Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer in the women’s suffrage movement in the United States and president of the National Woman Suffrage Association, which she founded with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Anthony’s work helped pave the way for the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gives women the right to vote. The amendment became known as the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment” to honor her work on behalf of women’s rights, and on July 2, 1979 she became the first woman to appear on a circulating House of US currency
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Early years and abolitionist movement
Born Susan Brownell Anthony on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts, was the daughter of Daniel Anthony, a cotton mill owner, and his wife, Lucy Read Anthony. She grew up in a politically active family that, as part of the abolitionist movementworked to the end slavery.
When they moved to Rochester, New Yorkby 1845, Anthony’s social circle included an anti-slavery activist frederick douglaswho would later join Anthony in the fight for women’s rights, and journalist William Lloyd Garrison. The Anthonys were also part of the temperance movementwho attempted to cease the production and sale of alcohol in the United States.
When Susan B. Anthony was denied the opportunity to speak at a temperance convention because of her gender, she was inspired to shift her focus to fighting for women’s rights. She realized that no one would take women in politics seriously unless they had the right to vote, and she wrote: “There will never be complete equality until women themselves help make laws and elect legislators.”
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National Woman Suffrage Association
Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 together with the activist elizabeth cady stanton. Around this time, the two created and produced The revolution, a weekly publication that lobbied for women’s rights under the American Equal Rights Association (AERA). Its header read: “Men, their rights and nothing else; women, their rights and nothing less”.
Later, the couple edited three volumes of History of women’s suffrage with activist Matilda Joslyn Gage.
Anthony was tireless in his efforts, giving speeches across the country to convince others to support voting rights for women. She even took matters into her own hands in 1872 when she voted illegally in the presidential election. Anthony was arrested and unsuccessfully tried to fight the charges. She ended up being fined $100, a fine she never paid.
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Susan B. Anthony death and dollar
Susan B. Anthony never married and dedicated her life to the cause of women’s equality. She once said that she wanted to “do live another century and see the fruit of all work for women.” When she died on March 13, 1906, at the age of 86 from heart failure and pneumonia, women still did not have the right to vote.
It was not until 1920, 14 years after his death, that the 19th Amendment To the US Constitution Giving all adult women the right to vote passed, spearheaded in large part by Anthony’s successor as president of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association, carrie chapman cat.
The 19th Amendment was nicknamed the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment” in honor of Anthony. In recognition of her dedication and hard work, the US Department of the Treasury he put Anthony’s portrait on dollar coins in 1979, making her the first woman to receive such an honor. She is buried in Rochester, New York, at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Quotes
“I declare to you that the woman must not depend on the protection of the man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my position.”
“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice that it always coincides with their own desires.”
“Independence is happiness.”
“Organize, agitate, educate, must be our rallying cry.”
“No man is good enough to rule a woman without her consent.”
READ MORE: Milestones in women’s history
Sources
susan b. Anthony: Biography.com
Susan B. Anthony Family: SusanBAnthonyFamily.com.
Susan B. Anthony Dollar. USMint.gov.
Susan B. Anthony supports the women’s suffrage amendment. AmericasLibrary.gov.
Susan B. Anthony. NPS.gov.