EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN EARLY 1800: SUSAN B. ANTHONY P/6

 

 

Read Part One HERE

In this blog I will contine to focus on a woman named Susan B. Anthony. She lived from 1820 - 1906.

In 1872, Susan was arrested in her hometown of Rochester, New York for voting in violation of laws that allowed only men to vote. She was convicted in a widely publicised trial. Although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action. In 1878, Susan and her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote. Introduced by Senator Aaron A. Sargent, it later became knows as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.

Susan travelled extensively in her support of womens' suffrage, giving as many as 75 to 100 speeches per year and working on many state campaigns.She worked internationally for women's rights, playing a key role in creating the International Council of Women, which is still active. She also helped to bring about the World's Congress of Representative Women at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

When Susan first began campaigning for women's rights, she was harshly ridiculed and accused of trying to destroy the institution of marriage. Public perception of her changed radically during her lifetime, however. Her 80th birthday was celebrated at the White House at the invitation of President William McKinley. She became the first female citizen to be depicted on U.S. coinage when her portrait appeared on the 1979 dollar coin.

Susan saw several improvements to the lives of women, more women were going to college, controlling their own property, getting better job opportunities, and leaving abusive husbands. After her death in 1906 in Rochester, New York, the suffragists' momentum continued. Once New York State gave women the right to vote in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson supported a constitutional amendment. In 1920 the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "Women's Right to Vote" passed the House and Senate. The 19th Amendment became knows as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment as already mentioned. 

Read Part Seven HERE