A Female Legend
(Photograph Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony)
Susan B Anthony was a remarkable female legend worthy of our attention. The mother of Feminism, Anthony was not afraid to challenge societal norms for the good of women. Today we celebrate Anthony’s birthday and acknowledge her great achievement.
Have you ever heard of Susan Brownell Anthony? If not, then keep reading, if yes, still keep reading, because what you are going to read will give you further information about this legendary woman, and you will be able to see where some of the rights we defend today came from.
She was born on 15th of February in 1820. She had a father who was a farmer and his ancestors were Quakers. Her mother’s family took part in the American Revolution. As can be seen, she was raised in an environment where ideas were free to be mentioned, and because her father had a relationship with Quakers, she gained some ideas from them, including the idea that men should be equal to women. Susan B. Anthony is the mother of feminism. She is one of the women that believed and supported the equality between women and men. This is why today, we honour her birthday and thank for what she has done for justice.
To fully understand how she supported the equality between women and men, we need to look at a belief called “Quaker”. Quakers are one of the branches of Christianism. They believe that everyone was given something by god, therefore, everyone should be treated equally. This is the belief that shaped Susan’s mind. She realised that this idea should be mentioned not only in a community of people, but the whole world.
Not only did she defend this equality, but she also wanted to end slavery. She wanted to do more - so when she came to New York and met two of her fathers friends, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, she had the opportunity to finally speak up. Thanks to them, she learned more and she was full of knowledge which she wanted to share to more people. Soon after, she became an abolitionist as an activist. They gave speeches in public that educated people about slavery and the equality between woman and men. The first speech and meeting they had was in Seneca Falls, and is one of the most important events in feminism and the ideas that revolve around it in our modern world. In the meeting, both women and men spoke about women rights and slavery. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration Of Sentiments, and it is the first writing that defended women's rights and was accepted. The writing showed how America was against women's equality with men and didn’t defend the rights that they should be defending because of human rights. When it was accepted after the Convention, it became a huge step to justice.
Susan B. Anthony was very brave to come up against the strict rules of her time. She didn’t fear, because she was ready to fight for her rights, fight for herself, fight for others and fight for justice. When she first spoke about women rights and slavery, she started something completely new for that time period which contiuned and still does today. Thanks to this female figure, significant improvements have been made in American History.
Happy birthday Susan Brownell Anthony!
Action Items:
If you wish to learn more about how women's rights evaluated over time in the United States, do visit this website: http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/
REFERENCES:
http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/seneca-falls-meeting
http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/abolition
https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/quakers_1.shtml
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/susan-b-anthony