My name is Susan B. Anthony, I was born on February , 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. My father was a farmer and then he became a cotton mill owner who was raised as a Quaker, my mother Lucy, came from a family that fought in the American Revolution and she was part of the Massachusetts government. Since I was young I believed in the idea that we are all equal under God, and me and my family fought for justice and emancipation of the slaves. I always believed that women deserved more rights, that they were just as important as men.
I was a teacher for a while, but I returned home to my family that had moved to New York state, there, I met my fathers long time friends, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, I was inspire by this two men and their work against slavery and decide to become and abolition activist, but at that time people judge me because it wasn’t proper for women to give speeches and opinions.
In 1848, a group of women had a meeting at Seneca Falls, New York and they founded the First Women’s Rights Convention in the United states and this started the Suffrage movement, I was not able to attend. In 1851, I met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and with her we fought for over 50 years for women’s rights, we traveled the country and I gave speeches so they can give women the right to vote.
I was very good at strategy, I was disciplined, energetic and very organized and this helped me be a good leader. Stanton and I co-founded the American Equal Rights Association. In 1868, we became editors of the newspaper , The Revolution, which help put our ideas of equality and women’s right out to everyone. Because of this a lot of people loved, but most hated me.
When congress passed the 14th and 15th amendments which gave voting rights to African American men, I became very angry and opposed to the legislation because it did not included women, at this moment I split from suffragist, because I believed that the should also have given women the right to vote, thats when we created the National Women Suffrage Association.
In 1872, I was arrested for voting and given a fine, this made many people angry and brought attention to the suffrage movement. In 1876, I gave a speech “Declaration of Rights”– “Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less”.
I spend my whole life working for women’s rights, in 1888, I helped to merge the two largest suffrage associations into one, the National American Women’s Suffrage Association, were I led this group until 1900. I traveled all around the country giving speeches, and lobbying Congress every year for women.
I died in 1906, unfortunately I was not able to see my work completed, but 14 years later, women were given the right to vote.
