Hello, and thank you for joining me today.

My name is Mrs. Knox and I'm here to guide you through everything that you'll need to be successful with your learning objective.

So let's get started with today's lesson.

Our lesson today is part of our work on the women's suffrage movement where we're asking the question, why did it take so long for women to get the right to vote in Britain? Today, we'll be focusing on the government response to the suffragettes, and by the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain why the WSPU employed increasingly violent tactics and why they had little response or sympathy from the government.

Now, there are some important keywords that we'll come across in our lesson today.

The first word is suffragette, which is a woman seeking the right to vote through organised, and sometimes violent, protest.

Secondly, we'll come across the word publicity stunt, which is something that is done to attract the attention of the public.

Thirdly, we'll come across the word hunger strike, which is a prolonged refusal to eat, carried out in protest by a prisoner.

And then finally, we'll come across the word Liberal, and if you were a Liberal, you were a member of the political party which supported free trade.

Now there will be three parts to our lesson today, and we're going to start now with part one, which is about the reasons for increasingly radical action.

The year 1912 marked a turning point in the actions of the suffragettes.

They had become frustrated by the fact that their demonstrations outside Parliament had been ignored, and that women were being arrested and treated as criminals.

Although the issue of votes for women had been discussed in Parliament, it had not become law, and to the leaders of the suffragettes, violence seemed like the only option left.

On the screen, you can see an anti-suffrage postcard.

This might help you to consider the question, what impact do you think the suffragettes' use of violence would've had on public support for their campaign? Two leading figures from the Women's Social and Political Union, the WSPU, were Annie Besant and Christabel Pankhurst, who decided to call on its members to use violent tactics.

They believed that this was justified as all their other efforts had been ignored, and they pointed out that male suffrage campaigners had also used violence in their campaign for the right to vote.

Christabel also argued that broken glass was better than broken promises, which she said the government was guilty of.

Although not everyone within the women's suffrage movement agreed with their peer's views, a number of women did take up their calls for increased levels of violence in the 18 months prior to the outbreak of the First World War.

For instance, a number of suffragettes started chaining themselves to railings outside Parliament as a way of attracting attention to their cause.

All right, time for a quick check of your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this question.

What year marked the start of an increasingly violent phase of suffragette action? Was it a, 1910, b, 1911, or c, 1912? Pause now, and when you finished your answer, press play.

Yes, that's right.

You should have said the answer was c.

In 1912, that was the start of an increasingly violent phase for the suffragettes.

Another reason for the increased use of violence was because some of the radical working-class suffragettes wanted more than the right to vote.

They were socialists and they wanted to start a worker's revolution to create a more equal society.

Other women felt that they wanted to make a name for themselves and become a sort of celebrity, and others simply enjoyed the excitement of breaking the law.

Whatever their motives behind their violent actions, around 1300 women were arrested and imprisoned during the suffragette campaign from 1906 to 1914.

Okay, time for another quick check of understanding.

I'd like you to answer this true or false question.

Women were unwilling to break the law to gain the right to vote.

Is that true or false? Pause now and when you've thought of your answer, press play and we'll go through the answer.

Yes, you should've said that that is false.

Women were willing to break the law to gain the right to vote.

What's reason that would justify your answer? Is it a, around 1300 women were arrested and imprisoned during the suffragette campaign? Or b, nearly 300 women were arrested and imprisoned during the suffragette campaign.

Press pause now and when you're ready to see the answer, press play.

You should've said that the right justification was a, there were nearly 1300 women arrested and imprisoned during the suffragette campaign.

Finally, let's put what we've learned into practise by answering this question.

You need to read Sofia's point of view and give two reasons that this view could be seen as incorrect.

Let's see what Sofia's view is.

She says that the WSPU were correct in their thinking that they should become more violent.

The government were refusing to listen to their calls for the vote, so more extreme action was needed.

Press pause now and try to think of two reasons this view could be said to be incorrect.

Press play when you're ready to hear some possible answers.

Welcome back.

Let's see what possible answers you could have come up with to show that Sofia's view that more violent action was needed could be seen as incorrect.

You might've said that the suffragettes using violence in their publicity stunts turned some members of the public against the cause of women suffrage.

You could also have said that the government were less likely to listen as they would not want to be seen to give in to violence.

