Susan B. Anthony, An Amazing Woman Who Changed History

Women's History Month: Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony is best known for spending most of her life fighting for women’s right to vote in the United States. Let’s learn a little more about this amazing woman.

Growing Up: A Foundation for Change

Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts on February 15, 1820. She had six siblings. She was an incredibly bright child and learned to read and write by the time she was three years old.

Susan’s family moved to Battenville, New York, when she was six. Her father decided she would be homeschooled because he felt the public schools would not challenge her enough.

Susan grew up in the Quaker religion. Quakers strongly believe that all people are equal regardless of race or sex. This would have a profound impact on the direction Susan’s life would take.

From Education to Activism

After finishing school, Susan became a teacher. This would be the start of her passionate fight for women’s equality. She learned that the male teachers were being paid four times what the female teachers were.

Susan began speaking at conventions and organizing meetings. In 1856, she joined the anti-slavery movement, fighting for an end to slavery and equal rights for African American men and women.

About this time, Susan met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another civil rights activist. They would become close friends and fight for equality over the next few decades.

Susan and Elizabeth started and helped run The Revolution, a newspaper that focused on civil rights issues and the fight to end slavery in the United States.

In 1869, a few years after the Civil War, Susan and Elizabeth founded the National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA). Their focus was on making it legal for women to vote.

In 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed, which gave the right for all men to vote, including African American men who had been previously enslaved.

Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton protested against this amendment because it did not include women. They wanted the amendment to give the right to vote to all people, not just men. However, many felt the amendment would not pass if it included women.

The Susan B. Anthony Amendment

Both women kept pushing for women’s right to vote. In 1872, Susan registered and voted in the November presidential election. Susan was not deterred and cast her vote for Ulysses S. Grant. This was against the law, and she was put on trial and found guilty. She was charged with a $100 fine, which Susan refused to pay.

In 1878, Susan and Elizabeth officially introduced an amendment before Congress giving women the right to vote. But, getting an amendment passed is a long and challenging task.

In 1905, Susan met with President Theodore Roosevelt to discuss the amendment and encourage him to support it. It would be almost twenty years before it would eventually pass.

Fourteen years after her death, the 19th Amendment was finally passed on August 18, 1920, giving women the right to vote. Congress was very aware of Susan’s work to ratify the amendment, and it became known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.

The US minted a coin with her image to remember Susan’s dedication and decades of hard work. The Susan B. Anthony dollar was the first coin with a woman.