Why Did a Campaign for Women’s Suffrage Develop in the...

The campaign for women’s suffrage developed after 1870 because certain steps and actions were taken to improve women’s rights before 1870. This gave women the courage to take their campaign for votes further, as there confidence grew. Women’s confidence grew because women first asked for little things that improved their rights, then gradually women asked for bigger and better things, because the more they got, the more they asked for. This was how women’s right generally progressed; this was also how women gained enough courage to ask and campaign for suffrage. Before the 1840s women were deemed completely dependant throughout her life on men, first as daughters then as wives. They were known as the property of their husbands and†¦show more content†¦The first breakthrough was in 1839, the Custody of Infants Act gave mothers legal custody of their children under 7 years and access to children older on condition that that she had not committed adultery. This was the first step to gaining women’s confidence as Caroline Norton and other women’s campaigning had paid off. Women were now assured that no one could take their children away from them. This made others realise that protesting and speaking out does make a difference, which gained women and even some men’s so that the number of people campaigning for justice in women’s rights would increase. The next call for freedom was in 1856 where a petition with 26,000 signatures was presented to parliament, calling for married women to be allowed to keep owner ship of their property and possessions. This had two effects: one was that the parliament now knew that women wanted to take a stand and have a voice and were willing to do so. And two, is that even though the petition did not have an immediate affect, the petition helped strengthen women’s unity and kept them standing strong for their beliefs. In 1857, a magazine called The Englishwomen’s Review was established. This magazine supported