Women's Right to Vote: The Susan B. Anthony Trial

The battle in the U.S. for the right of women to vote ended long ago, with the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

How many of us today have any inkling of the issues and arguments that comprised that struggle? We just accept that of course, the Constitution did not originally give women the right to vote, just as it did not declare that all Blacks were free. It took Constitutional amendments to bring them about.

Allow me to refer you to An Account of the Proceedings on the Trial of Susan B. Anthony as an exceedingly dang interesting rebuttal of such notions. (Just as a pretty dang interesting aside, I had a couple college classes with a young woman whose name I came to learn was Susan B. Anthony. On questioning, she confirmed that the famous SBA was her great-grandmother.)

I will first lay out the facts of the case so all may be clear on the matter. In the fall of 1872 Susan Anthony and a number of other women registered to vote in Rochester, NY, and then did vote in the November election. Anthony and the others were charged with voting illegally, due to their being women and women not having any such right. Additionally, the three election inspectors who allowed these women to cast ballots were charged with breaking the law by allowing them to vote.

Anthony was tried first, the inspectors next. All were found guilty. Charges were dropped against the other women. It was not until 1920, 48 years later, that the 19th Amendment was ratified and the women's suffrage matter was finally closed.

This story is far too much for a single post, so I'll break it into several. For now, let me just say that its' not only pretty dang interesting, it's pretty dang inspiring. Come back soon and read more.

Read Part 2