Susan B. Anthony Essay, Research Paper
Susan Brownell Anthony was a magnificent women who devoted most of her life to gain the right for women to vote. She traveled the United States by stage coach, wagon, and train giving many speeches, up to 75 to 100 a year, for 45 years. She went as far as writing a newspaper, the Revolution, and casting a ballot, despite it being illegal.
Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. She was the second of eight children in her family. In the early 1800’s girls were not allowed an education. Susan’s father, Daniel, believed in equal treatment for boys and girls and allowed her to received her education from a private boarding school in Philadelphia. At the age of seven her family moved to Batterville, New York. Later, in 1845 her family made their final move to Rochester, New York. At the early age of fifteen, Susan started her teaching career, thanks to her father’s encouragement. She continued to teach until she was thirty.
Opposing the use of liquor and wanting an immediate end of slavery, Susan displayed her beliefs as she took part in the temperance movement from 1848 to 1853. She worked for the American Anti-slavery Society, organizing meetings and giving lectures, from 1856 to 1861. During the Civil War, in 1863, Susan founded the Women’s Loyal League, which fought for the freeing of slaves.
Susan’s work for women’s rights began when she met a mother of young children by the name of Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1851. The two women worked on reforming New York state laws discriminating women. Susan
Elizabeth and Susan organized the National Women Suffrage Association and worked hard for a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. Even though the 15th amendment allowed newly freed slaves to vote, women of any race still could not vote. For ten years, Susan and Elizabeth wrote their newspaper, the Revolution, focusing on the injustices suffered by women. In the 1872 presidential election, Susan decided to register and cast a ballot to protest for women’s rights. She was arrested, convicted, and refused to pay the one hundred dollar fine. Susan Anthony went to Europe in 1883, to meet other women’s rights activists. Later, in 1888, she helped form the International American Council of Women, which represented 48 countries.
At the age of eighty, Susan B. Anthony resigned as president of the National American Women Suffrage Association, but continued to be a speaker at the conventions until she died in Rochester, New York, on March 13, 1906.
In conclusion, Susan B. Anthony’s hard work did paid off, but sadly, it was after she died. On August 26,1920, the 19th amendment was ratified by Congress and allowed women to vote. Susan was honored on July 2, 1979, when the United States issued the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin.
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