Women Against the Vote : Female Anti-Suffragism in Britain

## Abstract This book provides the first full history of the female campaign against votes for women in late 19th- and early 20th-century Britain. By 1914, the National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage was dominated by the self-consciously masculine leadership of Lord Cromer and Lord Curzon, but also heavily dependent upon an impressive cadre of women leaders. An overwhelmingly female membership rivalled the suffrage organizations in numbers, though not in levels of activism. The first half of the book explores the motives and ideals of women against the vote. The provenance of their opposition is analyzed through three overlapping groups: maternal reformers, women writers, and imperialist ladies. In the second half of the book, a detailed study of anti-suffrage organizations and their supporters reveals that partnership between the sexes was seldom straightforward, even for a movement dedicated to separate and complementary gender roles. Anti-suffragism was divided by internal conflicts between men and women, and between reformers and ultra-conservatives, as it fuelled the suffrage conflict and wider contemporary debates over the Woman Question. Women pursued their own agendas within organized anti-suffragism, demonstrating their affinity with the mainstream social conservatism of the British women's movement and continuously collaborating with moderate suffragists in non-political social action. The rediscovered history of female anti-suffragism provides new perspectives on campaigns both for and against the vote. It also makes a significant contribution to the wider history of Victorian and Edwardian women's social ideas and public activism.

British women who resisted their own enfranchisement were ridiculed by the suffragists and have since been neglected by historians. Yet these women, together with the millions whose indifference reinforced the opposition case, claimed to form a majority of the female public on the eve of the First World War. By 1914 the organized antis rivaled the suffragists in numbers, though not in terms of publicity-seeking activism. The National League for Opposing Women's Suffrage was dominated by the self-consciously masculine leadership of Lord Cromer and Lord Curzon, but also heavily dependent upon an impressive cadre of women leaders and a mostly female membership.

Women Against the Vote looks at three overlapping groups of women: maternal reformers, women writers and imperialist ladies. These women are then followed into action as campaigners in their own right, as well as supporters of anti-suffrage men. Collaboration between the sexes was not always straightforward, even within a movement dedicated to separate and complementary gender roles. As the anti-suffrage women pursued their own varied social and political agendas, they demonstrated their affinity with the mainstream social conservatism of the British women's movement. The rediscovered history of female anti-suffragism provides new perspectives on the campaigns both for and against the vote. It also makes an important contribution to the wider history of women's social and political activism in late nineteenth century and early twentieth century Britain.

British women who resisted their own enfranchisement were ridiculed by the suffragists and have since been neglected by historians. Yet these women, together with the millions whose indifference reinforced the opposition case, claimed to form a majority of the female public on the eve of the First World War. By 1914 the organized "antis" rivaled the suffragists in numbers, though not in terms of publicity-seeking activism. The National League for Opposing Women's Suffrage was dominated by the self-consciously masculine leadership of Lord Cromer and Lord Curzon, but also heavily dependent upon an impressive cadre of women leaders and a mostly female membership. Women Against the Vote looks at three overlapping groups of women: maternal reformers, women writers and imperialist ladies. These women are then followed into action as campaigners in their own right, as well as supporters of anti-suffrage men. Collaboration between the sexes was not always straightforward, even within a movement dedicated to separate and complementary gender roles. As the anti-suffrage women pursued their own varied social and political agendas, they demonstrated their affinity with the mainstream social conservatism of the British women's movement. The rediscovered history of female anti-suffragism provides new perspectives on the campaigns both for and against the vote. It also makes an important contribution to the wider history of women's social and political activism in late nineteenth century and early twentieth century Britain. British women who resisted their own enfranchisement were ridiculed by the suffragists and have since been neglected by historians. Yet these women, together with the millions whose indifference reinforced the opposition case, claimed to form a majority of the female public on the eve of the First World War. By 1914 the organised'antis'rivalled the suffragists in numbers, though not in terms of publicity-seeking activism. The National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage was dominated by the self-consciously masculine leadership of Lord Cromer and Lord Curzon, but also heavily dependent upon an impressive cadre of women leaders and a mostly female membership. Women Against the Vote looks at three overlapping groups of women: maternal reformers, women writers and imperialist ladies. These women are then followed into action as campaigners in their own right, as well as supporters of anti-suffrage men. Collaboration between the sexes was not always straightforward, even within a movement dedicated to separate and complementary gender roles. As the anti-suffrage women pursued their own varied social and political agendas, they demonstrated their affinity with the mainstream social conservatism of the British women's movement. The rediscovered history of female anti-suffragism provides new perspectives on the campaigns both for and against the vote. It also makes an important contribution to the wider history of women's social and political activism in late nineteenth century and early twentieth century Britain. Contents......Page 10 List of Abbreviations......Page 11 1. An Introduction to Women’s Anti-Suffragism......Page 12 PART I: THE LEADING WOMEN ANTI-SUFFRAGISTS......Page 32 2. Maternal Reformers and Education......Page 34 3. Maternal Reformers and Social Duty......Page 58 4. Women Writers......Page 86 5. Imperial Ladies......Page 118 PART II: WOMEN’S ANTI-SUFFRAGISM IN ACTION......Page 150 6. The Women’s Appeal and After......Page 152 7. The Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League......Page 174 8. Working with Men......Page 204 9. Suffrage, Sexuality, and Citizenship......Page 236 10. Anti-Suffragists at War......Page 268 11. A Retrospective View of Failure......Page 300 Bibliography......Page 332 C......Page 344 D......Page 345 H......Page 346 L......Page 347 N......Page 348 S......Page 349 W......Page 350 Y......Page 351 This book provides the first full account of the collective campaign by women who did not want the parliamentary vote. The provenance of their ideas is explained through analysis of three overlapping groups of women: maternal reformers (e.g. Mary Ward, Louise Creighton, Ethel Harrison, Elisabeth Wordsworth, Lucy Soulsby), women writers (e.g. Mary Ward, Eliza Lyn Linton, Marie Corelli, Charlotte Yonge), and imperialist ladies (e.g. Violet Markham, Gertrude Bell, Mary Kingsley, and Flora Shaw). These women are then followed into action as campaigners in their own right, as well as supporters of anti-suffrage men. The study extends into the wider area of women's social and political activism in late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Britain British women who resisted their own enfranchisement were ridiculed by the suffragists and have since been neglected by historians. Yet these women, together with the millions whose indifference reinforced the opposition case, claimed to form a majority of the female public on the eve of the First World War. By 1914 the organised 'antis' rivalled the suffragists in numbers, though not in terms of publicity-seeking activism. The National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage wasdominated by the self-consciously masculine leadership of Lord Cromer and Lord Curzon, but also heavily dependent upon an British women who resisted their own enfranchisement were ridiculed by the suffragists and have since been neglected by historians. Yet these women claimed to form a majority of the female public on the eve of the First World War. Julia Bush rediscovers the history of female anti-suffragism in Britain