Do you want to know facts about Susan B. Anthony, who was behind one of the largest campaigns in the US? Women’s Suffrage Movement focused on the fight for women to win their right to vote as a means of declaring that they have equal rights and responsibilities as men. Central to this movement was the iconic Susan B. Anthony, who was one of the most prominent leaders of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Interesting Facts about Susan B. Anthony
1. Her beliefs in equality were founded at a young age.
Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts on the 15th of February, 1820. Her mother was a state government officer, and her father was a farmer turned cotton mill manager. Together, they had seven children including Susan, many of whom would go onto becoming activists for abolishing slavery and creating justice. The family followed the Quaker faith, and their primary belief was that all humans were equal under God. This was a belief that Anthony advocated throughout her life.
2. She was formerly a teacher.
Anthony briefly attended a Quaker Boarding School, but due to financial difficulties, she could not attend anymore. As a result, Anthony was forced to start teaching at a school.
3. Her activism began with the quest for abolishing slavery.
Following her period of teaching, Anthony moved with her family to New York. This was the point where she met two friends of her father, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, who inspired her to join the fight against slavery. Despite the idea at the time that women should not give public speeches, she became a passionate activist for abolition.
4. She was driven by the need for social reform.
Eventually, Anthony began to move away from the standard Quaker concepts, replacing her simple clothing with more stylish fashion and changing her forms of speech. At this point in her life, she started to realize the need for equal women’s rights at this point.
5. Her partnership with Stanton was a turning point in her life of activism.
In 1851, Anthony met Elizabeth Cady Stanton who would become her lifelong friend. These two would become active advocates for women’s rights by traveling the country and giving public speeches. They co-founded the American Equal Rights Association and were editors of The Revolution, which was a paper used to spread the ideals of women’s rights and equality. This Susan B. Anthony fact proved to be a turning point in her life.
6. She formed the NWSA.
The passing of the 14th and 15th Amendments (which gave voting rights to African American men) by the Congress caused anger and opposition from Anthony and Stanton. They firmly believed that women should have been included in these amendments. This led them to split from other suffragists and urged them to form the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in order to push for gaining voting rights for women.
7. She was always focused and prepared for the long run.
The fact that Anthony was unmarried further gave her a distinct advantage in this field. This enabled her to freely sign agreements and further gave her the time to dedicate herself to the suffrage movement and to her organization. To prepare for the long-term continuity of the organization, Anthony chose to train a group of future activists in order to assume leadership.
8. Susan B. Anthony was even arrested for her cause at one point!
This is a shocking fact about Susan B. Anthony to most people. She was arrested for voting in 1872, resulting in a fine for her crime. This led to a nationwide uproar and increased the attention and focus towards the suffrage movement. In 1876, the opportunity arose when the US was celebrating its 100th year of Independence. Anthony, along with five women, presented the Declaration of Rights for Women. The work of the movement began to eventually show promising results, as state by state, women were given the right to vote.
9. Her passion was proven by how she continued to work for her cause, which earned a lot of admiration and respect.
Anthony continued to work for women’s rights for the rest of her life. As much as she was known for being strategic and disciplined, she had remarkable stamina as well. In 1888, she chose to merge two suffrage movements into the larger National Woman Suffrage Association, which she led until 1900. Her fame continued to grow, and several politicians were eager to be associated with her due to her causes. Her 80th birthday was even celebrated at the White House with President William McKinley.
10. Susan B. Anthony’s legacy lived on even after her death.
On the 13th of March 1906, Anthony succumbed to heart failure and pneumonia and passed away at the age of 86 in her home in Rochester, New York. Unfortunately, despite her hard work, she did not live to see the results of the suffrage movement reaching a national level but she had a deep pride in their achievements. 14 years after her passing away, following the passing of the 19th Amendment, women were finally given the right to vote.
I hope that you learned something new by reading these Susan B. Anthony facts! For facts about other important figures, visit historical people page.