Possibly, you could also have said that it gave opponents of suffrage opportunities to argue that women were too emotional to be trusted with the right to vote.

It's time to move on now to the second part of our lesson today, which will focus on suffragette publicity stunts.

Publicity stunts were a feature of the radical tactics used by the suffragettes.

Their purpose was to disrupt British life and to show the lengths that women would go to in order to gain the right to vote.

They were carried out to capture the attention of the newspapers and to ensure that the suffrage issue was and remained on the front page.

One example of this can be found in the suffragettes' arson campaign between 1913 and 1914, in which around 300 incidents of arson and bombing were carried out.

The idea was to attack property rather than individuals, for example, by setting fire to post boxes, smashing shop windows, damaging works of art, and bombing public buildings.

Targets included the Theatre Royal in London, the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, and Westminster Abbey.

Although publicity stunts received media attention, the suffragettes were criticised for these radical tactics, with some arguing that these were acts of terrorism.

Time to have a check of your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this true or false question.

Suffragette attacks on public buildings were intended to injure the public.

Is that true or false? Pause now and press play when you're ready.

You should have said that the correct answer is false, but why is the answer false? Is it because of a, suffragette arson attacks and bombings were carried out to put pressure on the government to act? Or b, suffragette arson attacks and bombings aim to frighten the public into voting for women's suffrage? Press pause and when you're ready for the answer, press play.

You should've said that the correct justification is a, suffragette arson attacks and bombings were carried out to put pressure on the government to act.

They were not intended to injure the public.

Hunger strikes were also used by the suffragettes as publicity stunts.

This was when some suffragette prisoners refused to eat or drink in an attempt to force the government to grant female suffrage, or because they wanted to be classed as political prisoners rather than criminals.

When the suffragette hunger strikes began in 1908, the government felt that they had no choice but to release these women as they did not want them to cause serious harm to themselves and gain public sympathy.

However, as the numbers of suffragettes on hunger strike increased, the government introduced a policy of force-feeding.

The suffragettes showed the cruelty of the government by releasing images and descriptions of women being restrained and feeding tubes being forced into their throats and up their nose.

This provoked sympathy from the public, who were shocked at the way these female prisoners were being treated.

In 1913, to try to solve the issue, the Liberal government introduced a law which allowed for the temporary release of suffragettes on hunger strike.

Once their health had recovered, they were once again taken to prison to complete the remaining sentence.

On the screen, you can see an example of a suffragette poster.

Have a think about why the suffragettes would've wanted to produce images like these.

All right, let's have another check of your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this question.

Which tactic did some suffragettes use in prison to put pressure on the government? Was it a, arson, b, hunger strikes, or c, smashing windows? Press pause and when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

Yes, that's right.

You should've said the correct answer was b, women in prison went on hunger strike to put pressure on the government.

One suffragette called Emily Davison attempted her own publicity stunt in 1913 during the Derby horse race in Epsom.

As King George V's horse went past, Davison tried to attach a scarf to its bridle.

In doing this, she collided with the horse and was left unconscious on the track.

Four days later, she died in hospital from her injuries.

The death and the funeral of Davison attracted huge publicity, and the suffragettes portrayed her as a martyr, which is someone willing to die for their beliefs.

Historians believe that it is unlikely that Davison planned to sacrifice her life.

However, her death shocked the public and once again, put the spotlight on the government's lack of action over the issue of votes for women.

Okay, it's now time to put your knowledge into practise.

I'd like you to list the reasons why the suffragettes used publicity stunts in their campaign for female suffrage.

Try to mention at least two possible reasons in your answer.

Welcome back.

Here are some of the reasons that you might have listed.

You might have said that the suffragettes use publicity stunts in their campaign for female suffrage to raise awareness of the inequalities between men and women.

You might also have said that publicity stunts were used to attract media interest.

Finally, you could have said that the use of publicity stunts was to keep the issue of female suffrage on the front page of the newspapers.

All right, it's now time to move on to the final part of our lesson today.

In this section, we'll focus on the government actions and response.

The Cat and Mouse Act passed by the Liberal government is a good example of the difficulties the suffragettes created through their use of violent and radical action.

This law had to be rushed through Parliament as there was growing criticism of those on hunger strike.

The law itself was used by the WSPU to gain further publicity.

