Speech: Susan B. Anthony

In the year 1873, a speech was given which would change America and women’s rights forever. For one of the first times in history, a woman is the one standing up for political and social issues during the mid-1800’s. Susan B. Anthony was 52 years old when she was fined $100 for casting an illegal ballot during an 1872 presidential election which in turn Anthony refused to pay the fine and fought for the rights of women. Her persistence and eagerness could be heard and felt in the speeches she gave across the country. After her arrest, Anthony gave a speech which was titled "Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the U.S. to Vote?” which approached the inequality that surround the men and women of the United States before 1875. It was time for change and her perseverance came at the right moment. The mutual feeling other women clutched to helped propel her speech and her ideas into action which lead to their being a success in equality and the 19th amendment being added to the Constitution.

Anthony was brought up as a Quaker in Adams, Massachusetts. Her strict upbringing and father’s passion of fighting against slavery led her to be a very strong and independent woman. Even though she was an average height and wore her hair neatly in a bun it didn’t mean she couldn’t fight for what was right. Anthony’s speech was full of advocacy, passion, and backed by a tremendous amount of support once word got around that someone was fighting for all women’s rights. What made her a powerful orator was her use of something that people could relate to and understand, for example the Constitution, or catering to women and their freedom. The timing of her arrest and speech gave way to an exceptional following of women and men across the country, which ca...

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... she gave in San Francisco during July of 1871. She said, “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand”. Her “stand” shows how little fear she has facing a nation full of men who like women to be subservient to them, not above or equal to them. She wants to take that “stand” to show women that times are about to change, that women will be able to rise to the occasion and say, vote, and do how they please.

Works Cited

Harper, Ida Husted. The Life and Works of Susan B. Anthony. Vol. 3. Indianapolis: The Hollenbeck Press, 1908.

Ingalls, Zoe. "A University Salutes a Little-known Triumph of Susan B. Anthony," The Chronicle of Higher Education 47 (2000): 6, A72.

Sherr, Lynn. The Trial of Susan B. Anthony. Buffalo, N.Y.: Humanity Books, 2005.

"U.S. Constitution." n.d. Preamble.