The dates re suffrage across Europe are telling. Switzerland introduced universal male suffrage in 1848, the same year as it came to France. Danish voting rights came to men 30+ of good reputation in 1849. The North German Confederation enacted suffrage for all adult males in 1867. Suffrage came to all men aged 25+ in Belgium in 1893 and in Austria in 1896. Full male suffrage in Norway arrived in 1898.
The women's suffrage campaign in New Zealand began as part of a late C19th movement for women’s rights that spread through Britain & its Empire, USA & Europe. The movement gathered momentum from the early 1880s, especially following the establishment of a New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union. This movement was shaped by two main themes: a] equal political rights for women a la John Stuart Mill and b] a desire for the moral reform of society!
Invigorated by the New Zealand suffrage victory in 1893, many NZWCTU activists travelled across the South Australian colony to obtain signatures for a suffrage petition. The NZWCTU suffragists were critically important in this state campaign; women were able to vote in the South Australia state election as early as 1894! In a few years, Australian women could vote in both state and, post Federation (1901), in national elections as well.
So why did women in Britain have to battle for decades for equal votes? Perhaps the British government had never granted ANY reform without pain and conflict. So let us look right back into C19th history. Formal legislation was easy to track but Prof Pat Thane provided information on the events that happened outside Parliament.
The Great (1st) Reform Act of 1832 gave the vote to men meeting property qualification and redistributed Parliamentary seats to represent urban areas properly. Alas the Act specified that only males could vote, excluding women with property who had been able to vote before then.
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Procession to the 'Monster Meeting' in Hyde Park, 1908
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Suffragette demonstration in London, 1910
Shame, Asquith, shame :( The Conciliation Bill of 1910, which would have given women the vote, was supported by a majority of MPs but the Prime Minister decided to block the legislation. Suffragette marches by the National Federation of Women Workers continued and always ended up in court.
The women's suffrage campaign in New Zealand began as part of a late C19th movement for women’s rights that spread through Britain & its Empire, USA & Europe. The movement gathered momentum from the early 1880s, especially following the establishment of a New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union. This movement was shaped by two main themes: a] equal political rights for women a la John Stuart Mill and b] a desire for the moral reform of society!
Invigorated by the New Zealand suffrage victory in 1893, many NZWCTU activists travelled across the South Australian colony to obtain signatures for a suffrage petition. The NZWCTU suffragists were critically important in this state campaign; women were able to vote in the South Australia state election as early as 1894! In a few years, Australian women could vote in both state and, post Federation (1901), in national elections as well.
So why did women in Britain have to battle for decades for equal votes? Perhaps the British government had never granted ANY reform without pain and conflict. So let us look right back into C19th history. Formal legislation was easy to track but Prof Pat Thane provided information on the events that happened outside Parliament.
The Great (1st) Reform Act of 1832 gave the vote to men meeting property qualification and redistributed Parliamentary seats to represent urban areas properly. Alas the Act specified that only males could vote, excluding women with property who had been able to vote before then.
Suffragettes holding a banner referring to Prime Minister Herbert Asquith.
Evening Standard
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform across Britain. The movement gained particular support in parts of Britain where workers were most egregiously exploited. The movement was strongest in 1838-48 when three Chartist petitions, signed by millions of workers, were presented to the Commons.
In Britain the issue of parliamentary reform deteriorated as the Chartists deteriorated. John Stuart Mill stood for office, supporting female suffrage in 1865, but his 2nd Reform Bill to Parliament failed. The National Society for Women's Suffrage was formed in 1867 and in that same year, Representation of the People (2nd Reform) Act extended the vote to urban working men who met property qualifications. The secret ballot was introduced in 1872.
The very important Married Women's Property Act, passed in 1882, allowed married women to own their own property instead of it being automatically transferred to their new husbands. This Act would eventually change one crisis in women’s voting rights.
Representation of the People (3rd Reform) Act of 1884 successfully addressed the imbalance between men's votes across the electoral districts. But an amendment to this 3rd Reform Bill, to give women the vote, failed.
The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies/NUWSS, formed in London by Millicent Fawcett, was still trying to build legal support for the women’s movement in 1897. The NUWSS had 20+ national societies supporting its agenda.
But drastic action was increasingly needed. In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst, long associated with the militants’ campaign, founded the Women's Social and Political Union/WSPU. With her daughters Christabel and Sylvia Pankhurst, the WSPU’s tactics heated up and started to include hunger strikes, smashing windows and arson of unoccupied churches. Arrests followed.
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform across Britain. The movement gained particular support in parts of Britain where workers were most egregiously exploited. The movement was strongest in 1838-48 when three Chartist petitions, signed by millions of workers, were presented to the Commons.
In Britain the issue of parliamentary reform deteriorated as the Chartists deteriorated. John Stuart Mill stood for office, supporting female suffrage in 1865, but his 2nd Reform Bill to Parliament failed. The National Society for Women's Suffrage was formed in 1867 and in that same year, Representation of the People (2nd Reform) Act extended the vote to urban working men who met property qualifications. The secret ballot was introduced in 1872.
