Movemento sufraxista, 1918-1939

The Interwar Period (1918-1939)

The Suffragist Movement

• Social and political movement led by women fighting for the right to vote
• Began in the mid-19th century and achieved success in the 1920s-1930s after World War I
• Extended beyond suffrage, becoming the second wave of feminism, following enlightened feminists like Olympe de Gouges and Mary Wollstonecraft

The Role of Women in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries

• "Feminine essence" and "biological destiny" viewed women as fragile, irrational, and incapable of handling political or public tasks
• Women were legally considered minors, dependent on male relatives
• Prohibited from higher education and certain jobs; unable to own property, vote, or participate in politics
• Women's situation varied by social class and marital status, but inequality prevailed

Suffragist Movement's Core Beliefs

• Challenged sexist views, advocating for women as rational, capable beings
• Sought recognition as complete human beings
• Distinguished itself from enlightened feminists by forming an organized political movement

Origins of Suffragism

• Preceding organized political action, conventions laid the groundwork for future suffragists
• Anti-slavery movement ignited suffragism, due to slavery’s legality in 19th-century Western countries, particularly the US
• Suffragism emerged alongside anti-racist struggles, representing the beginnings of organized feminism

Anti-Slavery Convention impact on Suffragism

• The World Anti-Slavery Convention in London (1840) excluded female delegates from the US
• Humiliated, US delegates Lucyrena Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton focused on women's rights and went on to establish the suffragist movement

Seneca Falls Convention

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 in New York
• Addressed women's education, marital oppression, property rights, and voting rights in the Declaration of Sentiments

Sojourner Truth's Impact

• Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), an African-American freed slave, delivered the "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851
• Addressed the struggles of women, especially African-American women, in male-dominated society

National Woman Suffrage Association

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.
• This was the first American suffragist association
• The suffragist movement gained momentum in England

Emmeline Pankhurst

• Emerged as a key figure with the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)
• The WSPU was founded in 1903, dedicated to campaigns for political rights; especially suffrage
• Pankhurst's motto was "Deeds, not words", demanding action on women's rights

Suffragist Movement Goals and Impact

• Suffragism sought the right to vote and access to education internationally in industrial societies
• The Movement required around 80 years and three generations of women to win political changes
• Political intervention was necessary due to prohibitions against women’s political participation
• Familiar methods of demonstrations, disturbances, hunger strikes, leaflet distribution, and chaining

Suffragist Demands

• The focus was on women's vote, and broader equality
• It was believed that suffrage would lead to: access to higher education and professions, shared parental authority, administrating own property, and equal pay

Suffrage Social Classes

• Involved women from diverse social classes, from industrial workers to aristocrats
• Aimed for political and economic equality with central focus on voting rights

Suffragism in England

• The first official request for the right to vote in the British Parliament was in 1832, subsequently dismissed
• John Stuart Mill submitted the "Ladies Petition" in 1866, was also rejected

British Suffrage Tactics

• Legislative changes were nonexistent leading to more combative tactics
• Protests included vandalism of fashion stores, arson to empty buildings, interrupting political meetings, and chaining to public buildings
• Thousands were jailed and force-fed via a tube. No deaths resulted
• Emily Davison martyred herself at the 1913 Derby, becoming a symbol for the movement

British Voting Rights

• The right to vote granted to women over 30 with property in 1918
• Full voting rights achieved in 1928 and in 1931 the right to vote was achieved during the Second Republic in Spain

Reactions to the Suffragist Movement

• It was opposed by society
• Opponents said suffragism threatened domestic roles, motherhood, and social order
• The Media ridiculed suffragists

Media Attacks

• Early 20th-century attacks against suffragists and feminists were very violent
• Desire for political participation, economic independence, and personal autonomy was identified as abnormal and perverse sexuality
• Public speaking was deemed unnatural and a sign of homosexuality
• Writer E. Carpenter labeled feminists as "manly tempered", lacking maternal instinct and lesbian by default

Suffragist Successes

• Suffrage was not accompanied by media approval
• Suffragists faced repression and humiliation
• They secured rights for women worldwide

The Crack of 1929 and the Great Depression

Origin of the Crack

• The "locos años veinte" economic downturn
• The USA became global industrial power post WWI, aiding European economies
• US became the world's leading lender, including to Germany
• American economy's growth was termed the "roaring twenties"

