The Times and the women's suffrage movement, 1900-1918
Abstract
The thesis, "The Times and the Women's Suffrage Movement 1900-1918", is aimed at clarifying the paper's treatment of a contentious subject and amplifying the historical data about the movement itself. In order to accomplish this, the daily issues of the newspaper and its background were examined, along with the available sources on women's suffrage.
After first reviewing the past and status of The Times, and the history and achievements of the suffragists, the study takes the shape of a chronological account of
the paper's response to the movement in the first 19 years
of the
twentieth century.
Until
1905,
the response was negligible, as indeed
was the energy of the suffragists. With the advent of
militant tactics, inspired by the Pankhurst-headed Women's
Social and Political Union, the public image of women's
suffrage began to change and, with it, press coverage.
Until
1908,
these new tactics were largely symbolic, though
often leading to the arrest and imprisonment of the new
style "suffragettes". Besides opposing female enfranchisement
in leading articles, there is some evidence that The Times
allowed its opinions to spill over into its news columns -
an occurrence which was to become increasingly obvious
when militant tactics took on the violent aspect of stone throwing from 1908-1911. During this later period, The
Times' editorial opposition hardened; when the suffragettes
began employing arson and other property damage, in what
was openly
claimed to be "guerrilla warfare" in the years preceding the First World War, The Times used its respectable journalistic leadership to condemn the militants and
urge active public and parliamentary opposition to the
enfranchisement of women.
When Britain entered the war, concern with the militant
women disappeared from The Times' columns, as did other
news unrelated to the conflict. By 1916, however, the
participation of women in wartime activities began to
command publicity, and a groundswell of support for
enfranchisement finally overtook The Times in 1917.
Subsequent leading articles were favorable, as were the
majority of its wartime news accounts of women.
Besides serving as a record of The Times' sensitivity
to a popularly discussed topic, the study uncovers a thread
of consistency running from the first perfunctory opposition
to women's suffrage through active condemnation of militancy
and final support of female enfranchisement. The Times
always emphasized its adherence to educated public opinion;
and even when its editorial shift did come, it seemed only
to emphasize continuing reflection of this opinion and
recognition of the trends acting upon it. The Times can
then be seen as a newspaper possessing not only strength
but flexibility towards political and social change.
Type
Thesis, MLitt Master of Letters
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