Date: 2-11-01
PEOPLE IN AMERICA #1808 - SUSAN B. ANTHONY
By SHELLEY GOLLUSTVOICE ONE:
PEOPLE IN AMERICA, A PROGRAM IN SPECIAL ENGLISH ON THE VOICE OF
AMERICA.
(THEME)
IN THE EIGHTEEN-FIFTIES, WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES BEGAN TO TRY
TO GAIN THE SAME RIGHTS AS MEN. ONE WOMAN WAS A LEADER IN THE
CAMPAIGN TO GAIN WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE. I'M STAN BUSBY.
VOICE TWO:
AND I'M SHIRLEY GRIFFITH. TODAY WE TELL ABOUT A FIGHTER FOR
RIGHTS FOR WOMEN, SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
IN SEVENTEEN-SEVENTY-SIX, A NEW NATION DECLARED ITS FREEDOM FROM
BRITAIN. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS THE DOCUMENT
WRITTEN TO EXPRESS THE REASONS FOR SEEKING THAT FREEDOM. IT
STATED THAT ALL MEN WERE CREATED EQUAL. IT SAID THAT ALL MEN HAD
THE RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
VOICE TWO:
NOT EVERY CITIZEN OF THE NEW UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HAD ONE
IMPORTANT RIGHT, HOWEVER. THAT WAS THE RIGHT TO VOTE. AT FIRST,
THE ONLY PEOPLE PERMITTED TO VOTE IN THE UNITED STATES WERE WHITE
MEN WHO OWNED PROPERTY AND COULD READ. BY EIGHTEEN-SIXTY, MOST
WHITE MALE CITIZENS OVER THE AGE OF TWENTY-ONE HAD THE RIGHT TO
VOTE.
THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION GAVE
BLACK MALE CITIZENS THE RIGHT TO VOTE. THESE AMENDMENTS WERE
PASSED IN EIGHTEEN-SIXTY-EIGHT AND EIGHTEEN-SEVENTY.
VOICE ONE:
WOMEN WERE NOT REALLY FULL CITIZENS IN AMERICA IN THE
EIGHTEEN-HUNDREDS. THEY HAD NO ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE.
FOR EXAMPLE, EVERYTHING A WOMAN OWNED WHEN SHE GOT MARRIED
BELONGED TO HER HUSBAND. IF A MARRIED WOMAN WORKED, THE MONEY
SHE MADE BELONGED TO HER HUSBAND. IN ADDITION, WOMEN HAD NO
POLITICAL POWER. THEY DID NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
IN THE EIGHTEEN-FIFTIES, WOMEN ORGANIZED IN AN EFFORT TO GAIN
VOTING RIGHTS. THEIR CAMPAIGN WAS CALLED THE WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE
MOVEMENT. SUFFRAGE MEANS THE RIGHT TO VOTE. AMERICAN WOMEN
SOUGHT TO GAIN THAT RIGHT FOR MORE THAN SEVENTY YEARS.
VOICE TWO:
ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THE MOVEMENT WAS SUSAN B. ANTHONY OF
MASSACHUSETTS. MISS ANTHONY WAS A TEACHER. SHE BELIEVED THAT
WOMEN NEEDED ECONOMIC AND PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE. SHE ALSO
BELIEVED THAT THERE WAS NO HOPE FOR SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE
UNITED STATES UNTIL WOMEN WERE GIVEN THE SAME RIGHTS AS MEN. THE
RIGHTS INCLUDED THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN PUBLIC ELECTIONS.
VOICE ONE:
SUSAN B. ANTHONY WAS BORN IN EIGHTEEN-TWENTY. HER PARENTS WERE
MEMBERS OF THE QUAKER RELIGION. SHE BECAME ONE TOO. THE QUAKERS
BELIEVED THAT THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN SHOULD BE HONORED. THEY WERE
THE FIRST RELIGIOUS GROUP WHERE WOMEN SHARED THE LEADERSHIP WITH
MEN.
VOICE TWO:
AS A YOUNG WOMAN, SUSAN HAD STRONG BELIEFS ABOUT JUSTICE AND
EQUALITY FOR WOMEN AND FOR BLACK PEOPLE. AND SHE WAS QUICK TO
SPEAK OUT AGAINST WHAT SHE BELIEVED WAS NOT JUST.
