Susan B. Anthony
Susan was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams Massachusetts. Although she was born in Adams she grew up in New Rochelle. Susan was brought up as a Quaker. In the times of the Quakers there was equality between men and women. At that time in Quaker families women were treated equally to men. Her father strongly believed that women should have the same opportunities as men and that they should be free to learn as much as they could. During her early years Susan faced many difficulties in school. Many people told her that she should not try and learn things that only boys of that time learned. She did not give into their remarks; Susan studied and got the best education possible.
During her childhood Susan's father owned a mill. She was quite shocked to find that all of the women's paychecks went to their fathers or husbands. Susan thought that that was unfair and women should be able to make their own living and keep the money they make. When Susan was fifteen and sixteen she started working as a teacher to help support her family during the depression. She was shocked to learn that men were making three times as much as she was doing the same job. These were some of the main reasons why she started fighting for the Women's Rights Movement. Her main goal was to help women gain the right to vote. With representation women would be able to take the necessary steps to gain equal rights in both the home and the work place.
Susan and both her parents were Abolitionists. Her father held meetings at their house to protest slavery and always invited Susan to attend. Most of the time she was the only woman present. In 1856 other abolitionists asked Susan to organize a campaign against slavery. She traveled the country writing and giving speeches. All her hard work paid off when the Thirteenth Amendment (which declared that all slaves were freed) was added to the U.S. Constitution.
In 1851 Susan meet the women's rights leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They became very good friends. They worked constantly and organized many state and national conventions. She worked on petitions so that women could gain the right to vote and own property. In 1860 women did gain the right to own property and it was because of Susan's constant work and effort. In 1863 she started the Women's National Loyal League. Elizabeth and Susan tried to combine the fight for suffrage with the fight to give slaves the right to vote. But this effort was unsuccessful. In 1870 only black men were allowed the right to vote. After this set back they started their own organization, the National Women Suffrage Association.
When the Fourteenth (the Fourteenth amendment stated that no citizen could be deprived of life, liberty or property) and Fifteenth Amendment (The Fifteenth Amendment states that the right to vote could not be denied to any citizen because of their race) were written, Susan decided to take a daring risk. Susan knowing women were citizens, decided to vote in the November election. She went with sixteen other women and all of them were arrested. Susan was the only one convicted and was fined 100 dollars but she never paid it.
After fifty years of working for women to gain the right to vote Susan never lived to see this happen. She died in 1906, fourteen years before women gained the right to vote. She knew that the next generation of women would finished what she started.
In my opinion Susan B. Anthony was the most important person in the Women's Rights Movement. Without her effort and many cntributions to the Women's Rights Movement women might not even have the right to vote today. Every woman should think of Susan B. Anthony and her dedication when they vote.
Rating (1-5) Susan B. Anthony's
rating 5.