Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony was a great leader in Women’s Rights. Born in 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts, Susan was the second of eight children in a Quaker family. Her father was said to be a strict man who enforced principled convictions and self-discipline. Susan learned to read and write at the age of three. She received more schooling and eventually became a teacher at the female academy, Eunice Kenyon’s Quaker Boarding School.

In 1849, Susan gave her first public speech for the Daughters of Temperance and went on to found the Woman’s State Temperance Society of New York. The temperance movement was to aid women and children dealing with the abuse of alcoholic husbands.

In 1872, Susan demanded that women be given the same civil and political rights as black men had been given with the 14th and 15th amendments. She led marches and demonstrations campaigning for women’s rights. During this time, Susan met Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The two became great friends and went on to fight for women’s suffrage and higher pay.