Women's Rights in the 1800s

In the 1800s, women had very few rights:

A husband could beat his wife because she was his property.
A married woman couldn't have her own money or own property.
A man could divorce a woman for adultery, but she couldn't divorce him unless she could prove that he was cruel.
Girls were only given a very basic education nicknamed the Three S's - sewing, singing and simpering.
Women couldn't vote.

The Start of the Campaign

In the 1860s a number of Suffrage Societies began to campaign for votes for women throughout England. They:

Wrote letters.
Held meetings and made speeches.
Organised marches and rallies.
Supported sympathetic (male) politicians at elections.

The NUWSS

In 1897 the different societies merged into the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and they elected Milicent Fawcett as their first president.

How successful were they?

By 1900, the suffragists had had some successes:

Married women were able to keep some of their own money.
Female ratepayers could vote in local elections.
They had won support from a large number of MPs (members of Parliament).
They were well organised and had a large membership.

But:

The government and the House of Lords rejected all calls for votes for women.
The government and the newspapers started to ignore the Suffragists' peaceful campaign.

Year 9 Challenges and Change

The Suffragists (NUWSS)