HistoryPod Extra: Women secure the right to vote in the Representation of the People Act
Summary
TLDRThe special edition of 'History Pot Extra' commemorates the centenary of the Representation of the People Act in the UK, marking the beginning of female suffrage on February 6, 1918. The Act granted voting rights to women over 30 who owned property, despite excluding many. It's debated whether women's wartime contributions or pre-war suffrage activism influenced this milestone. The Act was conservative, targeting older, property-owning women, and still maintained gender inequality in voting rights, with full suffrage equality only achieved in 1928.
Takeaways
- 🗝️ The Representation of the People Act in the UK was a significant milestone for female suffrage, granting voting rights to women over 30 who owned property.
- 🏆 The Act was passed by a large majority in the House of Commons, with 385 votes to 55, indicating broad support for the change.
- 🔥 The traditional view is that women's contributions during WWI earned them the right to vote, despite earlier militant actions by suffragettes that included arson and vandalism.
- 🇫🇷 A contrasting argument suggests that the difference in suffrage between the UK and France was due to the absence of a pre-war suffrage movement in France, rather than their war efforts.
- 💥 The militant actions of suffragettes before 1914 were seen as vital to winning the vote, despite the shock and instability they caused at the time.
- 🕊️ Post-WWI, there was a desire to avoid the violence and political upheaval seen in Russia, leading to a more moderate approach to women's suffrage in the 1918 Act.
- 👵 The Act was conservative in its provisions, limiting the vote to women over 30 and property owners, thus excluding many younger and middle-class women.
- 🏛️ The bill's passage in the House of Lords was facilitated by Lord Curzon's decision not to oppose it, leading to its Royal Assent on February 6, 1918.
- 📈 The Act significantly increased the electorate, adding 8.4 million women to the 21 million voters, although it did not achieve full gender equality.
- 🎉 Women's suffrage movements celebrated the 1918 Act as a monumental achievement, with Millicent Fawcett calling it the greatest moment of her life.
- 📚 Full voting equality for women was not achieved until 1928, a decade after the Representation of the People Act, when all gender-based voting disparities were removed.
Q & A
What significant event marked the centenary of the Representation of the People Act in the UK?
-The centenary of the Representation of the People Act in the UK is marked by the event that took place on the 6th of February 1918, when the Act received Royal Assent, initiating female suffrage in Great Britain.
How did the Representation of the People Act impact the voting rights of women in 1918?
-The Act granted women over the age of 30 who owned property the right to vote, thus beginning the era of female suffrage in Great Britain, although it excluded a large number of women.
What was the traditional explanation for Parliament's support of the Representation of the People Act in 1918?
-The traditional explanation is that Parliament supported the bill as a reward for the vital work done by women during the First World War, such as working in munitions factories, driving buses, or working on farms.
How did the actions of the suffragettes prior to the First World War influence the suffrage movement?
-The suffragettes' violent actions, which included arson, vandalism, and high-profile protests, are argued to have damaged the suffrage movement, contrasting with the work done by women during the war that persuaded Parliament to support women's suffrage.
Why did the counter-argument suggest that the work of women during the war was not the sole reason for the Act's passage?
-The counter-argument points out that in France, where women did equally important war work, they did not win the right to vote due to the absence of a pre-war suffrage movement and the militancy of the suffragettes.
What was the British establishment's concern following the violence in Russia and the subsequent communist revolution?
-The British establishment was concerned about avoiding similar violence and instability at home, which influenced their decision to pass a moderate female suffrage section in the 1918 Representation of the People Act.
How did the 1918 Representation of the People Act limit the voting rights of women?
-The Act limited voting rights by only granting them to women over 30 who were property owners, thus excluding younger women and educated middle-class women who did not own property.
What was the political strategy behind limiting the voting rights to women over 30 and property owners?
-The strategy was conservative, aiming to include women who were perceived as less likely to support radical politics due to their age and marital status, and excluding those who did not own property.
How did the passage of the bill through the House of Lords differ from its passage in the House of Commons?
-The bill passed through the House of Lords by 134 votes to 71, after Lord Curzon, who opposed women's suffrage, made it clear that he would not oppose it, avoiding a clash with the Commons.
What was the immediate impact of the 1918 Representation of the People Act on the electorate?
-The Act increased the electorate to about 21 million, of which 8.4 million were women, showing a significant expansion but also highlighting the inequality in voting rights between men and women.
How did the 1918 Act differ in granting voting rights to men compared to women?
-The Act gave all men over the age of 21 the right to vote, and those who had been on active service in the Armed Forces could vote from 19, while women's voting rights were more restricted.
When did true suffrage equality between men and women come into effect in the UK?
-True suffrage equality, where both men and women had equal voting rights, was achieved a decade later in 1928.
Outlines
🗳️ Centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918
This paragraph commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act in the UK, which initiated female suffrage on February 6, 1918. The Act granted voting rights to women over 30 who owned property, a significant yet limited step towards gender equality. The narrative explores the traditional view that women's contributions during WWI earned them the right to vote, contrasting with the suffragettes' militant actions that some argue were detrimental. It also discusses the counter-argument that the pre-war suffrage movement was crucial. The paragraph delves into the political strategy behind the Act, highlighting its conservative nature by focusing on older, property-owning women and excluding younger, working-class women who contributed to the war effort. The passage also notes the Act's broader impact on the electorate and the mixed reception by the suffrage movement, emphasizing that true voting equality was yet to be achieved.
