June 1872: Susan B. Anthony arrested for voting
31.05.2024
By Clara Jetter
On June 6th, 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting in a presidential election in Rochester, NY. She was fined $100, which she refused to pay. But what led Susan B. Anthony to vote?
In 1868, the fourteenth amendment was passed. It stated that everybody born in the US, including formerly enslaved people, was a citizen. It also affirmed the right for African American men to vote. Susan B. Anthony decided that this was the perfect time to push for the same right for women. Following the implementation of the 14th amendment, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association. Naturally Anthony’s attempt to vote caused a lot of anger and attention from the public. But Susan B. Anthony didn’t stop there. She dedicated her life to the cause: travelled around the country to give speeches, lobbied Congress every year and gathered signatures for petitions. Sadly, she couldn’t see her life’s work fulfilled. In 1906, Susan B. Anthony died, but the right to vote for women was only passed in 1920. It is important to note that this right was for white women. Marginalized groups such as Latinx, Nativ American, African American and Asian American women had a long road ahead of them. Some of them only gained the right to vote as late as 1975.
Sources:
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/susan-b-anthony