In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested because she voted illegally. She was fined but she didn’t pay the fine. She and Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
After she voted she said, "I wasn't ready to vote, didn't want to vote, but I did want equal pay for equal work."
The courtroom was filled up with people for Susan B. Anthony’s trial. She was a leader for women’s rights movement in the U.S.A. what was she accused of? In November of 1872, she and 15 other women voted in Rochester, New York, for the presidential election. Afterwards, All of the women were arrested. Women could not vote in any state.
Because Susan B. Anthony was the leader of the 16 women she was the only one trialed. It would be a test case. If she could show that she was allowed to vote she would not be found guilty. The all the U.S women would be given the right to vote.
The U.S. District Attorney, Richard Crowley, told her she violated the 14th Amendment. That amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, was intended to guarantee blacks the same rights as whites. It forbade any state to deny "the right to vote ... to any of the male inhabitants" who were 21 or older. She saw in the amendment a legal case for the right of women to vote. The 14th Amendment also said, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge [lessen] the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." Well, she said, weren't women citizens of the United States? And if citizens could not be denied the right to vote, it seemed plain enough that women could not be denied that right. She realized that in the amendment there was a legal case for women to vote. The 14th Amendment also said that "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge [lessen] the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." Well, said Anthony, weren't women citizens of the United States? And if citizens could not be denied the right to vote, it seemed plain enough that women could not be denied that right.
The District Attorney’s opening statement to the jury made many of her supporters laugh. After charging her with voting on November 5, 1872, he added, "At that time she was a woman." Even some members of the jury smiled.
Her lawyer, Henry Selden, a former judge, did not let this remark pass. He said "Your honor, gentlemen of the jury, the defense wishes to concede that Miss Susan B. Anthony is indeed a woman." Then he pointed to the defendant, who was wearing a plain back silk dress with a white lace collar. He argued that Susan B. Anthony trial because she was a woman. He said,"If this same act [voting] had been done by her brother, it would have been honorable. But having been done by a woman, it is said to be a crime... I believe this is the first instance in which a woman has been arraigned [accused] in a criminal court merely on account of her sex." The judge, Ward Hunt, was known for his opposition to women's suffrage. He shocked Anthony and her lawyer by refusing to let her take the witness stand to testify in her own defense. When the attorneys had finished arguing the case, Judge Hunt read a prepared statement. "The 14th Amendment," he said, "gives no right to a woman to vote, and the voting of Miss Anthony was in violation of the law." He directed the jury to find a verdict of guilty. He protested, reminding the judge that in a criminal case the jury must decide on the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The judge ignored him. He ordered the court clerk to record a verdict of guilty, even though the jury had not voted.
There was an uproar in the courtroom. Not everyone there supported women's suffrage. But all agreed that Anthony had been denied her right to a fair trial. The next day, Judge Hunt was about to sentence Anthony. But he made one mistake. He asked Susan the usual question: "Has the prisoner anything to say why sentence should not be pronounced?" This was the opportunity that Anthony was waiting for. "Yes, your honor," she said. "I have many things to say. In your ordered verdict of guilty, you have trampled underfoot every vital principle of our government. My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights are all alike ignored." Judge Hunt became furious. "The court orders the prisoner to sit down," he shouted. "It will not allow another word!" Then Judge Hunt said, "The sentence of the court is that you pay a fine of $100 and the costs of prosecution. " "May it please your honor," she replied. "I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. And I shall earnestly and persistently continue to urge all women... that resistance to tyranny is obedience to God." The judge could have put her in jail until she paid the fine, but he didn't. If he had, she could have appealed her case to a higher court. She probably would have won, because she had been denied a proper trial by jury. Instead, her case was closed for good. Although Anthony lost, the trial was a turning point in the struggle for women's suffrage. Until then, people had ridiculed Anthony as an "old maid" who wanted to upset the traditional authority of men. But the courage she had shown at her trial won her new respect. Gradually, public opinion swung in her favor. It would take years of struggle, but women one day would win the right to vote. Quaker women were allowed to speak at religious meetings, to vote on church matters, and to become ministers. At home, daughters were treated as no less important than sons.
This was highly unusual in a time when a woman had no property other than her clothes. If she earned money, it belonged to her husband. He had complete control over their children. She could not sign a contract, make a will, or sue in a court of law. She could not vote in elections. By custom, women were barred from higher education and almost all professions except teaching.
