Susan B. Anthony

Pioneering leader in women's suffrage movement who challenged gender norms

Susan Brownell Anthony (1820-1906) revolutionized gender equality through relentless activism that reshaped American democracy. As architect of the 19th Amendment framework, she organized the first Women's State Temperance Society in 1852 and co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

Her illegal voting act in 1872 (United States v. Susan B. Anthony case) created landmark legal arguments about citizenship rights. Anthony traveled nationally for 45 years, delivering 75-100 speeches annually advocating for equal pay, property rights, and educational access.

Through her newspaper The Revolution and collaborative work with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony created organizational infrastructure that enabled eventual ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Modern feminist movements still employ her strategies of petition drives, civil disobedience, and systematic lobbying.