I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand. - Susan B Anthony
The female population in the United States has come a long way. We have faced many hardships and are still encountering obstacles in the 21st century. Women have been gaining the right to do lots of things in this country, and a start to our road off with the right to vote has started our snowball effect.
Susan Brownwell Anthony was born into a politically active family on February 15th, 1820. Due to her political involvement her family had in political stances, she was often attending rallies. Susan became part of the temperance movement to ban alcohol. At a rally against alcohol, Susan became inspired to fight for her voice to be heard after being denied speak. By being a woman, she as often denied rights that men were given. Facing segregation and being told she can not do something because of her gender led her to fight for women across the country. Susan soon became aware that women were not being taken seriously because they did not have the right to vote.
Paring up with Elizabeth Cady Stanton around 1851, the two established The Women's New York State Temperance Society in 1852. Quickly, the two began fighting for women's rights. This then led to the beginning earning our right to vote. Anthony and Stanton had helped in the establishment of American Equal Rights Association in 1866. This association had called for the equal rights for all genders and races. Following the American Equal Rights Association was the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. Susan had traveled all over the country speaking at rallies, and getting women to join her movement. In the presidential election in 1872, she had voted illegally. Susan was arrested for her crime and fined $100 charge for her actions. The fine was never paid.
In 1877 she had gathered petitions from 26 states with over 10,000 signatures. Congress laughed at her, but that did not stop her from fighting. From the years 1896-1906, Anthony appeared before every congress asking for the passage of the suffrage amendment. In the year 1905, Susan met with President Theodore Roosevelt to lobby for the amendment to give women rights. The following year in Susan had died on March 13th, 1906 in her home at Rochester, New York.
It had taken over 14 years after Susan B, Anthony's death in 1920 for women to gain the right to vote. The 19th amendment had granted women in the United States the right for their voices to be heard, and the right to vote. In recognition of the hard work and dedication Susan had displayed her whole life, the U.S Treasury Department had honored her by putting her face on a coin in 1979, the first women to have the honor of being on a U.S dollar coin.
Works Cited
“Susan B. Anthony.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017,
www.biography.com/people/susan-b-anthony-194905. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.
“Susan B. Anthony House.” Susan B. Anthony House :: Her Story, susanbanthonyhouse.org/her
-story/biography.php. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.
History.com Staff. “Susan B. Anthony.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010,
www.history.com/topics/womens-history/susan-b-anthony. Accessed 19 Sept. 2017.
Susan B Anthony has always been one of my all time favorite feminists. Anthony and Stanton advocated for equality of the sexes at a time when it was literally unheard of, which is pretty amazing if you think about it. It was so different back then, and things that women today don't think twice about doing, like challenging and disagreeing with a man, were ground breaking and considered inappropriate. It's a shame that she never got to see women achieve suffrage. If you have any interest in Elizabeth Cady Stanton, check out "The Solitude of the Self", which is basically her final public address, in which she stresses the importance of being able to rely on yourself before you depend on a man or anyone else.
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