After she voted she said, "I wasn't ready to vote, didn't want to vote, but I did want equal pay for equal work."
The courtroom was filled up with people for Susan B. Anthony’s trial. She was a leader for women’s rights movement in the U.S.A. what was she accused of? In November of 1872, she and 15 other women voted in Rochester, New York, for the presidential election. Afterwards, All of the women were arrested. Women could not vote in any state.
Because Susan B. Anthony was the leader of the 16 women she was the only one trialed. It would be a test case. If she could show that she was allowed to vote she would not be found guilty. The all the U.S women would be given the right to vote.
The U.S. District Attorney, Richard Crowley, told her she violated the 14th Amendment. That amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, was intended to guarantee blacks the same rights as whites. It forbade any state to deny "the right to vote ... to any of the male inhabitants" who were 21 or older. She saw in the amendment a legal case for the right of women to vote. The 14th Amendment also said, "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge [lessen] the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." Well, she said, weren't women citizens of the United States? And if citizens could not be denied the right to vote, it seemed plain enough that women could not be denied that right. She realized that in the amendment there was a legal case for women to vote. The 14th Amendment also said that "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge [lessen] the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." Well, said Anthony, weren't women citizens of the United States? And if citizens could not be denied the right to vote, it seemed plain enough that women could not be denied that right.
The District Attorney’s opening statement to the jury made many of her supporters laugh. After charging her with voting on November 5, 1872, he added, "At that time she was a woman." Even some members of the jury smiled.
Her lawyer, Henry Selden, a former judge, did not let this remark pass. He said "Your honor, gentlemen of the jury, the defense wishes to concede that Miss Susan B. Anthony is indeed a woman." Then he pointed to the defendant, who was wearing a plain back silk dress with a white lace collar. He argued that Susan B. Anthony trial because she was a woman. He said,"If this same act [voting] had been done by her brother, it would have been honorable. But having been done by a woman, it is said to be a crime... I believe this is the first instance in which a woman has been arraigned [accused] in a criminal court merely on account of her sex." The judge, Ward Hunt, was known for his opposition to women's suffrage. He shocked Anthony and her lawyer by refusing to let her take the witness stand to testify in her own defense. When the attorneys had finished arguing the case, Judge Hunt read a prepared statement. "The 14th Amendment," he said, "gives no right to a woman to vote, and the voting of Miss Anthony was in violation of the law." He directed the jury to find a verdict of guilty. He protested, reminding the judge that in a criminal case the jury must decide on the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The judge ignored him. He ordered the court clerk to record a verdict of guilty, even though the jury had not voted.
There was an uproar in the courtroom. Not everyone there supported women's suffrage. But all agreed that Anthony had been denied her right to a fair trial. The next day, Judge Hunt was about to sentence Anthony. But he made one mistake. He asked Susan the usual question: "Has the prisoner anything to say why sentence should not be pronounced?" This was the opportunity that Anthony was waiting for. "Yes, your honor," she said. "I have many things to say. In your ordered verdict of guilty, you have trampled underfoot every vital principle of our government. My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights are all alike ignored." Judge Hunt became furious. "The court orders the prisoner to sit down," he shouted. "It will not allow another word!" Then Judge Hunt said, "The sentence of the court is that you pay a fine of $100 and the costs of prosecution. " "May it please your honor," she replied. "I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. And I shall earnestly and persistently continue to urge all women... that resistance to tyranny is obedience to God." The judge could have put her in jail until she paid the fine, but he didn't. If he had, she could have appealed her case to a higher court. She probably would have won, because she had been denied a proper trial by jury. Instead, her case was closed for good. Although Anthony lost, the trial was a turning point in the struggle for women's suffrage. Until then, people had ridiculed Anthony as an "old maid" who wanted to upset the traditional authority of men. But the courage she had shown at her trial won her new respect. Gradually, public opinion swung in her favor. It would take years of struggle, but women one day would win the right to vote. Quaker women were allowed to speak at religious meetings, to vote on church matters, and to become ministers. At home, daughters were treated as no less important than sons.
This was highly unusual in a time when a woman had no property other than her clothes. If she earned money, it belonged to her husband. He had complete control over their children. She could not sign a contract, make a will, or sue in a court of law. She could not vote in elections. By custom, women were barred from higher education and almost all professions except teaching.