1929 Wealth Distribution

• Wealth concentrated with a minority, with the top 0.1% controlling 34% of the country's wealth
• Corporate profits grew by 62%, the average increase in wealth for workers was only 9%
• Socioeconomic disparities grew

Two Main Economic Problems

• Overproduction happened because industrial output was greater than demand
• There was a lack of purchasing power
• Speculation increased because of the belief in a long term economic paradise

Speculation in the Stock Market

• Banks lent money to companies to invest in the stock market
• Investing in stocks was based on expected, not real profits
• Stock values inflated, not proportional to real business profit

Stock Market Actions

• Wealthy investors sold stocks, causing the market to crash
• Smaller investors followed resulted in the "crack of 1929,"
• The "crack of 1929" was the largest crisis of capitalism until 2008

The Great Depression and Its Spread

• Stock market crash led to a major economic crisis of the 1930s known as the "Great Depression."
• Economic imbalance contributed to the destruction of the US economy
• Companies failed, unemployment rose, consumer power declined

How the Crisis Became Global

• When the US withdrew credit from European countries it created a lack of liquidity
• This caused the international spread of the North American crisis
• Germany was affected due to the Dawes Plan, in which the US lent to Germany to pay war debts
• The US withdrew resources resulted to German bankruptcy

Economic Domination

• European countries could not collect war reparations because without money they could not confront it
• The contagion caused a domino effect

The New Deal

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the Democratic Party implemented the "New Deal" to combat the Great Depression
• It involved state intervention in the economy, based on regulation of finance,labor and public works
• This intervention was because the pre-existing liberal intervention had it's limits and was the root cause of the crisis

Economic Recovery

• The economy recovered in the mid-1930s
• Roosevelt was re-elected

Italian and German Fascism

What Is Fascism

• 1929 led to a loss of confidence in liberal democracy
• Eric Hobsbawm argues "fascism would not have reached a historical relevance without the Great Depression"
• Ultra-right political parties take advantage of xenophobic and identity-based messages, but do not openly reject capitalism

Political Movement

• Fascism is a political phenomenon with Mass movements capable of attracting a large population
• Makes use of an irrational violence
• It is centered around nationalism, racism and militarism
• Rejects Enlightenment and French Revolution values
• Hostile to concepts such as liberty, equality, and freedom

Ideology

• Opposition to democratic ideals
• Advocates for a political fascist ideology
• Hostile to "the left", especially communism because it is the "enemy"
• National, patritoic and racist values
• Prominence of racism and supremacist ideals promotes inequality
• Values include superior people are the superior to others according to racist theories
• Promotes militarism as a value
• Favours the concept of autarchy and complete independence

Other Factors

• Fascism is a modern movement
• It is able to get followers, even amongst revolutionary factions: specifically, the youth
• Fascists create youth organizations, eg: The Hitler Youth, to control the youth

How Fascism Developed

• The movement was successful in countries such as Italy and Germany, with leaders such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler
• The movement was copied across Italy and Germany under leaders such as Francisco Franco

Fascist Italy

Causes of Fascism in Italy

• Italy failed to see the true outcome of agreements from the Treaty of WWI
• Allied forces previously promised land to Italy if it were victorious
• Rampant economic issues
• Inflation and high unemployment was persistent
• The socialist party threatened the capitalist order through constant strikes
• Violence was rampaging the streets

The Rise to Power of Mussolini

• Benito Mussolini founded The National Fascist Party (PNF); A
• violent organization that was focused on ending disorder or disagreement
• The Blackshirts (Squadre d'azione) were created to incite fear in the people; it was made up of veterans
• Extremists would strike political opponents on behalf of the PNF
• In 1921, the PNF secured several positions in parliament
• After this poor performance, fascist began to act and force their way to power
• As the Blackshirts marched on Rome, and political opponents were too scared to intervene, the government caved

Mussolini's Conceding to His demands

• Victor Emmanuel III conceded and the government was formed under Mussolini's new conditions, giving him full power for 1 year
• Those opposed to the regime were intimidated by violence from the Blackshirts
• Election were held in 1924 and were taken by force, under conditions of violence and intimidation of political opponents
• 1924 was the last free election until 1946 when true democracy was re-established

Matteotti opposition

• Because Giacomo Matteoti, a political opponent, stood up to the regime
• Soon after a final speech made in parliament where he condemned the use of violence and illegality
• Afterwards, Matteoti was soon kidnapped and killed by members of the PNF

