On this day in 1873, Susan Brownell Anthony, a historic civil rights leader who was instrumental in getting the vote for women in America, was fined $ 100 (a formidable amount at the time) for a All-male jury in New York.
Anthony, born in 1820, had been arrested on November 5, 1872, and put on trial for violating the law that then allowed only men to vote. She was in charge of making it clear that it had not been an accident, also remarking that she had chosen the Republican candidates.
The president of the court, Ward Hunt, a member of the Supreme Court, ended up convicting her, but Anthony had the opportunity to explain his arguments to a larger audience than usual during the trial, asking for example if “it is a crime that a citizen of the United States United vote ”.
“Your denial of my right to vote is the denial of my right to consent as one of the governed … the denial of my sacred rights to life, liberty, property,” Anthony said, citing the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and to the Supreme Court itself.
Anthony cited the recently passed 14th Amendment to the Constitution to prevent discrimination against American citizens. However, the judge prevented her from testifying, and ordered the jury to convict her, reading a statement that he had written before the trial.
Only on the last day, just before hearing his sentence, did the judge ask Anthony if he had anything to say: it was then that he gave “the most famous speech in the history of agitation in favor of women’s suffrage,” according to historian Ann D Gordon.
Almost four decades later, on August 18, 1920, the vote of women was enshrined as a right in the Constitution under the 19th Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which states that “the right of the citizens of the United States it cannot be denied or reduced by the United States or by any state because of sex. “
Anthony passed away in 1906, before seeing his mission completed.
Now, a century later, the president, Donald Trump, has announced that he will sign an order granting a presidential pardon to Anthony. “She was never forgiven. Why did it take so long? ”Trump wondered when announcing his decision.
While Anthony is remembered for her role in that fight, she was also a strong opponent of slavery and a defender of the universal right to vote.
The place where his remains rest, in Rochester, New York, is usually a visiting point on Election Day. In 2018, Anthony’s grave was covered in stickers with the message “I vote.”
With information from AP and NBC News
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