The very important Married Women's Property Act, passed in 1882, allowed married women to own their own property instead of it being automatically transferred to their new husbands. This Act would eventually change one crisis in women’s voting rights.
Representation of the People (3rd Reform) Act of 1884 successfully addressed the imbalance between men's votes across the electoral districts. But an amendment to this 3rd Reform Bill, to give women the vote, failed.
The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies/NUWSS, formed in London by Millicent Fawcett, was still trying to build legal support for the women’s movement in 1897. The NUWSS had 20+ national societies supporting its agenda.
But drastic action was increasingly needed. In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst, long associated with the militants’ campaign, founded the Women's Social and Political Union/WSPU. With her daughters Christabel and Sylvia Pankhurst, the WSPU’s tactics heated up and started to include hunger strikes, smashing windows and arson of unoccupied churches. Arrests followed.
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In 1906 suffragettes carried banners during a demonstration in the House of Commons’ Ladies Gallery. The Prime Minister and many of the MPs were in favour of women's suffrage, but nothing changed and desperation set in. 500,000 supporters attend a mass rally in Hyde Park, but the new Prime Minister Herbert Asquith wouldn’t face the women. Not for the first time, the suffragettes smashed windows in the PM’s residence in Downing St and chained themselves to railings.
In 1906 suffragettes carried banners during a demonstration in the House of Commons’ Ladies Gallery. The Prime Minister and many of the MPs were in favour of women's suffrage, but nothing changed and desperation set in. 500,000 supporters attend a mass rally in Hyde Park, but the new Prime Minister Herbert Asquith wouldn’t face the women. Not for the first time, the suffragettes smashed windows in the PM’s residence in Downing St and chained themselves to railings.
Shame, Asquith, shame :( The Conciliation Bill of 1910, which would have given women the vote, was supported by a majority of MPs but the Prime Minister decided to block the legislation. Suffragette marches by the National Federation of Women Workers continued and always ended up in court.
From 1910, the Labour Party boomed. It supported education and medical care for children, work for the unemployed, eight-hour workdays, fair wages for local authority employees, municipal housing, slum clearance schemes and assistance for aged paupers. And Labour was the only party committed to votes for all adults. Not all women supported the Suffragettes, but a fear of feminism and of worker power terrified the Conservatives.
A large number of Australian and New Zealand women found themselves in Britain between 1903-14, and offered their older British sisters help, guidance and advice. Vida Goldstein exemplified this support when she visited England in 1911 as a guest of the militant Women’s Social & Political Union. Other Antipodean women gave rousing speeches across Britain.
The 1913 Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Ill Health Act was an attempt to stop suffragettes from becoming martyrs, by dying in custody. Sadly Emily Davison was knocked down by the king’s horse at the Epsom Derby, and died from her injuries!
Campaigning was muted during WW1 because national priorities changed. In 1916-1917, the House of Commons Speaker chaired a conference on electoral reform that recommended a war-time compromise. This Representation of the People Act was finally passed in 1918, allowing “women over 30 who met a property qualification” to vote. The Act also gave the vote to ALL males over 21, abolished property restrictions for men, and extended the vote to military-men who were 19. Yes there was still inequality between women and men, but for the first time since 1832, some British women could now vote. The granddaughters of the original New Zealand voters were joyous.
The Daily Mail campaigned against increased women’s suffrage because, they said, “it may bring down the British Empire in ruins”. Conservative PM Stanley Baldwin promised the vote to all women after the 1924 election, but he lied. Baldwin only allowed the Equal Franchise Act in 1928. Afraid that Labour would win the next election, the Act provided that women over 21 could now vote. Gender equality in voting at last!
A large number of Australian and New Zealand women found themselves in Britain between 1903-14, and offered their older British sisters help, guidance and advice. Vida Goldstein exemplified this support when she visited England in 1911 as a guest of the militant Women’s Social & Political Union. Other Antipodean women gave rousing speeches across Britain.
The 1913 Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Ill Health Act was an attempt to stop suffragettes from becoming martyrs, by dying in custody. Sadly Emily Davison was knocked down by the king’s horse at the Epsom Derby, and died from her injuries!
Campaigning was muted during WW1 because national priorities changed. In 1916-1917, the House of Commons Speaker chaired a conference on electoral reform that recommended a war-time compromise. This Representation of the People Act was finally passed in 1918, allowing “women over 30 who met a property qualification” to vote. The Act also gave the vote to ALL males over 21, abolished property restrictions for men, and extended the vote to military-men who were 19. Yes there was still inequality between women and men, but for the first time since 1832, some British women could now vote. The granddaughters of the original New Zealand voters were joyous.
The Daily Mail campaigned against increased women’s suffrage because, they said, “it may bring down the British Empire in ruins”. Conservative PM Stanley Baldwin promised the vote to all women after the 1924 election, but he lied. Baldwin only allowed the Equal Franchise Act in 1928. Afraid that Labour would win the next election, the Act provided that women over 21 could now vote. Gender equality in voting at last!