themselves to railings outside parliament.
• From 1908 some women in prison began going on hunger strike, and they were force fed by the government.
• In 1913 the government passed a law that released female prisoners on hunger strike, dubbed the Cat and Mouse Act.
• Emily Davison threw herself in front of the King's horse in 1913 and died a few days later.
• The Liberal government refused to concede to the violent and disruptive tactics of the suffragettes.

Vocabulary To Learn

• publicity stunt: something that is done to attract the attention of the public
• hunger strike: a prolonged refusal to eat, carried out in protest by a prisoner
• Liberal: a member of the political party which supported free trade
• suffragette: a woman seeking the right to vote through organised, and sometimes violent, protest

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Britain was the first country to give women the right to vote.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Campaigns for women's suffrage Study Guide
• The contribution of women during WW1 Study Guide
• The position of women in the early twentieth century Study Guide
• The suffragettes Study Guide
• Why it took so long for women to get the vote in Britain Study Guide