Biography

Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. From an early age, Anthony was inspired by the Quaker belief of social equality. After moving to New York, Anthony met many leading abolitionists including Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. She became an abolition activist, even though most people thought it was improper for women to give speeches in public. Anthony made many passionate speeches against slavery.

In 1851, Anthony met Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The two women became good friends and worked together for over 50 years fighting for women’s rights. They traveled the country and Anthony gave speeches demanding that women be given the right to vote. At times, she risked being arrested for sharing her ideas in public.

Anthony and Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association to push for a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. In 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting. She was tried and fined $100 for her crime. She led the National American Women's Suffrage Association until 1900. Anthony died in 1906, 14 years before women were given the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

“Biography: Susan B. Anthony.” National Women’s History Museum, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/susan-b-anthony. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024.