Susan B. Anthony
Important role model during the Women's Rights Movement
Her childhood had definitely shaped her into the person she became.
- Susan's father was a Quaker and her mother was a Baptist. They married, even though it was illegal to marry a person of a different religion.
- Her father had taught her to follow her heart and mind, even if it goes against strong traditions.
- Susan had seven siblings, but two of them died. She had to learn a lot about sharing and keeping the bond with her brothers and sisters.
- She and her siblings were raised the Quaker lifestyle. They were not allowed to have toys, music, or games. Their father wanted them to learn self-discipline and conscientious ways.
- When she was 17, her father had to take her and her sister out of boarding school because her family was financially struggling during the economic downturn known as the Panic of 1837.
Susan's father made sure that his children got the education they needed to succeed.
- When she was young, she learned how to read and write at her grandparents' house.
- Susan and her siblings did attend school. However the teacher refused to teach her long division "because she was a girl."
- Her father decided to home school them. He chose Mary Perkins to teach the kids. She taught them how to recite poems, read, write, and led them into physical exercise.
- Susan attended the Deborah Moulson's Female Quaker Seminary in Philadelphia. She was very unhappy at the boarding school because of the severe atmosphere she endured.
- She moved the Canajoharie in 1846 to be headmistress of the female department of the Canajoharie Academy.
She was a part of many important movements and events in her lifetime.
- She helped organize the Women's National Loyal League to petition for full citizenship for women and people of any race, including the right to vote.
- She served on the board of trustees of Rochester's State Industrial School, campaigning for coeducation and equal treatment for boys and girls.
- She was a labor activist who encouraged working women to form the Working Women's Associations. They wanted equal pay for equal work.
- She worked to raise awareness for the Temperance Movement, to stop alcoholism.
- She improved Married Women's Property Act that let married women own seperate property than her husband.
There were many factors in her life that shaped her into the person she became.
- Her father's encouragement has definitely been a big part of how she became the face of Women's Rights. He told her to follow her heart and mind, no matter what stood in her way.
- Her father fought hard to get his children the best education possible.
- Her parents raised their children the Quaker lifestyle. They were abolitionists, and they were against the consumption of alcohol.
- Her Quaker childhood also taught her self-discipline and living a principled life.
- she met life long friends, Amelia Bloomer and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, while being part of the Women's Rights Movement. They were both powerful women that were important in Susan's life.
Interesting facts about Susan B. Anthony:
- She cut her hair short, rebelling against traditional expectations of women. (picture on the side.)
- She worked for the American Anti-Slavery Society to promote women's rights.
- She rode into Yosemite Valley at age 51 and again at age 75.
- She was arrested for trying to vote in her home town of Rochester, NY, and was convicted in a widely public trial. She refused to pay the fine, but the authorities declined to take any further action.
- In 1979, her image was chosen for the new dollar coin, making her the first woman to be depicted on U.S. currency. (picture below)
She was a very important figure during the Women's Rights Movement.
- she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (picture on the side) founded the National Women Sufferage Association.
- She attended the National Women's Rights Convention in Syracuse, NY, and served as one of the convention's secretaries.
- She helped organize a convention in Rochester to help improve property rights to married women.
- She wrote the Susan B. Anthony Amendment in 1878 which later became the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.
- She published "The Revolution" from 1868-1870 which campaigned for women and civil rights.