They nicknamed this law, the Cat and Mouse Act because the process was like a cat, the government, chasing a mouse, the suffragette.

The suffragettes were suggesting that the government was behaving in a cruel fashion, in the same way a cat would prey on a mouse.

In one suffragette poster, the prime minister was shown as a large ginger cat with the injured body of a little mouse, a suffragette, between his teeth.

You might want to have a think about why the suffragette came up with the nickname Cat and Mouse Act.

Although the increasingly violent tactics of the suffragettes put pressure on the government to act, it also prevented the government from extending the franchise to women.

This was because if they did so, it may have looked like they had given in to violence and suggested to other campaign groups that it was acceptable to use violence.

Nevertheless, by 1914, it was becoming clear that women would eventually get suffrage, as was the case in other countries, such as New Zealand in 1893, Australia in 1902, Finland in 1906, and Norway in 1913.

Furthermore, many MPs and influential figures supported the extension of the franchise.

However, the prime minister, Herbert Asquith, had other pressing issues to deal with, such as the approach of war in Europe.

He also feared that women would be more likely to vote for the opposition party, the Conservatives.

The violent actions of the suffragettes may in fact have given Asquith an excuse to delay female suffrage, even though many in the government supported it.

It's time now to do a quick check of your understanding.

I'd like you to answer this true or false question.

The suffragettes criticised the government for releasing hunger-striking women, only to rearrest them once recovered.

Is that true or false? Press pause and when you're ready to hear the answer, press play.

That's right.

You should've said that the answer is true.

But why is the answer true? Is it because a, the suffragettes said the government was behaving like a cruel cat playing with a mouse? Or b, the suffragettes said the government was as scared of their hunger strikes as a mouse was of a cat.

Press pause and when you're ready for the answer, press play.

Well done if you said the answer was a, the reason that the suffragettes criticised the government for releasing hunger-striking women, only to rearrest them once recovered was because they said the government was behaving like a cruel cat playing with a mouse.

Here's another question for you.

In which two countries had women already gained the vote by 1914? Is it a, New Zealand and Australia, b, New Zealand and Sweden, or c, Australia and France? Press pause and then press play when you're ready for the answer.

That's right, you should've said that the answer is a, New Zealand and Australia had already given women the vote by 1914.

Let's have another quick check of understanding.

Which of the statements below justifies Izzy's opinion? Izzy's opinion is that the suffragettes prevented women from receiving the vote in Britain by 1914 due to their violent actions.

Does statement a support this? The government could not be seen to get in to violence.

Or does statement b support this? The government were unconvinced that women should be allowed the right to vote.

Press pause and then press play when you're ready for the answer.

Yes, that's right.

You should've said that statement a supports Izzy's opinion.

The government could not be seen to give in to violence and therefore the suffragettes prevented women from receiving the vote in Britain by 1914 due to their violent actions.

And now here's the final task for today.

Do you agree with Lucas? Lucas says, "I think that the Liberal government were unable to give women the vote due to suffragette violence." I'd like you to explain your answer using the following words, Liberal, publicity stunt, violence, and front page news.

Press pause now and then when you're ready for the answer, press play.

Welcome back.

Let's have a look at some of the things that you might have said in your answer.

Your answer could've included that Lucas is correct in saying that the violent actions of the suffragettes prevented the Liberal government from giving women the right to vote as it may have looked like they had given in to violence.

This could have encouraged other campaign groups to use similar tactics.

However, Lucas's answer does not consider that their violent tactics kept the pressure on the government and their publicity stunts kept the issue of female suffrage as front page news.

In some ways, the determination of the suffragettes could have helped to convince the government that change was needed.

We reached the end of today's lesson, so let's have a quick summary of what we've learned today.

The actions of the WSPU became increasingly violent after 1912.

Publicity stunts were used to gain attention for the cause, such as chaining themselves to railings and the actions of individuals like Emily Davison.

The government passed the Cap and Mouse Act to deal with the suffragettes on hunger strike.

And although the actions of the suffragettes put pressure on the Liberal government, they did not want to give women the vote due to the violent tactics they had used.

Many thanks for your hard work in today's lesson.

I hope that you feel confident that you've met your learning objective.

I look forward to you joining me in a future history lesson where we'll continue to look at the women's suffrage movement and ask the question, why did it take so long for women to get the right to vote in Britain? (object clicks).