Famous Women Report- Susan B. Anthony
Women have a unique ability to emerge as influential people in society. Their achievements and contributions have an encouraging impact on all mankind. Susan B. Anthony is a prime example of this. Using two main sources, Susan B. Anthony, Women Suffragist by Barbara Weisberg and Failure is Impossible; The Story of Susan B. Anthony by Lisa Frederickson Bohannon, my essays facts can be further researched. In the following paragraphs you will learn much about her, and her fight for Women??™s Civil Rights.
Behind every great person there is even greater support and influences. Susan B. Anthony??™s main influence is her father, Daniel Anthony. He always supports the idea of women being independent, and persuing careers paths if they choose (Weisberg 26-29). Throughout her life Miss Anthony, has gone through many teaching jobs, even working as a headmisstress. Daniel Anthony feels very highly of teaching and has taught all of his children how to teach. Mr. Anthony supported women being treated equally to men (Bohannon 12 &15). As Ms. Anthony traveled for cause, her father supported her financially. Another of Ms. Anthonys??™ influences is her family??™s religion, the Quaker Religion. Quakers believed women were equal to men and should be treated that way. In Quaker meetings women are allowed to speak, vote, and participate in church meetings, and events (Bohannon 9-11) At age thirteen Ms. Anthony is sent to Madame Mousleys??™ ???School for Young Ladies???. Madame Mousley believes women are to be proper and should be treated as women, ?????¦There is reason the Lord created woman and it is to stand by mans side not the other way…???(Weisberg 31-32- quote only). Madame Mousley also felt women have no reason to learn algebra. Throughout her four years in Madame Mousleys school, Madame Mousley slowly stripped Ms. Anthony of her self confidence and spirit. Madame Mousley claimes in a letter that Ms. Anthony, ?????¦laughs too much, and thinks too little. She does not even dot her i??™s properly..??? (Weisberg 31). After four years Ms. Anthony and her sisters can no longer attend Madame Mousleys school, for the family no longer has the money to pay for the schooling. After so many years of being told she was and embarrassment too womankind Susan Anthony now has to get her confidence and conquer her fear of Madame Mousley.
Susan Anthony??™s main achievement, the one she is famouse for is her Womens Civil Rights Bill (Weisberg 104). This bill allowed women the right to vote, own property and devorce on any account (before this bill women only divorced because of adultury). Ms. Anthony always hated the Liquor Company, since men always got drunk and beat their wives and children, she feels this should be a ground for devorce. Ms. Anthony feels that the minute a man drinks he changes for the worst, after a dance she writes in her diary that she no longer has the thirst to dance (against the Quaker religion) and she will not go out with any man who??™s ?????¦. Highest pleasure is making a fool of himself!???(Bohannon 24). Although she faught hard for this bill, it was not passed until almost a year after her death.
Susan Anthony also has many contributions that without them being made our lives would be extremely different. While traveling she stopped at an inn and the wife did everything for Miss Anthony and her companions, when it was time to pay the husband, who had not lifted a finger, took the money. Ms. Anthony was upset about this so she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, her partner in ???crime??™ and dearest friend, decided to make a bill called the ???Womens Property Act??™. This bill states that any money earned or inherited by the wife, the wife can keep for herself, this also applied to land and property. This bill also allowed women to file lawsites under their names (as opposed to their husbands), be in juries and have joint custody of their children (when couples divorced it was assumed that the husband would get the children no matter how bad he is)( Weisberg 59). In 1863 Susan Anthony was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to speak on their behalf. She organized for 40 men and women to go around speaking for the cause, she also set up a ???grueling??? line of lectures for her to do herself (Weisberg 62-63). After establishing The Sixth Annual Womens Rights group she made The Revolution, a newspaper, with the financial support of a crazy millionair named George Francis Train. The Revolution spoke about womens rights and published letters from real women. The Revolution lasted for two years but Anthony was forced to stop printing it because of the debt pialing up. Ms. Anthony workes for two years giving speeches in order to pay back the debt fully(Weisberg 78-80).
Susan B. Anthony was an amazing woman, from the very beginning she knew what she needed to do and she never gave up on her cause no matter what people and newspapers called her. Without all of het accomplishments and contributions our privilages as women that we take for granted would never be and I truly thank Ms. Anthony for everything she has done.