Was it the suffragette movement, or the changes brought about by the Essay

Was it the suffragette movement, or the changes brought about by the great war, that enabled women to get the vote in 1918 - Essay Example So, some believe that the World War I is the major reason for women suffrage and few others believe that the suffrage movements played the key role. The suffrage movement in itself represents a broad range of protests and social movements and had people of both gender with varying views. For instance, Emmeline Pankhurst, who led the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903, was one of the leaders of suffrage movement and an English political activist and was so militant in the approach. There were diverse views about the â€Å"woman’s place† the different groups fought for. Some of them strongly felt that women were naturally kind and weak, and that these qualities may contribute towards political agenda and policies that have a great bearing on household, children and other social safety. They felt that they might have a civilizing effect on political affairs; for example, laws regarding alcohol or child safety, can be best supported and decided by women. A few others voiced for suffrage based on their strong belief in equal rights and woman’s role. They were against any discourse that listed any n atural role for women, rather supported the idea that men and women are equal and capable of same things. While such groups were led by their ideologies about women, other supporters of suffrage were guided by the opinion that all adults have franchise irrespective of class, gender or race. A significant section felt that women suffrage can cancel the votes of men belonging to lower class or non-white race. Each political activist group working towards women suffrage had its own ideology but working towards the same end. Suffrage basically revolved around the idea of human rights and equality. The history of suffrage movement goes back to 1800’s when, the first women’s rights meeting was held in Unites States and this was followed by the rising egalitarian or democratic spirit among women. However, it was the Nineteenth Amendment that

Evaluate the actions of the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch Essay

Evaluate the actions of the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch explorers and colonizers. Be sure to consider their impact on the native peoples, the environme - Essay Example New trade routes were a necessity in competing with other European countries. Trade of European goods for spices and other goods not available in Europe were in high demand. An explorer who opened up or discovered a new trade route was handsomely compensated by their government. Wilkenson (2002, p. 20) explains â€Å"more and more explorers tried to open up trade routes.† Faster trade routes to countries with raw materials were valuable. The faster a ship could reach a country with valuable resources, the sooner they could beat other countries wanting the same materials. Riches also drove the explorers. They were searching for gold, silver, spices, and other natural resources. Abernethy (2002, p. 211) explains how these explorations were â€Å"leading Spain and Portugal to vie in the early sixteenth century for spice-rich islands off Asia’s southeast coast†. Tales of streets of gold and diamonds lying on the ground made it back to Europe. Although the Europeans did not believe such tales, the explorations were popular. Abernethy (2002, p. 191) reports â€Å"led Europeans to ask more insistently whether statements about the world were supported by the evidence. Maritime exploration having paid rich and unexpected dividends.† The expense was being returned ten fold on ships funded for exploration. Spices, gold, diamonds, and other natural resources were being sold at a fraction of the cost to obtain them. These explorers were treasure hunting for their governments, with the dividends paying off richly. The problem with the Europeans finding riches was where the riches were located. The natural resources were located in North and South America, Africa, and other lands not yet explored by Europeans. The natives they met were exotic. However, the Europeans easily conquered these new cultures in order to take their natural resources. Suddenly, the natives were second class citizens in their own