Mint introduces Anthony dollar coin
The United States Mint produces more than 750 million 1979 Susan B. Anthony dollar coins featuring a portrait of the famous figure from the women’s rights movement in the 19th century. The series has a significantly reduced diameter.
Congress gives women the right to vote
Congress passes the Nineteenth Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
Susan B. Anthony dies age 86
Anthony dies of heart failure and pneumonia at her home on Madison Street in Rochester. She is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.
Becomes president of national suffrage association
Anthony becomes president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She campaigns in the West to make sure that territories where women had the right to vote are not blocked from admission to the Union.
Collects petitions from 26 states
Anthony gathers petitions from 26 states with 10,000 signatures supporting womens’ right to vote and asks Congress to pass a suffrage amendment.
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Fined $100
Anthony’s lawyer argues at her trial that she did not violate the Enforcement Act, which states that a person cannot knowingly vote illegally because she believed she had the right to vote. Supported by recent Supreme Court cases, the judge finds that the 14th Amendment does not guarantee women the right to vote. He rules that Anthony was aware that she could not legally vote, and fines her $100 plus court costs. She refuses to pay the fine, and the authorities do not try very hard to collect it.
Grand jury indicts Anthony for voting
A grand jury indicts Anthony for voting. She is released on bail and tours the area around Rochester delivering speeches:
It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government — the ballot.
Arrested for voting
Anthony, three of her sisters, and other women are arrested in Rochester for voting. She is arraigned with other women and the election inspectors who had allowed her to vote in Rochester Common Council chambers. She refuses to pay bail and applies for habeas corpus, but her lawyer pays the bail, keeping the case from the Supreme Court. She is indicted in Albany, and the Rochester District Attorney asks for a change of venue because a jury might be prejudiced in her favor. At her trial in Canandaigua, the judge instructs the jury to find her guilty without discussion. He fines her $100 and makes her pay courtroom fees, but does not imprison her when she refuses to pay, therefore denying her the chance to appeal.
Moves to Rochester, NY
0 CommentsAnthony moves to Rochester, NY, and becomes active in the anti-slavery movement. Anti-slavery Quakers meet at the Anthony’s farm almost every Sunday.