Susan B. Anthony

**Susan Brownell Anthony** was born in Adams, Massachusetts on February 15, 1820. She was born into a Quaker family who shared a passion for social reforms and moral zeal. She was the second oldest of seven children in her family. Anthony was influenced by her father who was an abolitionist and temperance advocate who supported anti-slavery. Her father was also very radical about his beliefs even though he was a quaker. Anthony was inspired to fight for women's right while campaigning against alcohol which was during temperance rallies. Anthony is known for women's suffrage, women's right, and abolitionism.

## Motivation

In 1845, the family moved to Rochester, New York after their financial crisis and associated with a group of Quaker social reformers who had left their congregation due to the limitation that was placed on reform activities. Anthony was constantly being influenced by these family activities and ideologies and those gave her an interest in social reform. By that time, she was teaching at Quaker boarding school and was distressed at being paid much less than men with similar jobs. At that same period, she was also amused by his father's enthusiasm over the Rochester women's rights convention. She played a significant role for women's suffrage movement in America.

## Early Social Activism

Anthony's social reform movement was energetic and determined. She was very radical about the social reform issues. After her fifteen years of teaching, she became active in temperance. However, the oppressed experience in temperance rallies lead her to women's rights movement with her friend Elizabeth Stanton. Her partnership with Elizabeth Cady Stanton is also significant in her social activism life. Soon after her women's rights movement, she dedicated her life to woman suffrage.

## Notable Works

* Anthony was the first women who voted in America and she had to pay $100 fine for that.
* Anthony was the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (1892-1900).
* Defeating the opposition and abuse, Anthony traveled around the world and lectured for the women's right to vote across the nation.
* In 1866, Anthony and Stanton founded the American Equal Rights Association and they started publishing the newspaper called "The Revolution."
* In 1877, Stanton and Anthony merged a two women's suffrage organizations as the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
* Her quote "Failure is impossible" from her birthday celebration in Washington D.C. became a watchword for the women's movement.

## Publications

The Revolution 1868-1872

* It was published by both Anthony and Stanton.
* It was a weekly newspaper in New York City in 1868.
* It dealt with primarily on women's rights, women's suffrage, politics, the labor movement and finance.
* Its motto was "Men, there rights and nothing more: women, there rights and nothing less."

## Quotes

* Woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself *from speech in San Francisco, July 1871.*
* The only chance women have for justice in this country is to violate the law, as I have done, and as I shall continue to do. *from Kansas Leavenworth Times, July 3, 1873.*
* When woman has a newspaper which fear and favor cannot touch, then it will be that she can freely write her own thoughts. *from remarks to the Woman's Auxiliary Congress of the Public Press Congress, May 23, 1893.*
* There is no history about which there is so much ignorance as this great movement for the establishment of equal political rights for women. I hope the twentieth century will see the triumph of our cause. *from letter to the Editor of the Chicago Tribune, Dec 20, 1900.*

## Interesting Facts

* She was the first woman who wore controversial bloomer dress which consist of pantaloons worn under a knee-length dress. However, she had to stop wearing it since her opponents focused on her apparel rather than her ideology.
* According to Stanton's biography, Stanton spent more time with Anthony than with any other adult, including her own husband.
* The 19th Amendment, which contains women's right to vote, was nicknamed in her honor, the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.
* In her age of 17, she collected anti-slavery petitions.

## Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan\_B.\_Anthony

http://susanbanthonyhouse.org/her-story/biography.php

http://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/susan-b-anthony

http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/susan-b-anthony

http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony\_susan\_b.html

https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2014/julyaugust/feature/old-friends-elizabeth-cady-stanton-and-susan-b-anthony-made-histo