Susan B. Anthony: Nativity of the Ladies Rights Movement - Assignment Example

Introduction Susan B. Anthony a women’s activist, editor, writer and social reformer was born on on 15th February 1820, during a period when majority of females got married, bore children and completely deferred to their husbands. Her father, Daniel Anthony was a member the Quakers, a religious group that identified the equality of women and men. Daniel endorsed his daughter to think independently and speak out her mind. Susan played a key part in the 19th century women’s right movement to initiate women’s suffrage into U.S. Her family followed Quaker religion and had numerous strong political and social beliefs and was supporters of the temperance and abolitionist movements. Summary Early in her career, Susan Anthony was a schoolteacher, and she started to display interest in social reform. Having attempted and not succeeded to secure equal salaries for women teachers at her school, she moved to temperance. She became engaged in the temperance and antislavery movements, buts a woman she came across several barriers, including being denied the right to give a talk at a temperance conference in 1852 as a result of her gender and was told that female shad only been invited to learn and listen and not to contribute (Gale Cengage Learning, 1996). While she was in the temperance movement, Susan Anthony met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was a social reformer. The two females became allies and friends in the battle for the rights of women, particularly the right of women to vote. Susan spoke out issues affecting women and also instituted a weekly newspaper in 1868 called Revolution which advocated for equal rights and suffrage for women. In 1867, Stanton and Susan established the national woman suffrage association and as an unrelenting worker, Susan turned out to be a fixture on lecture circuit and headed nationwide petition drives to initiate support for women’s voting rights. In 1872, Susan made a decision to assess the legality of voting laws which permitted only African American and white men to vote. She registered and voted in 1872 presidential election in Rochester. She was arrested and detained for this offense and fined 100 dollars, which she refused to pay. This defiance rallied people who supported the rights of women across the country and at this time, Susan combined her suffrage association with another one, to create the national American woman suffrage association and she acted as the president of this organization from 1892-1900( Kathleen, 1988). Even after being arrested, Susan was not deterred and she continued to fight for the suffrage of women. Apart from giving lectures and speeches, she worked together with Stanton to record the history of suffrage movement and this led to multivolume set known as the History of Woman Suffrage. The initial volume was published in 1881 and Stanton and Anthony on other two volumes, and Susan edited the 4th volume with help from Ida Harper. The last two volumes were produce after the death of Anthony. Susan Anthony also fought for liberalization of married women laws. In 1853, Susan started to campaign for property rights of women in New York, and her petition lectures and drives were influential in persuading legislature to pass rules which would give married females power and authority over their revenues and guardian ship for their kids. In 1869, the New York State property bill of married women became law, permitting married women to keep their personal wages, own property and have guardianship of their children (Miriam, 1974). Susan B. Anthony died on 13 March, 1906 and all her work paid off in 1920 when the United States constitution was amended to offer the women the right to vote, which is called the 19th Amendment. To this day, Susan is remembered as one of the most prominent activist on behalf of females. What the experience was like learning about Susan B. Anthony After learning about the story of Susan B. Anthony, my experience is that she is the best remembered leader and advocacy for voting rights of women, slaves to be free and also founder of suffrage movement. She was a female who believed that her fellow females deserved each right that was offered to male citizens and all people were equal. I admire her for hers strong courage, confidence and determination. Even after being arrested for voting which was against the law, Susan did not give up his work in the suffrage movement. She ignored abuse and opposition and travelled, and gave lectures and speeches on rights of woman to vote. Susan was also determined in her campaigns for abolition of slavery, women rights to own earnings and property and take guardianship of their children. My emotional reaction to Susan B. Anthony Before learning about Susan B. Anthony, I was not aware that she was a prominent person in American history but I have learnt that she tirelessly worked for several reform causes and earned a position in the history of America as one of the principal advocates of rights of women in her generation. I have also learnt that among people who had hoped that the federal government would extend equal rights to females and African American men. She started her reform work by working for abolition and temperance, and her experience s of being denied to speak at temperance conferences convinced her of the need to fight for women’s rights. What I learnt about my topic, gender, men women feminism, and myself From this story of Susan B. Anthony, I have learnt that United States women and men and unequal rights in several activities such as in voting during elections. I have also learnt that gender is a sensitive issue that should be sufficiently addressed to ensure people have equal rights and opportunities to take part in national issues. I have learnt that the work of Susan Anthony was a form of feminism since it was aimed at establishing, defining and safeguarding equal economic, social and political rigts and equal opportunities for females in the United States. How the topic challenge my opinions, values and belief systems The work on of Susan B. Anthony has challenged my opinion of viewing women as being excluded from leadership and political positions in the United States. Activities of Anthony led women being given the right to own property, earnings and take guardianship of their children. It also resulted to inclusion of women in the process of voting during the 19th Amendment of the United States in 1920 and this gives modern United States women to have a say in the political and economic field. How the experience can be applied in my future This topic has taught me how Susan Anthony was an independent woman who spoke out her mind and fought for rights of women in the U.S. In can apply this experience in my future life to advocate for what I feel is good for me and my fellow citizens. Although many obstacles will be inevitable, determination and confidence will be the greatest tool that will enable me to achieve what I need. How the information I have learned can be applied to the field of psychology The information I have learned about the work of Susan Anthony can be used in the field of psychology to teach about both gender and how they were perceived in the United States society during the time and work of Anthony. It can also help people to identify the stereotyping that individuals are exposed to on every day life and also help them to understand how they may break through it. By taking courses on women studies, people will be able to drop preconceived concepts of other people and begin to work together and compromise each other, if the society is to grow. How my research impact future action on the topic of Susan B. Anthony My research has revealed Susan B. Anthony as a magnificent female who devoted majority of his life to attain the same right of females to vote as males. This will influence my future research on rights of women to vote because today females have similar voting rights as males. Nevertheless, this wasn’t the case during United States during Anthony’s time and voting was restricted to men only. The women suffrage movement started to take part in reform movements and take interest in politics. Conclusion This research topic has revealed the work of Susan Anthony as a social reformist and fighter of women’s rights who relentlessly fought for the women to be given equal voting rights as men in the United States. It has also enabled me to learn hoe Anthony fought for other issue that affected women such as right to own property and income and right of women to take custody of their children. References Kathleen, B., (1988). Susan B. Anthony: A Biography of a Singular Feminist. New York: New York Univ. Press. Miriam, G., (1974). The Ladies of Seneca Falls: The Birth of the Woman's Rights Movement. New York: Macmillan. Gale Cengage Learning. (1996). Women’s History. Retrieved on April 25, 2011 from Read More