Showing results for "Susan B. Anthony" in Americas

An account of the landmark suffragist trial before the U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of New York, at Canandaigua, in June 1873, that brought the cause of women's voting rights to the forefront of national attention in the United States.

As the country approaches the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits states from denying or abridging the right to vote on the basis of gender, the case of United States v. Susan B. Anthony remains a significant milestone in the quest for gender equality.

In November 1872, Anthony was arrested in Rochester, NY, for illegally voting in the United States election. As a local newspaper wrote, “Voting illegally in her case means simply voting, for it is held that women cannot lawfully vote at all.” She was indicted and held for trial in early 1873. During March and April 1873, Anthony delivered an address titled “Is It a Crime for a US Citizen to Vote?” in 29 villages and towns of Monroe County, NY.

After voting in the 1872 presidential election, suffragette Susan B. Anthony was arrested and charged with a $100 fine. She refused to pay it, instead embarking on a speaking tour around the US to advocate for women’s legal right to vote. In this fiery speech she memorably stated, “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens... who formed the Union.” Anthony argued that the fight for women’s right to vote was also a fight for their right to personhood in the eyes of the state, something women were finally granted nearly 50 years later.

Nineteenth-century reformer Susan B. Anthony advocated for many causes, including limitations on alcohol access and abolition of slavery. However, she is best known for her tireless efforts as a suffragist seeking equal and civil rights for women. Nellie Bly was a courageous and feisty female reporter for Joseph Pulitzer's The World newspaper in the late 1800s. In this landmark interview, Anthony discusses her history in several areas of social reform.