Timeline of Mussolini's Dictatorship

• PNF, under Mussolini, began to enact a fascists dictatorship after dispensing with opposition
• All parties, syndicates, freedom of expression, ect, beside the PNF were prohibited
• Cinema and journalism as well was censored and placed under state control
• A fierce secret police: OVRA (Organizazione per la Vigilanza e la Repressione dell'Antifascismo) were formed to extinguish political discordance
• Economics went towards total autarchy to improve output/ reduce supply chains; A return to the Roman Empire
• Extreme aggression would be used, leading to Italian occupation of Ethiopia and Albanian as well as joining the Spanish Civil War

Political Opposition

• Industrial capitalists, land tycoons and middle classers were pleased with Mussolini and his regime.
• Parties with a workerist or social-democratic slant were snuffed out quickly
• Political violence/ assassinations led to much death that led the PNF to remove opponents of the regime

Nazi Germany

Nazi Fascism

• Eric Hobsbawm commented that without the Great Depression, fascism would have never enjoyed the momentum or support that it did, including nazi Germany
• An agreement was struck between German and Italian fascism
• Hitler rose to power as german facism continued to build momentum

Depression in Germany

• In 1923, hyperinflation was rampant, and the German economy was in turmoil
• One dollar came at a cost of 4.2M marks
• Children played in the streets with stacks of money

Treaty of Versailles

• Hiperinflation was largely due to the ToV
• Because of this, the US offered a loan through the Dawes plan, so that Germany could at least pay off some of their debts

Rise of National Socialist Party

• The Nazi party claimed that Germany was being held hostage by the ToV
• At the same time in 1919, the Nazi party began to form
• Over the next few years, the party was to be led by Adolf Hitler

Hitler's Fascism

• Fascism was expressed by hitler in 1923: attempted to storm central power through violence but was met with failure
• Hitler wrote the Mein Kampf during his time in prison to express the key idealogies of German fascism
• A cult of personality was used to inspire the youth

Racism

• Hitler blamed many issues on the "slavs" and "jew" people
• The "Aryain race" (the race of the German people) was considered to be supreme, the superior
• People had the right to expand the living space of Germany

How Nazi Ideas were Enforced

• Nazis used violence as a method of enforcing ideals
• The storm section attacked political opponents, intimidating the community

Plan Dawes

• After the Plan Dawes ended in 1929, Nazis were able to take control of Germany
• Accusations against Jewish plans was met with support

KDP

• Many economic elites supported the Nazi party in hope it would be an alternative path compared to kdp (communist party of German)
• In 1932, the Nazi's took control of the party
• It was clear that the Nazi party was not a fringe and was there to stay

Hinderburg's Decision

• By November 1932 the party would gain more control and more seats
• Hinderburg made the decision to allow hitler to take power
• the first election did not do so well
• There were antisemitism, anti-communism, and ultra-nationalism

New elections

• New elections were carried out on march 5th of 1933
• 43.91% of the population voted for Nazi

Nazi Leadership

• 1934 began Hitler's journey as a fascist dictator
• Nazi was to have no political rivals
• He consolidated power and begin to employ the strategy of racism from mein Kampf

Racism's Implementation

• The Nazi government began a campaign of racism
• The goal was to eradicate jews and other minority
• After 1943, the reichstag approved of his position because the Nazis rigged the election

Kristallnacht's

• The Kristallnacht saw destruction of jewish owned establishments
• 30,000 Jews were held captive
• All of this lead to the final solution and systematic extermination of Jewish and slavic people (holocaust)

Aftermath

• 2 M disabled and other people were killed
• People who broke Nazi rules faced strict punishment

Hitler's Methods

• Hitler consolidated power, terror, the SS police force (protection squadron and the gestapo (secret police)
• As Nazi power expanded, the image was promoted by Joseph gobels as means of propaganda as it helped to promote the validity if the nazi cause

Businesses Support

• Richer industries support fascism
• IBM and ford were known supporters of the Nazi campaign

Communism

• The lower class was very opposed to the idea
• People were worried Germany would descend to communism

War against Dictators

• Italian and German fascism led to conflict in WW2 (greatest conflict of all time)
• Soviet and Allied forces liberated the area from facism in 1945
• Adolf Hitler committed suicide while benito messolini was murdered
• Those in power continue to enact political violence due to their dislike for communists