The Woman Who Would Not Stay Silent

Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts.  With a strong and deep Quaker upbringing that taught her principles that were somewhat unusual for that time:
1.    The spiritual equality of men and women
2.    The importance of individual conscience
3.    Opposition to slavery
4.    Simplicity, integrity and justice

These beliefs helped to shape Anthony’s lifelong commitment to reform movements, including abolition, temperance, and women’s suffrage.

On June 18, 1873, Susan was found guilty in federal court in Canandaigua, New York for illegally voting in the 1872 presidential election.  She had cast a ballot arguing that the 14th Amendment gave women the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote.

Judge Ward Hunt directed the jury to return a guilty verdict without allowing them to deliberate, a highly controversial move.  After the verdict was read, Ms. Anthony delivered a powerful protest, declaring:  “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty!”    She never paid it, and the government never attempted to collect it.

This became a defining moment in the women’s suffrage movement.  She kept the cause of women’s voting rights before the public eye for decades. The right to vote for women came in 1920, fourteen years Anthony’s death.

On February 1906 Susan made one her most powerful speeches, at the National Women’s Suffrage Convention.  At ages 86, she was encouraging the younger generations to continue the fight by saying, “Failure is impossible.”  

She remained convinced that truth, perseverance and determination would prevail….. she was never able to vote in her lifetime, but she ensured that future generations would be able to.  She died on March 13, 1906 in Rochester NY, just three weeks after that speech.

A legacy is not measured only by what we accomplish in our lifetime, but by what we faithfully build for future generations.