Susan Brownell Anthony was a pivotal figure in the 19th-century women's [[suffrage]] movement in the United States. She was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts. Her parents, Daniel and Lucy Read Anthony, were Quakers who emphasized equality among people -- a philosophy that deeply influenced Susan's perspective and dedication to social reform and [[social justice]]. Anthony's early education took place at a local district school, but when her teacher refused to teach her long division because of her gender, her father responded by establishing a home-based school with a more progressive curriculum. Later, she attended a Quaker boarding school in Philadelphia. ## Early activism Anthony began her activism as a young woman in the temperance and [[abolitionist]] movements. However, she was often excluded from these largely male-dominated spaces, and this [[discrimination]] prompted her to fight for women's rights. In 1851, Anthony met [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]], a meeting that would form one of the most significant partnerships in political history. Stanton had the role of the ideas person, while Anthony, who never married or had children, had the time and energy to be the strategist and implementer of those ideas. They founded the Women's Loyal National League in 1863, which conducted the largest petition drive in the nation's history up to that point, collecting nearly 400,000 signatures in support of the abolition of [[slavery]]. However, after the [[Civil War]], the women's suffrage movement split into two factions over disagreements about the 15th Amendment, which granted voting rights to black men but not to women. Anthony and Stanton led the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), which opposed the amendment, while [[Lucy Stone]] led the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which supported it. The NWSA prioritized women's suffrage and opposed the amendment unless it included the vote for women. In contrast, the AWSA believed that suffrage for black men was a more urgent issue and that women's suffrage could wait. ![[susan-b-anthony-midjourney.png]] ## Arrested for voting One of the most famous incidents in Anthony's life occurred in 1872 when she was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York. She was found guilty and fined $100, which she refused to pay. While she didn't win her right to vote, her trial generated publicity for the cause of women's suffrage. In 1890, the two suffrage organizations merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) with Anthony as its leading force. The NAWSA adopted a strategy of working for [[suffrage]] at both the state and national levels. Susan B. Anthony died on March 13, 1906, at the age of 86. She did not live to see the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. However, her tireless efforts significantly contributed to its passage. Today, she is remembered as a trailblazer and icon for women's rights. The U.S. Treasury Department honored her legacy in 1979 by placing her image on the one-dollar coin, making her the first woman to be so honored.