Susan B. Anthony's Suffrage Movement

Susan B. Anthony is a figure in history known for fighting for women’s rights during the women’s suffrage movement. Her and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked together to establish the National Woman Suffrage Association. Anthony gave speeches endlessly around the country (“Susan B. Anthony Biography” Biography) in an effort to convince people to allow a woman’s right to vote. A bold action she took was to illegally vote in Rochester, NY. She led a group of women to vote with her including three of her own sisters. On November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony wanted to be arrested for voting.
To begin with, Susan B. Anthony was born into a Quaker household where she learned the value of equality which led her to getting involved with working on causes

such as temperance, slavery, and women’s rights. Temperance is the practice of abstinence of alcohol drinking. Many men at this time period would drink away most of their family’s money and abuse their wives and children. Anthony supported and fought for temperance which led to her belief of women’s voting rights. She believed women should be able to vote for protection and be in control of their own money and property. The current state of the presidential election of 1872 made her take matters into her own hands. One group of reformers from the Republican Party split off to form their own anti-feminist group. Most male abolitionists who previously worked with feminists did not agree with the idea of women standing up for their rights. According to the article, “The regular Republicans cultivated the support of the feminists, even inserting a small reference to “additional rights” for women in their platform.” (Ohrenschall). Therefore, the Republican party did not really considered giving women the rights they deserved, but only many a small consideration. This was the election where Susan B. Anthony felt that the question of women’s right needed to be in deep consideration and not passed to the side where it could have been forgotten.
However, Susan B.

Anthony did not actually think her vote would be counted in the final ballet. According to the Federal Judicial Center, “ Pursuing a strategy adopted by the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1871, she expected to be denied registration as a voter and subsequently to sue for her right to vote in federal court,”(“The Trial of Susan B. Anthony” Federal Judicial Center). Anthony’s plan was to be rejected and sue the U.S. government afterward because of the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment. Members of the National Woman Suffrage Association believed that women were considered as U.S. citizens because they were born in America by the Fourteenth Amendment. Also, the Fifteenth Amendment states that U.S. citizens should be given the right to vote without rejection because it is written in Constitution. Unfortunately, Anthony demanded her right to vote and was successful in the process because of her strong wit and

confidence.
Furthermore, many other woman suffragists decided to vote on that same day just like Susan B.

Anthony. As previously stated, Anthony was not the only woman to use the fourteenth amendment as a way to get the exception to vote. Women around the country tried to get a vote in for the election of 1872. Over 150 women tried to attempt to vote in about ten states, but only a few were able to succeed (Beachley). Susan B. Anthony’s vote was able to gain more attention because she was more well-known to the women’s suffrage movement. She was one of the 50 women in Rochester, NY. This idea of getting arrested for voting was done by many during that day. Her idea of using the fourteenth amendment came from National Woman Suffrage Association. Although she used this tactic, her determined personality got her vote and others along with her the vote. The reason why she decided to vote was because many woman at the time did

it.
After casting her ballot, Anthony wrote a letter to her friend, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, explaining how she felt in her own words. She expressed that she was joyful and finally got the chance to start voting. Susan B. Anthony wrote, “Well I have been & gone & done it!!--positively voted the Republican ticket--strait this a.m. at 7 O'clock--& swore my vote in at that--was registered on Friday & 15 other women followed suit in this ward…”(Anthony). In the letter, Anthony encourages Stanton to be like many women and take a stand to vote. Stanton was a fellow women's rights activist and Anthony's life-long friend. She worked together with Anthony to establish the National Woman's Suffrage Association. Unlike Anthony, Stanton was the one who mostly wrote about what she thought about the cause. While, Anthony announced the speeches to spread the word and get her name knowned. These two opposites worked side-by-side to push forward that women should have the same legal rights as men since they were citizens of the United States of America. It was hard to convince many people at the time especially men. Men have always felt they were the dominant gender over women. African Americans were able to relate with women fighting for their rights because they were once in that situation. Mostly white men in that time period could not relate because they were never in that position and were put above anyone else including other races and genders.
The arrest of Susan B. Anthony happened a few days after her illegal vote. Anthony was not the only one arrested though. She along with fourteen other women and the election inspectors were arrested for their crimes. The crime she committed was violation of the Enforcement Act of 1870. According to the article, “Any person…who shall vote without having a legal right to vote; or do any unlawful act to secure…an opportunity to vote for himself or any other person, shall be deemed guilty of a crime” (DeAnna). The US Commissioner, William Storrs, decided that the votes made by the women were an illegal action worthy of taking to the court. He claimed that Anthony did not have the right to vote for someone representing the United States.