📢 Supporting History Pod and Engaging with the Podcast
The second paragraph serves as a call to action for viewers to support the 'History Pod' podcast. It provides information on how supporters can contribute financially through Patreon, as well as how they can help by leaving ratings or reviews on various podcast platforms such as iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. This paragraph is an appeal to the audience to engage with the content and contribute to its ongoing production and success.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Representation of the People Act
💡Centenary
💡Suffrage
💡First World War
💡Suffragettes
💡Gender Equality
💡Munitions Factories
💡Epsom Derby
💡Communist Revolution
💡Millicent Fawcett
💡Suffrage Equality
Highlights
The Representation of the People Act in the UK received Royal Assent on February 6, 1918, marking the start of female suffrage in Great Britain.
The bill was passed in the House of Commons with a significant majority of 385 votes to 55.
It granted voting rights to women over 30 who owned property, a move that was still a milestone in gender equality in the UK.
The traditional explanation suggests that Parliament supported the bill as a reward for women's vital work during World War I.
Suffragettes' violent actions, including arson and vandalism, are argued to have damaged the suffrage movement.
Women's war work in munitions factories, driving buses, or working on farms is said to have persuaded Parliament to support suffrage.
A counter-argument suggests the importance of pre-war suffrage movements, like the militancy of the suffragettes, in winning the vote.
The 1918 Act was a conservative measure, only granting the vote to women over 30 and property owners.
Many women who worked during the war were younger and thus did not receive the right to vote due to the age restriction.
The Act also excluded educated middle-class women who had moved into white-collar jobs and lived in rented properties.
The bill passed through the House of Lords with a majority of 134 votes to 71, avoiding a clash with the Commons.
Lord Curzon's decision not to oppose the bill facilitated its passage and subsequent Royal Assent.
The Act increased the electorate to about 21 million, including 8.4 million women, significantly expanding suffrage.
Despite the progress, the Act maintained a clear division between men and women in voting rights.
All men over 21 and those who had been on active service could vote from 19, while women were still not political equals.
True suffrage equality was achieved a decade later with the 1928 Act.
Prominent suffrage campaigner Millicent Fawcett described the 1918 Act as the greatest moment of her life.
The 1918 Act was seen as a way to avoid the kind of violence and instability seen in Russia and the subsequent communist revolution.
Transcripts
[Music]
hello and welcome to this special
edition of history pot extra marking the
centenary of the representation of the
People Act in the UK on the 6th of
February 1918
the representation of the People Act
received Royal Assent marking the start
of female suffrage in Great Britain the
bill had been passed in the House of
Commons by 385 votes to 55 and gave
women over the age of 30 who owned
property the right to vote while it
therefore denied the right to a large
number of women it was still a watershed
moment in the history of gender equality
in the UK
a traditional explanation for
Parliament's support for the bill is
that it acted as some kind of reward for
the vital work done by women during with
the First World War
adherents of this interpretation argued
that the suffragettes had actually
damaged the suffrage movement through
their violent actions these included
committing arson vandalism and carrying
out other high-profile protests that
included the death of Emily Davison at
the horse racing Epsom Derby in 1913
this interpretation
therefore argues that it was only the
work done by women during the First
World War
such as that in munitions factories
driving buses or working on farms that
persuaded Parliament to support women's
suffrage conversely in France where
women did equally important war work
they did not win the right to vote a
counter-argument therefore exists saying
that this is because there was no
pre-war suffrage movement in France and
certainly nothing to equal the militancy
of the suffragettes adherents of this
interpretation therefore argue that the
work of the suffragettes and the
suffragists before 1914 had been vitally
important to women winning the right to
vote years later the actions of the
suffragettes had shocked many people in
Britain and nobody was keen to return to
the violence and instability of pre-1914
in the aftermath of the violence that
had erupted in Russia and then led to
the communist revolution the British
establishment wanted to avoid that
possibility at home this interpretation
therefore argues that passing a
relatively moderate female suffrage
section in the 1918 representation of
the People Act kept the suffragists
happy and delayed more radical reform
such as full and equal voting rights for
both men and women
the axe itself was there for an
important but rather conservative
measure firstly it only gave the vote to
women over 30 since many politicians
believed that their age meant they were
much less likely to support radical
politics as they were more likely to be
married with children
this meant that many of the women who
had worked in the fields and in the
factories during the war did not even
get the right to vote as they were
generally younger than the minimum age
secondly only women who were property
owners qualified for the vote meaning
that even the educated middle-class
women who had been a large part of the
suffragettes before 1914 were excluded
since many of them had gone into
white-collar jobs after 1920 and gone on
to live in rented property away from
their parents as a sign of their
independence
the bill itself passed through the House
of Lords by 134 votes to 71 after Lord
Curzon the president of the National
League for opposing women's suffrage
made it clear that he would not oppose
it and therefore risk a clash with the
Commons consequently it received Royal
Assent from king george v on the 6th of
february 1918 increasing the electorate
to about 21 million of whom 8.4 million
were women the women's suffrage
movements welcomed the 1918
representation of the people acts with
prominent campaign and Millicent Fawcett
describing the act as the greatest
moment of her life however the act still
showed a clear division between men and
women since the same Act gave all men
over the age of 21 the right to vote
while those who had been on active
service in the Armed Forces could vote
from 19 therefore women were still not
political equals even after the 1918 act
true suffrage equality only came a
decade later in 1928 if you enjoy
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