International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

The British organized women's suffrage campaign began in the mid-1860s when a reform bill was under consideration that would expand the electorate. John Stuart Mill, a member of Parliament (MP) and a prominent women's suffrage advocate, agreed to introduce a women's suffrage amendment to the bill if the women's groups would generate a petition supporting that reform. Suffrage societies were formed in London and Manchester and provided Mill with a petition requesting women's suffrage with 1,499 signatures. Mill proposed his amendment when the 1867 Reform Bill was under consideration by the House of Commons, but it was easily defeated. Some MPs thought the idea of women voting was ludicrous. Although there was strong resistance to granting women the parliamentary franchise, they were accepted as voters in local elections. The 1869 Municipal Corporations (Franchise) Act granted women the right to vote in local elections on the same terms as men, and the 1870 Education Act permitted them to vote in local school board elections. Those who opposed women's parliamentary suffrage often argued that because women were rightfully concerned with their communities and the education of their children it was appropriate that they vote in local elections, but parliamentary elections were a different matter. Parliament was concerned with issues of defense and foreign policy that were considered ... log in or subscribe to read full text