Supporting Home Learning in Britain, c1860- 1930: The
Changing Position of Women and the Suffrage Question
Edexcel Text Book for Women and Vote |
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Focus 1. The changing personal status of women: marriage, divorce, children and property; challenges to the ‘angel in the house’ concept.Content overview
The main focus of this topic is on the changing social, political and legal position of women within British society and on the reasons for this, with particular reference to the suffrage question. Students will be expected to understand the importance of the ‘angel in the house’ and the ‘separate spheres’ concepts and how these traditional attitudes to women’s roles were challenged throughout the period. Students will not be expected to have detailed knowledge of the clauses of various Acts, but they will be expected to understand how relevant legislation impacted upon the working and personal lives of women and girls. Students will need to develop knowledge and understanding of the changing personal status of women. Students should understand the significance of the legislation affecting the ability of women to gain control over their own lives. Students will be expected to know about the importance of relevant legislation in both reflecting and forming attitudes to the status of women, in particular the Married Women’s Property Acts of 1870 and 1882. They will be expected to know about the ways in which divorce could be obtained after the 1857 Divorce Act, the impact of the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1884 and the importance of the 1891 Jackson marriage case. Students should know about the sexual double standards that pertained at the time and about the successful campaign led by Josephine Butler in bringing about the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. |
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Focus 2. Women’s changing role within the political system: participation in local government; origins and impact of the suffragist and suffragette campaigns; the impact of the First World War on the suffrage question.Content overview
Students will need to develop knowledge and understanding of the emerging campaign of women’s right to vote and to the suffrage campaigns. Students should know about women’s increasing involvement in local government by serving on school boards (1870) and Poor Law boards of guardians (1875) and voting for new county and county borough councils (1888) and they should understand why women were excluded from participation in national elections. Students should know about the origins of the suffragette and suffragist campaigns and about the importance of Lydia Becker and Millicent Fawcett (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, NUWSS) and the Pankhursts, Pethick-Lawrences and Annie Kenny (Women’s Social and Political Union, WSPU). Students should know about the differences between the campaigns run by the two organisations and the reasons for those differences. |
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Focus 3. Attitudes of politicians, Parliament and the public to the suffrage question; the Liberal Government, 1906-14; the Parliament Act (1918), the Equal Franchise Act (1928) and their immediate impact.Content overview.
Students will need to develop knowledge and understanding of the ways in which attitudes changed, developed and hardened during the years of the suffrage campaigns. Students should know about the differing reactions to the suffrage campaigns by the main political parties and how and why these changed over time. Whilst it is expected that the main focus will be on the Liberal government and Asquith, students should also know about the reactions of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and, later, the Labour Party and its 1912 pact with the NUWSS as well as reactions within the Conservative Party. An understanding of the reactions of the trade unions, religious groups and the media is expected. Students should appreciate the importance of the First World War in changing the focus of the debate about votes for women and about the reasons why the Representation of the People Act (1918) was passed. They should understand the impact that this Act and the Equal Franchise Act (1928) had on the political landscape. |
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Focus 4. Changing educational opportunities for women and girls and the impact of these for workplace opportunities; the opening of universities and professions to women.Content overview
Students will need to develop knowledge and understanding of the changing educational opportunities for women and girls and the impact of these for workplace opportunities. Students should understand the importance of relevant legislation, particularly the Education Act of 1870, in educating working class girls; they should know about the work of Dorothea Beale, Frances Mary Buss and about the Girls’ Day School Trust (GPDST) in educating girls from the more privileged sections of society. Students should know about the gradual opening of higher education to women and the impact this had on entry to the professions, in particular to teaching, the law and medicine. Students should understand how legislation impacted on the working lives of girls and women. Students should know how technology (for example the telephone and the typewriter) increased job opportunities for women and girls, and they should understand why trade unions reacted as they did to increasing numbers of women in the workforce. Students should know about the impact of the First World War on creating job opportunities for women and on the ways in which these were both developed and eroded in the 1920s. |
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And finally....cracking the Puzzle and developing my exam technique to achieve my potential in Unit 1!Once you have developed your knowledge and understanding through completing the course and practising the skills of doing history in your lessons and homework, it will be important to prepare yourself for the final puzzle...the exam. In fact lets stop using the E word now and just talk about preparing for the puzzle. There are two essential aspects to this preparation.
Firstly, there is developing your memory. This is something that you can do through specific memory training exercises and revision more generally. In history we encourage the use of the Trigger Memory Activity as an initial stimulus to your memory of a whole topic both in overview and in depth. Use theses tools and others that you have developed to prepare your memory for the demands of the puzzle. Secondly you will need to think about how this particular exam is organised, the number of questions, what skills they are asking you to demonstrate, the amount of marks they are worth and the amount of time you will have to answer these questions in the puzzle. There will be examples of these puzzles that have been used before so ask your teacher about them or find out the exam board and syllabus to access past papers online. The more that you prepare your memory and your clever writing patterns for particular questions under the conditions the puzzle will be set in, the greater chance you will have of fulfilling your potential in this subject.There are some examples of the Trigger Memory Activities and Clever Writing Patterns to develop Puzzle Technique opposite. Sit back, kick your shoes off, relax and begin your preparation. Get Revising Website Free Resources Votes for Women FilmIron Jawed Angels
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Past PapersAll past questions
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