Profiles of Great Women – Part 1

Susan B. Anthony – Leader in Women’s Rights

This famous women’s rights leader was born in Adams, Massachusetts on February 15^th, 1820.  It wasn’t until 1845 that her family moved to Rochester, New York on the Erie Canal.  Their house then became a meeting place for anti-slavery activists and perhaps the place where Anthony first became interested in political events.  In 1851, she attended her first anti-slavery convention in Syracuse.  Soon thereafter in 1852, Anthony attended her first women’s rights convention and proceeded to join the Women’s Rights Movement.  Two years later she began a New York State campaign for women’s suffrage in Chatauqua County.  In 1869 she called for the first Women Suffrage Convention in Washington, D.C. 

In probably her most noted act, Anthony was arrested for voting in 1872.  This didn’t stop her cause one bit and she continued to fight until her last breath.  In 1898, The Life & Work of Susan B. Anthony, A Story of the Evolution of the Status of Women was published and in 1906, Anthony made her last public appearance.  At the suffrage hearings in Washington D.C., she gave her ‘Failure is Impossible’ speech at her 86^th birthday celebration.  She died almost a month later on March 13^th, 1906.

Source:      Biography.com, PBS, susanbanthonyhouse.org

Additional Learning Links for Susan Brownell Anthony

The Susan B. Anthony House

The Susan B. Anthony House is located in Rochester, New York and was her home during the most politically active period in her life.  It is also the site of her famous arrest for voting in 1872.  Today the house is a museum with National Landmark Status and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  To find out about Anthony’s life as an Abolitionist, Educational Reformer, Labor Activist, Temperance Worker, Suffragist, and Women’s Rights Campaigner, check out this site.

Source:             Susan B. Anthony House.org & Web Wizardry

Reading Level:   Moderate

Not For Ourselves Alone

This is the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.  Here you can track key events in the suffrage movement, locate historical documents and essays, and see where women are today.  Click on either portrait to the left of the page and take the grand online tour.  This interactive historical survey is very fun and informative.

Source:             PBS

Reading Level:   Easy