Susan B. Anthony's "On Women's Right to Vote"

During the 1800s, women did not have the right to vote and were denied many other rights held by men. Susan B. Anthony was a prominent leader in the womens rights movement. She, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded the National Womens Suffrage Association, which advocated for giving women the right to vote.

In November 1872, Anthony voted in the presidential election. Two weeks later, she was arrested. After her indictment, Anthony gave her famous On Womens Right to Vote speech. In the speech, Anthony invoked the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, pointing out that it addresses We, the people, and not We, the male citizens. She argued that those countries that denied women the right to vote were oligarchies. At the end, she challenged her detractors to answer this question: Are women persons?

During her trial, Anthony was unable to testify on her behalf, since womens testimony was not considered to be competent. Instead, her lawyer presented her arguments. She was convicted of casting an illegal vote and fined $100. Anthony refused to pay the fine, stating, May it please your honor, I will never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.

The trial allowed Anthony to disseminate her arguments in support of womens suffrage to a much larger audience. Her speech and her continued advocacy for womens rights paved the way for Congress eventual ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which finally gave women the right to vote.

On Women's Right to Vote


The preamble of the Federal Constitution says:







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