Spotlight On:
Susan B. Anthony

In honor of Women's History Month, I decided to highlight an important figure from the history of securing Women's Rights, and some of the amazing accomplishments and actions that Susan B. Anthony took in her life to make differences in our world today.

Anthony is known for the differences she made in abolition, rights of labor, and equal pay for work done by women. She was one of the most well known figures in the Women's Rights Movement, and is still considered one of the most monumental individuals in feminist culture.

Born 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts, Anthony grew up in a very religious and patriotic household. Both her parents played important roles in the American Revolution. She had seven brothers and sisters, a large majority of them also becoming activists for different problems and movements in their time.

Anthony's passion was always educating others. For the first part of her life, she was a school teacher, but always wanted to be part of something more. She moved to New York, and with some help from her fathers close friends, her family became part of a Women's Suffrage Group in Seneca Falls. There, she started to make a real difference like she always had wanted to by making friends with her lifetime partner in crime: Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Stanton and Anthony traveled the country together for over 50 years, giving speeches and inspiring others for a change. They faced many difficulties, as well as problems and negotiations with law enforcement along the way. Even so, they continued to be a voice for themselves, and others.

By 1868, they both co-founded the American Equal Rights Association, and became editors of the Association's newspaper; The Revolution. This gave one of the largest speaking roles in the entire country, to women.

In 1872, Anthony was arrested for attempting to vote in the presidential campaign, and was fined $100 for her crime, which is estimated to be a fine of $2,304.49 in today's currency. Later that year, she famously stated:

"Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less."

She and Stanton spent the rest of their lives fighting for women's rights. sadly, she never got to see her dream come true. She died in 1906, fourteen years before the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, which allowed women to vote.

Today, Susan B. Anthony is still seen as one of the most monumental figures in the Women's Rights Movement, and still inspires a countless number of women today. Thank you to Susan, Elizabeth, and all the other women who did their part to allow us to be able to have our rights today. Remember to educate and inspire this Women's History Month.

Works Cited:

www.womenshistory.org