The Women Suffrage Movement : Susan B. Anthony

In the late Nineteenth century, women were beginning to become more progressive in their actions. They began to stand up for themselves and fight for their rights. In the late 1850’s, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the more prominent women to do so. She worked with Susan B. Anthony to deliver a majority of the population the rights that they rightfully deserved. Her actions are important in the United States’ History because they helped to encourage women to form the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Many Scholars have written about her, but simply with a different lens of focus. For example, they have written about her use of the bicycle in her campaign and her unique stance on religion. It is important to continue studying her actions because the issues she was fighting for back then, such as: the abolition of capital punishment, and an end to police brutality, are still issues today. Perhaps if the people of the United States today collectively took after her intrepid and forward thinking attitude in life, there could be more positive change in this country.

First and foremost, the fight for women’s rights is something that has occurred throughout time not only in the United States, but in every part of the world. When it comes to the United States, one cannot deny that it was an important historical event. “The struggle for women’s suffrage in the United States had occupied better part of a century” (Source 1). Truly a struggle, for it was not acknowledged by men in the past, primarily white man who had full rights in the nation. Susan B. Anthony was an important leading figure of the Suffrage Movement and contributed to the Suffrage Movement.

In the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, women were not given the rights they have today and were being mistreated, but because of a few brave women who gave up their lives to fight for what they knew was right, this all changed. Many of these women were educated and brave, but were still denied their rights. Women have suffered through this long battle to get what they knew they deserved and took time out of their lives to fight for what they believed in, which was to have a voice. Women wanted to get the same respect that men were given. The women’s suffrage movement was not only in the United States, but it was all over the world. It took the women’s suffrage movement many years to work and come through, but women were finally able to vote and have the same rights as men. Through their work in the suffrage movement, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony and many more changed the role of women in society.

Who were the main people involved? Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott initiated the first Women's Suffrage Movement, July 19, 1848 at Seneca Falls Convention, New York. At this convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton echoed the preamble of the Declaration Of Independence. “ We hold these truths to be self- evident: that all men and women are created equally.” Proving that when we declared our independence it was for everyone not just men. In 1866, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed an American Equal Rights Association. The Association was dedicated to the suffrage goals regardless of race or gender. Lucy Stone fought about the 15th Amendment, Ratified in 1870, and that the Amendment states that, “ The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Many of the women involved in suffrage began political work in the antislavery

In attempt to be able to change laws and allowing the married women to own their own property, Stanton gave some public speeches and had spoken to members of the New York Legislature. The Women’s rights convention was on july 19th-20th and was located in Seneca Falls, New York (Adams, Page 17). At Least 40 of the 300 people that had attended this, were none other than men (Adams, Page 17). One of those men was Frederick Douglas, Douglas was a former slave and an abolitionist. He was with the argument to give women the rights that they needed. He had stated that “without women, they would have no way of protecting their rights or to make changes in the laws (Adams, Page 17).” Sixty-eight women and thirty-two men had signed the declaration at the end of the convention (Adams, Page 17). Susan B. Anthony kept the women’s movement moving the right direction. Anthony also went around the country giving speeches that were written by Stanton. She was a very dedicated person when it came to problems like this.

These influential women are most widely known suffragist of their generation and has become icons of the women suffrage movement. These independent, bold, and intelligent female pioneers paved the way for so many women different races, and nationalities to come together as one for a common cause. These women are known today as idols, icons, and activists. Those women that took a stand when no one else would be: Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone. These women believed that all American women, just like men, deserve the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Other influential women in women suffrage history, such as Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, formed the American Woman Suffrage Association in late 1869. This group’s goal was to continue Anthony’s and Stanton’s goal and gain voting rights for women through amendments to individual state constitutions. The territory of Wyoming was later the first to pass the women’s suffrage law; and women began to serve on juries there as early as the following year.

In the nineteenth century, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a very important person of the women's rights movement. Stanton did several things over the years that were important to the movement. She "drafted a “Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions" that echoed the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal." ("The Women’s

(Hannam 296) During the Anti-Slavery Movement, she had valuable experience in public speaking and running poilitical organizations through her work in the abolishionist movement. (298 ) in the process women were generally discouraged from taking active part in public life and expected to join women only groups in support of male organizations (ibid) While Elizabeth Cady Stanton is best known for her long contribution to the woman suffrage struggle, without her struggles these issues wouldnt have been effective in winning property rights for married women, equal guardianship of children, and liberalized divorce laws. These reforms made it possible for women to leave marriages that were abusive of the wife, the children, and the economic health of the family.

In 1869, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, an organization devoted to gaining rights for women. Anthony made sure that Stanton was president as long as possible; Anthony served as vice president until 1892 when she became president of the NWSA

During the late 19th century, women were in a society where man was dominant. Women did not have natural born rights, such as the right to vote, to speak in public, access to equal education, and so forth, did not stop them to fight for their rights. Women's lives soon changed when Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony played a prominent role to help bring about change.

Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton became co leaders of the women’s rights movement in 1851. The women’s right movement was held 1848-1920 and it was held to fight for women’s suffrage. This is important because us women/girls our freedom to speak our mind and to do other things that we weren’t entitled to do. This was one of our greatest accomplishments because it made history. It helped bring awareness of how differently us women got treated and it made a BIG difference because it not only changed others views back then but it’s still making a difference now.

Susan B. Anthony was born to Read and Lucy Anthony in Adams, Massachusetts in the year of 1820. They were very big advocates of the abolitionist and temperance movement. The abolitionist movement was a movement that tried to abolish slavery in the United States and the temperance movement tired to reduce Americans’ usage of alcohol due to the violence associated with it. Read and Lucy Anthony held meeting in their home for members who supported these movements to congregate and form new strategies to help convey their vision. They also taught their children the same beliefs. Susan was on of 8 children that was raised in the Anthony household and was exposed to all of the meetings. This formed their ideas of supporting abolitionism and temperance. When the children got old enough to attend school, Read Anthony sent them to their local public school. With background knowledge of the family’s beliefs, the school denied the Anthony’s from attending (Kowalski 2000). Mr. Anthony decided to open a school in his home, to teach his children himself. Susan completed her schooling at age seventeen and pursued in a career as a teacher. It was only a matter of time before Anthony was terminated for voicing her opinion. She was very unhappy with the fact that her men colleagues were receiving one-fifth the wages she was receiving (The Huntington Library 2002). This is the beginning Susan B. Anthony and her struggle to develop more

Stanton worked very closely with Anthony when it came to fighting for women’s rights. Stanton was the president of the National Women Suffrage Association as well as Anthony. Stanton was also in attendance when the Seneca Falls convention took place in July 1848. The Seneca Falls convention was a convention where a group of women all gathered and proposed that women should be granted the right to vote. Stanton fought for women’s rights in general, such as the right for women to divorce their husband instead of only the other way around and the right to vote particularly. For most of Stanton’s life, she would travel to many different places and lecture and inform people about women’s rights. Stanton would also campaign for the many groups she was associated with. Alongside Anthony, Stanton wrote many forms of journalism about women’s rights. Together they wrote the first three volumes of the History of Women Suffrage, which Matilda Joslyn Gage also helped out a little bit on. As a successful author and a woman’s rights activist, nothing was handed to her easily. She made quite an impact on the women’s rights movement. “The best protection a women can have is courage” is a very famous quote from Stanton that really describes what she stands for and what she believes in. Lucretia Mott was another women’s rights activist that always stood up for what she believed

Elizabeth Cady Stanton found power through gender solidarity. She was a true feminist concerned with not just suffrage but total equality for the sexes. Her Declaration of Sentiments brilliantly