Susan Brownell Anthony was a suffragist, abolitionist, author and speaker who was the leading figure in the women’s voting rights movement.  She was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, MA, the second of eight children to a cotton mill owner and his wife, but only five of her siblings lived to be adults.    Growing up in a Quaker household she developed a strong moral compass at an early age and spent much of her time working on social causes.  In 1826 the family moved to Battenville, NY, and she was sent to study at a Quaker school near Philadelphia.

When her father’s business failed in the late 1830’s, Susan returned home to help her family make ends meet and worked as a teacher..  The Anthonys then moved to a farm in the Rochester, NY, area in the mid 1840’s and became involved in the fight to end slavery.  The family farm served as a meeting place for abolitionists such as Frederick Douglas.

Susan was also involved in the temperance movement, aimed at limiting or completely stopping the production and sale of alcohol.   She was inspired to fight for women’s rights while campaigning for this cause as she was denied the opportunity to speak at a temperance convention because she was a woman.  That incident made her realize that no one would take women in politics seriously until they had the right to vote.  In 1851 Susan attended an anti-slavery conference where she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the pair established the Women’s New York State Temperance Society in 1852.

Before long they were fighting for women’s rights, forming the NY State Woman’s Rights Committee.  Susan also started petitions for women to have the right to own property and to vote.  She traveled extensively, campaigning on behalf of women.   In 1856 she began working as an agent for the American Anti-slavery Society and continued promoting the society’s cause up until the Civil War.

After the war, Susan focused her activism on women’s issues.  She and Stanton established the American Equal Rights Association in 1866, calling for the same rights to be granted to all regardless of race or sex.  In 1868 she and Stanton also created and began producing The Revolution, a weekly publication that lobbied for women’s rights.  The newspaper’s motto was:  “Men their rights, and nothing more; women their rights, and nothing less.”   In 1869 Anthony and Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association.  Susan was tireless in her efforts, giving speeches around the country to convince others to support a woman’s right to vote.  She even took matters into her own hands in 1872, when she voted illegally in the presidential election and was arrested.  She unsuccessfully fought the charges and was fined $100, which she never paid.

Even in her later years Anthony never gave up on her fight for women’s suffrage.  In 1905, she met with President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, DC,   to lobby for an amendment to give women the right to vote.  However, it wouldn’t be until fourteen years after her death  that the 19^th amendment to the US Constitution, giving all adult women the right to vote, was passed.

Susan died on March 13, 1906, at the age of 86 at her home in Rochester, NY.   In recognition of her dedication and hard work, the US Treasury Department issued a one dollar coin bearing the portrait of Susan B. Anthony in 1979, making her the first woman to be so honored.

Some of Susan B. Anthony’s quotes:

I think the girl who is able to earn her own living and pay her own way should be as happy as anybody on earth. The sense of independence and security is very sweet. 

I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.

Forget conventionalisms; forget what the world thinks of you stepping out of your place; think your best thoughts, speak your best words, work your best works, looking to your own conscience for approval

Independence is happiness.                                                                            

No man is good enough to govern any woman without her consent. .

Organize, agitate, educate, must be our war cry.

And her most famous words:  Failure is impossible

Several speakers acknowledged Susan B. Anthony’s achievements, and one posed the question:  Have we done enough?   There are still segments of society that are marginalized or ignored.  The answer:  A new generation of passion, activism and leadership under the banner of Susan B. Anthony’s inspiration is needed to secure human rights for ALL.