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Suffragists vs Suffragettes Methods

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Suffragists vs Suffragettes Methods

Read the briefing and study the comparison table. Then answer the questions using evidence from the sheet. Remember: historians distinguish between what happened and opinions about its impact.

Briefing: two approaches

In the early 1900s, women in Britain campaigned for the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Suffrage is the term for eligibility to participate in elections. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), led by Millicent Fawcett, became known as the suffragists. They mainly used constitutional, non-violent methods: petitions, meetings, public speeches and peaceful demonstrations. The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903, became known as the suffragettes. Its members used more militant tactics, including disruptive protests, breaking windows and setting fire to empty buildings. Some suffragettes were imprisoned; several went on hunger strike. Prison authorities sometimes force-fed hunger strikers. The groups shared the goal of votes for women, but differed over tactics. In 1918, some women over 30 gained the vote if they met property qualifications; equal voting terms with men came in 1928. Historians debate how far each group's methods influenced these changes.

Group

Typical methods

Example

Suffragists (NUWSS)

Constitutional and non-violent campaigning

Petitions, speeches or peaceful demonstrations

Suffragettes (WSPU)

Militant and disruptive protest

Window-breaking or hunger strikes

Investigate the methods

Answer from the briefing and table. For explanation questions, support your ideas with a historical detail.

1.What did campaigners mean by suffrage?

The right to vote
The right to attend university
The right to own a business

2.Which organisation was associated with the suffragists?

3.Select the two methods most closely associated with suffragist campaigning.

Organising petitions
Giving public speeches
Breaking shop windows
Setting fire to empty buildings

4.Emmeline Pankhurst was connected with which group and organisation?

5.True or false: the suffragists and suffragettes shared the goal of votes for women.

TrueFalse

6.Match each method to the group most closely associated with it: (1) peaceful demonstration; (2) breaking windows; (3) petitions; (4) hunger strike.

1. Peaceful demonstration
2. Breaking windows
3. Petitions
4. Hunger strike

Suffragettes (WSPU)
Suffragettes (WSPU)
Suffragists (NUWSS)
Suffragists (NUWSS)

7.Explain one difference between the typical methods of the suffragists and the suffragettes.

8.What happened to some suffragettes who went on hunger strike in prison?

9.In 1918, did all women in Britain gain the vote on the same terms as men? Give one detail to support your answer.

10.A historian argues that peaceful campaigning helped build broad support. Give one piece of evidence from the sheet that could support this view.

11.Historians debate how much each group's methods influenced voting changes. Give one reason why it may be difficult to decide which approach was more effective.