Year 8 History Project 2
Why was the giving of the vote to women in 1918 not seen as "good
news" by everyone?
Background Information: It was not until after The First World War in 1918,
that women in Britain were allowed to vote in government elections. Even
then, only women over 30 had the right. Why was this?
The fact is that the gaining of the right to vote marked the end of a long
struggle for women. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, women's suffrage
(voting) groups were formed to either speak up for women or fight for the
cause. Women were willing to lose their freedom or even their lives! They
saw voting as a basic right to prove that they were equal to men.
However, many were against women voting. Until 1919, all Members of
Parliament were men, most of whom considered that women were far to
"emotional" to be involved in the running of the country. Many women
themselves had no interest in politics, and saw their main role as that of looking
after their husbands and raising their children. Most husbands, of course,
agreed!
What work do I need to do to complete this project?
The project is split into three separate parts:
a) A letter written by either a Member of Parliament (MP) who is against women voting or a Suffragette who is in
favour of women voting.
b) A poster campaigning either for or against women being allowed to vote.
You should complete both tasks as if it was July 1913 (the month after Emily Davison gave her life by jumping in
front of the King's horse).
c) A short conclusion, explaining what you think the most important reasons were for why women were finally
allowed to vote in 1918.
What HISTORICAL SKILLS is this project testing?
The project is asking you to especially demonstrate understanding and use of the following:
KEY CONCEPTS
Cultural, ethnic and religious diversity
a) Being able to show understanding of the fact that
men, women and children in different times and places
in the past had different ideas, beliefs and attitudes.
For this project, that means showing that you
understand that different people living in Britain in the
early 1900s would have had very different views about
women voting, depending on who they were and what
the railways would mean/do for them
Interpretation (Points of View)
c) Being able to looking carefully at and weigh up a
range of interpretations of the past to assess how
accurate and truthful they might be.
For this project, that means looking at both sides of
the argument (for and against women voting) and then
forming a conclusion about which reasons you think
were most important in explaining why women finally
gained the right to vote.
KEY PROCESSES
Historical enquiry
b) Being able to look back at the end of a study and
think carefully about what you have learned.
Using evidence
a) Being able to identify, select and use a range of
historical sources, including books and writing, visual
and spoken sources, artefacts and the historic
environment (buildings and sites).
Communicating about the past
a) Being able to present and organise accounts and
explanations about the past that make sense, are
structured (with a beginning, middle and an end) and
backed up with facts and evidence. Being able to use
historical words and meanings.
b) Being able to communicate knowledge and
understanding of history in a variety of ways (writing,
drawing, posters, speeches, etc.) including historical
words and meanings.
How should I complete each of the tasks?
TASK ONE: THE LETTER
Write your letter using the following guidance and instructions.
Make sure that you are doing everything that is asked of you.
a) Include a name, address and date at the top of the
letter.
b) Address your letter to "Mr Asquith." Herbert Asquith
was the British Prime Minister from 1908-1916.
c) Begin your letter by stating who you are* and what you
feel about women being allowed to vote.
d) Name and explain the 3 most important reasons why you feel the way that you do about
women voting. You might want to use the structure below for each point:
- "The first reason why I am for/against (choose one or the other) women
being given the right to vote is the fact that…"
- "This would mean that…" Try to include evidence and facts to back up your point.
Are there any facts and figures that you can put in? Do you have any examples support
what you have written?
e) Explain what you think about the death of Emily Davison last month. What does it
tell you about women's feelings about voting? How has it affected your own views
about women voting?
f) End your letter by summarising your points ("Having read my letter, I am sure
that you will agree that…").
g) Sign your letter, having written, "Yours sincerely,".
* You must choose to be either a male Member of Parliament who does not want women to gain the right to
vote, or a member of the Suffragette movement who is fighting for women voters.
TASK TWO: THE POSTER
Design an A3 poster to be displayed in Central London in July
1913. The poster should try to convince people that the giving
of votes to women is either a good or a bad change for Britain.
You should choose the opposite point of view to your letter.
Your poster should include:
a) A title that captures your point of view.
b) A picture or pictures to illustrate your point of view.
For example, if you are in favour of women voting, you
should show it / them in a good way.
c) A 50 word (maximum) summary of your views about the
opening of the station. Why will the giving of votes to
women be a good / bad change for Britain? What will it
mean for the government? How will it affect people?
TASK THREE: THE VERDICT
End your project with a brief, but thoughtful judgement as to what the
main reasons were for women gaining the vote in 1918. You should try
to write about these 3 big factors:
• The work of The Suffragettes
• The death of Emily Davison
• Women working in The First World War
For all 3 factors, explain why and how it helped women to gain the vote.
For example, "Firstly, the work of the Suffragettes was
important in helping women to gain the vote because…". Then, choose which
of the 3 factors you think was the most important and explain why: "Having looked at
all of the evidence, I think that the most important reason why women
gained the vote was… I think this because…"
Where can I find out more? Here are some useful websites for you to use:
There are some excellent short videos about votes for women on YouTube. Here are two good ones:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw4L6UJIJ7Q
• Emily Davison Self-Sacrifice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_r6-JpO9Q&feature=related
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BBC News Summary of The Suffragette Movement: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3153388.stm
Wikipedia Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffragette
A really useful website that looks at both sides of the argument and has links to lots of other helpful
pages: http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/britain1906to1918/g3/background.htm