Anaya Nolan
Susan B. Anthony was a prominent leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. In 1872, she was arrested in her hometown of Rochester, New York, for voting in violation of state laws that allowed only men to vote. This act of civil disobedience led to a highly publicised trial, United States v. Susan B. Anthony, in a federal court in 1873. Anthony's conviction and subsequent refusal to pay the fine brought widespread attention to the issue of women's suffrage.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Law broken | The law that prohibited women from voting |
| Action | Voted in the 1872 Presidential election in Rochester, New York |
| Outcome | Arrested, indicted, tried, and convicted for voting illegally |
| Sentence | Fined $100 and court costs |
| Defence | Women are citizens, so the government does not have the right to make or enforce laws that infringe on their constitutional "privileges or immunities" |
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What You'll Learn
- Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting illegally in the 1872 election
- She was convicted and fined $100 and court costs
- She was a leader of the women's suffrage movement
- She argued that women had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment
- She also sheltered a woman who had fled an abusive husband
Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting illegally in the 1872 election
Anthony argued that she had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." She also claimed that because women are citizens, the government does not have the right to make or enforce laws that infringe on their constitutional "privileges or immunities." Therefore, any discriminatory law against women is "null and void" and should be disregarded.
Anthony's arrest occurred two weeks after the November 5 election, and there was a hearing to determine if she had, in fact, broken the law. The trial was widely publicized, and although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action. Anthony's actions and arguments were a significant contribution to the women's suffrage movement, and she continued to work tirelessly towards the goal of women's right to vote.
In 1878, Anthony and Stanton arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote. Introduced by Senator Aaron A. Sargent, it later became known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. It was eventually ratified as the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. Anthony's dedication to the cause of women's suffrage is an inspiring example of civil disobedience and a reminder of the long struggle for women's rights in the United States.
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She was convicted and fined $100 and court costs
Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting in the 1872 Presidential election in Rochester, New York. She was indicted, tried, and convicted for voting illegally. At her two-day trial in June 1873, she was convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and court costs.
Anthony was a leader of the women's suffrage movement and argued that she had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States". She also claimed that because women are citizens, the government does not have the right to make or enforce laws that infringe on their constitutional "privileges or immunities". Therefore, any discriminatory law against women is "null and void" and should be disregarded.
Anthony's trial was widely publicised, and although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action. Her arrest and conviction brought attention to the issue of women's suffrage and helped lay the groundwork for the eventual ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, which gave women the right to vote.
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She was a leader of the women's suffrage movement
Susan B. Anthony was a leader of the women's suffrage movement. She devoted more than fifty years of her life to the cause, and in 1872, she was arrested, indicted, tried, and convicted for voting illegally in her hometown of Rochester, New York. At the time, only men were allowed to vote, and Anthony was sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and court costs.
Anthony argued that she had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." She also claimed that because women are citizens, the government does not have the right to make or enforce laws that infringe on their constitutional "privileges or immunities." Therefore, any discriminatory law against women is "null and void" and should be disregarded.
Anthony's trial was widely publicized, and after her arrest, there was a hearing to determine if she had, in fact, broken the law. She later described the trial as "the greatest judicial outrage history has ever recorded." Despite her conviction, Anthony continued to fight for women's suffrage, giving as many as 75 to 100 speeches per year and working on many state campaigns. In 1878, she and Stanton arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote, which later became known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. It was eventually ratified as the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.
Anthony's commitment to the women's suffrage movement extended beyond her own voting rights. In 1860, she sheltered a woman who had fled an abusive husband, defying the law that gave husbands complete control of their children. When male abolitionists insisted that the woman give up her child, Anthony reminded them that they had helped slaves escape to Canada in violation of the law, saying, "Well, the law which gives the father ownership of the children is just as wicked and I'll break it just as quickly."
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She argued that women had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment
Susan B. Anthony was arrested in 1872 for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York. She was convicted in a widely publicised trial for voting illegally, in violation of state laws that allowed only men to vote.
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She also sheltered a woman who had fled an abusive husband
Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting illegally in the 1872 Presidential election in Rochester, New York. She was arrested two weeks after the election and, at a two-day trial in June 1873, was convicted and sentenced to pay a $100 fine.
Anthony was a leader of the women's suffrage movement and argued that she had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reads: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States". She also claimed that because women are citizens, the government does not have the right to make or enforce laws that infringe on their constitutional "privileges or immunities". Therefore, any discriminatory law against women is "null and void" and should be disregarded.
In addition to her work on women's suffrage, Anthony also sheltered a woman who had fled an abusive husband. This took place in 1860, and Anthony's actions were in direct violation of the law, which gave husbands complete control of their children. When abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison insisted that the woman give up the child she had brought with her, Anthony reminded him that he had helped slaves escape to Canada in violation of the law. She declared, "Well, the law which gives the father ownership of the children is just as wicked and I'll break it just as quickly".
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Frequently asked questions
Susan B. Anthony broke the law by voting in the 1872 Presidential election in Rochester, New York, in violation of state laws that allowed only men to vote.
Anthony was arrested, indicted, tried, and convicted for voting illegally. She was sentenced to pay a $100 fine and court costs, but refused to pay. The authorities declined to take further action.
Anthony argued that she had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." She also claimed that because women are citizens, the government does not have the right to make or enforce laws that infringe on their constitutional "privileges or immunities," and therefore any discriminatory law against women is "null and void."
