Suffragettes, the vision of voting

Traditionally, it had long been felt that women’s ‘place’ was at home, caring for her husband and children, however, the Industrial Revolutions enabled more women to work and to have more of a say in their own lives. Although women could own property, they didn’t have the right to vote. From 1905, the Suffragettes' campaign, whose motto was 'Deeds Not Words' increasingly used more aggressive tactics to get people to listen, which included planting bombs, breaking windows, handcuffing themselves to railings and going on hunger strikes when imprisoned. Many people around the UK ‘spoiled’ their 1911 census forms by defacing their household’s page, writing cynical or protesting comments, and some husbands and fathers also wrote quirky comments or apologies. In 1913, Emily Davison threw herself in front of King George V's horse, at the Epsom Derby horse races, to protest against women’s suffrage. She died from her injuries four days later. This tragedy had to make Government decision-makers to pay attention. By 1918, the ‘Representation of the People Act’ extended the vote to all men over 21, and to some groups of women over 30.