America Early 19th Century Land of the Free with a constitution written by white, male, landowners guaranteeing the right to vote for all 21 year old, white male, landers. Wait a minute, something is missing. What about women? Could they vote or own their own land? Nope, not going to happen. The husband owned everything, children, wife, the clothes on their backs, the vegetables she grew in her garden.
Help was on the way. A daughter was born to a Massachusetts family in 1820. She was very bright and could read before the time she was four.
At the time, it was a common belief that too much learning would harm a girls brain so her father removed her from school.
Her name was Susan B Anthony and she believed like many Quakers, that war was wrong and that males and females of all races were equal. She wanted slavery abolshied, better treament of prisoners and education of all children. She believed alcohol abuse destroyed families and caused poverty. Alcohol was known to cause men to beat their families. Alcohol was known to cause this but was not consdered a crime. She gathered support and passed out fliers, but of course, she was female.
In 1848, she held the first women’s rights convention. She spent decades traveling town to town, marching in parades and writing newspaper columns, seeking support to pass the sufferage amendment. She was told No thirty times. She was arrested and held in jail, so American women could vote.
August 1,1920, four decades after her original request, women were granted the right to vote.