Susan B. Anthony And The Women's Rights Movement

Introduction:
Susan B. Anthony was a strong, independent suffragist in the 19th century women’s rights movement. She established many organizations fighting for anti-slavery and women’s suffrage including The New York State Temperance Society, The National Woman Suffrage Association, and The American Equal Rights Association. Her influences are still present and important today. Without her dedication, the nineteenth amendment, The National American Woman Suffrage Association, and feminism itself might not have existed. Susan B. Anthony’s involvement in the 19th century women’s rights movement was the foundation for modern day feminism.
Author’s Life:
Susan Brownell Anthony was born on February 15th, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. She was the
Anthony embraces is justice and that women are equal to men. This theme is illustrated in almost all of her writings. It appears in her speeches, petitions, books, and even personal letters to friends and family, A great example of this would be in the speech she wrote called “Women’s Rights to the Suffrage” in 1873. She said, “For any state to make sex a qualification that must ever result in the disfranchisement of one entire half of the people, is to pass a bill of attainder, or, an ex post facto law, and is therefore a violation of the supreme law of the land. By it the blessings of liberty are forever withheld from women and their female posterity.” In her writing, Susan never contradicts or second guesses herself. She is always persistent and confident about her opinions and actions. This theme was extremely important in the 19th century because it occurred all throughout it and the equal rights
Anthony’s writings convey the deeper truth of all people are equal no matter their gender, race, status, or religion. Even though feminism was her main purpose she also fought against slavery and rights for white, property owning males. She was fighting for equality. In the six speeches, one article, one petition, and one letter, I cannot find a piece of writing where she doesn’t mention equality. I think women’s suffrage was her main purpose, but not her overall goal in life. An example of this would be in the speech “Women’s Rights to the Suffrage,” when she quoted the preamble of the U.S. Constitution and then said, “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people - women as well as men. And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government - the ballot.” This quote implies that not only women, but all people no matter their race, status, or religion deserve the rights a male citizen