anthony[1]

READING

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony By Mary L. Bushong

1 Have you ever thought about how different life was for women before the 1900's? They had almost no rights, much like slaves. Money they earned was usually paid to their husbands. They were not allowed to vote. Many women wanted to make changes, but it did not really begin to happen until a woman by the name of Susan B. Anthony stepped into the picture. 2 Susan was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. Parents who were social activists raised her in a strict Quaker home. She was not allowed to play with toys or games or have music. Her father did not want his children distracted by things which were not important. He wanted them to learn to be self-disciplined and have a strong sense of their own self worth. 3 Young Susan was very bright, learning to read and write when she was just three years old. When she was six, her family moved to Battensville, New York. There she attended the local public school, until the teacher refused to teach her long division. Susan's father set up a school at home for his daughters. Mary Perkins taught it. This teacher gave Susan and her sisters an example of an independent, educated woman. 4 Susan eventually attended a boarding school in Philadelphia and then taught school for a time before moving back to her parent's home in Rochester, New York. It was from there that she began her own activist career on behalf of the Abolitionists and Temperance. Abolitionists wanted slavery to be ended, and Temperance was a movement to help people reduce or stop drinking alcohol. It also tried to help women and children with alcoholic family members. 5 Susan's family had been long-time supporters of the Abolitionists. She knew or met many of its leaders, including Frederick Douglass and William L. Garrison.

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READING

6 When Susan became more involved in the Temperance movement, she found she had a problem. As a woman, she was not allowed to get up and speak at rallies where men were in attendance. This was a source of great frustration to her and other female activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Amelia Bloomer. 7 In 1854 Susan devoted most of her time to the Abolitionist cause and became an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society. She was threatened by hostile mobs, was hung in effigy, and her image was dragged through the streets. After the Civil War, from 1868-1870, she and Elizabeth Stanton produced a weekly paper called "The Revolution." In it, she advocated an eight-hour workday and equal pay for equal work. 8 In 1872 Susan began demanding the same civil and political rights for women that had been extended to blacks in the 14th and 15th amendments. She was arrested when she tried to vote in a presidential election. When she was convicted of breaking the law, she successfully refused to pay the fine, which was her punishment. From that point on she worked tirelessly to get a federal women's suffrage amendment. 9 Between 1881 and 1902 Susan and others published four of the six volumes of History of Woman Suffrage. By the 1890's people stopped laughing at her and finally began to respect what she was working for. 10 In spite of all her hard work and efforts over the years, Susan died in 1906 without seeing the result she wanted so much. It was not until 1920 that the 19th amendment was passed, which gave American women the right to vote. Her contribution to helping women get the vote was honored in 1979 with her image on a one-dollar coin. She was the first woman to be so honored in the United States. 11 When Susan B. Anthony was young, women had few legal rights. Through the efforts of her and many others like her, women can get a higher education, work at almost any job, own property, hold public office, and vote. While she never married or had children, she left a legacy of inspiration to make the world a better place, and it is still felt today.

Copyright © 2004 edHelper


READING

1. Why didn't Susan's parents let her play with toys or games?

2. Which two famous Abolitionist reformers did Susan know?

3. How old was Susan when she learned to read and write?

5 years old 2 years old 7 years old 3 years old

4. The Temperance movement wanted to help people with

Drinking problems Smoking problems Money problems

5. What was the name of Susan's weekly newspaper?

6. How did people treat Susan when she became an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society?

7. What two amendments gave more civil and legal rights to blacks?

8. How was Susan B. Anthony honored in 1979?

9. If you had grown up when Susan did how would you have tackled these same issues she faced?


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