Votes for women and the long fight

History · Britain Through Time · ages 12-13

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which pair gives one peaceful tactic and one militant act used in the British suffrage campaign?
- Collecting petition signatures and breaking windows
- Holding public meetings and collecting signatures
- Breaking shop windows and breaking office windows
Who could vote in British parliamentary elections around 1830?
- Most men qualified through property ownership.
- A minority of men qualified under varied local rules.
- Men and women qualified under the same local property rules.
Some campaigners argued that women paid taxes and obeyed laws, so they should help choose lawmakers.
Circle one: True False
What reason did some suffragettes give for using militant acts?
- They wanted Parliament to lower the voting age for men.
- They wanted elected women to lead the government.
- They thought decades of peaceful pressure had not won the vote.
Which summary fits British parliamentary voting rules by 1930?
- Men qualified from 21; women qualified from 30.
- Men and women qualified from 21 if they owned property.
- Men and women qualified on equal terms from age 21.
Peaceful campaigning ended when some suffragettes began using militant acts.
Circle one: True False
Which explanation best fits the lesson's account of the 1918 voting reform?
- Wartime work won the vote for women who had taken war jobs.
- The war changed debate alongside long campaigns and political decisions.
- Reform during the war established the equal voting terms used in the 1929 election.
An opponent says voting would distract women from family life. Which reply most directly answers that concern?
- Women needed votes because school and housing laws affected families.
- Women paid taxes, so they should help choose lawmakers.
- Women obeyed the country's laws, so they should help choose the lawmakers.

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Votes for women and the long fight W1-mt_7Cr6IwxFFv-s1

Collecting petition signatures and breaking windows · Collecting petition signatures was peaceful; breaking windows was militant. Meetings and signature gathering are both peaceful, while both window-breaking actions damage property.
A minority of men qualified under varied local rules. · Voting rules varied by place and often involved property. A minority of men qualified. Most men were excluded, and women had no recognised parliamentary voting right.
True · This was an argument campaigners used. Paying tax did not automatically give someone the parliamentary vote.
They thought decades of peaceful pressure had not won the vote. · Some suffragettes argued that peaceful pressure had not secured women's parliamentary vote. The question concerns their reason for changing methods, not male voting ages or who should lead a government.
Men and women qualified on equal terms from age 21. · By 1930, the 1928 Act had established equal terms from age 21. A women's threshold of 30 describes the earlier rules; property ownership was not a requirement for every voter.
False · Peaceful campaigns continued alongside militant action. The whole movement did not switch from one approach to another at once.
The war changed debate alongside long campaigns and political decisions. · The lesson identifies wartime debate, long campaigns and political decisions. Many younger women workers remained excluded in 1918, and equal voting terms came later, in 1928.
Women needed votes because school and housing laws affected families. · The reply about schools and housing directly connects politics with family concerns. Paying taxes and obeying laws were also campaign arguments, but gave different reasons for representation.