MANY YOUNG MEN WANTED TO MARRY HER. BUT SHE COULD NOT CONSIDER
MARRYING A MAN WHO WAS NOT AS INTELLIGENT AS SHE. SHE ONCE SAID:
"I CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY INTELLIGENT GIRLS SHOULD WANT TO
MARRY FOOLS JUST TO GET MARRIED. MANY ARE WILLING TO DO SO. BUT
I AM NOT."
SHE DID MEET SOME YOUNG MEN WHO WERE INTELLIGENT. BUT IT ALWAYS
SEEMED THAT THEY EXPECTED WOMEN TO BE THEIR SERVANTS, NOT THEIR
EQUALS.
VOICE ONE:
SUSAN B. ANTHONY BECAME A SCHOOL TEACHER IN NEW YORK STATE. SHE
REALIZED THAT WOMEN COULD NEVER BECOME FULL CITIZENS WITHOUT SOME
POLITICAL POWER. THEY COULD NEVER GET SUCH POWER UNTIL THEY GOT
THE RIGHT TO VOTE. SHE WENT FROM TOWN TO TOWN IN NEW YORK STATE
TRYING TO GET WOMEN INTERESTED IN THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE. BUT THEY
DID NOT SEEM INTERESTED. MISS ANTHONY FELT THIS WAS BECAUSE
WOMEN WERE NOT ABLE TO DO ANYTHING FOR THEMSELVES. THEY HAD NO
MONEY, OR PROPERTY OF THEIR OWN. THE STRUGGLE SEEMED LONG AND
HARD. SHE SAID:
VOICE TWO:
"AS I WENT FROM TOWN TO TOWN, I UNDERSTOOD MORE AND MORE THE EVIL
WE MUST FIGHT. THE EVIL IS THAT WOMEN CANNOT CHANGE ANYTHING AS
LONG AS THEY MUST DEPEND ON MEN FOR THEIR VERY LIVES. WOMEN
CANNOT CHANGE ANYTHING UNTIL THEY THEMSELVES ARE INDEPENDENT.
THEY CANNOT BE FREE UNTIL THEY HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO OWN
PROPERTY AND TO KEEP THE MONEY THEY MAKE BY WORKING."
VOICE ONE:
MISS ANTHONY WENT TO EVERY CITY, TOWN AND VILLAGE IN NEW YORK
STATE. SHE ORGANIZED MEETINGS IN SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, AND PUBLIC
PLACES. EVERYWHERE SHE WENT, SHE CARRIED PAMPHLETS URGING RIGHTS
FOR WOMEN.
SHE URGED THE LAWMAKERS OF NEW YORK TO CHANGE THE STATE LAW AND
GIVE WOMEN THE RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY. HER CAMPAIGN IN NEW YORK
FAILED AT THAT TIME. BUT ELSEWHERE THE STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN'S
RIGHTS WAS MAKING PROGRESS.
VOICE TWO:
IN EIGHTEEN-FIFTY-ONE, SUSAN B. ANTHONY MET ELIZABETH CADY
STANTON. MISSUS STANTON ALSO SUPPORTED EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN.
MISSUS STANTON HAD MANY CHILDREN. SHE NEEDED TO REMAIN AT HOME
TO RAISE HER LARGE FAMILY. MISS ANTHONY, HOWEVER, WAS NOT
MARRIED. SHE WAS FREE TO TRAVEL, TO SPEAK, AND TO ORGANIZE FOR
THE WOMEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENT. THE TWO WOMEN COOPERATED IN LEADING THE FIGHT TO GAIN RIGHTS FOR WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES.
THEIR FIRST IMPORTANT SUCCESS CAME IN EIGHTEEN-SIXTY WHEN NEW
YORK FINALLY APPROVED A MARRIED WOMAN'S LAW. FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN NEW YORK, A MARRIED WOMAN COULD OWN PROPERTY. AND, SHE HAD A
RIGHT TO THE MONEY SHE WAS PAID FOR WORK SHE DID.
AT LAST, MISS ANTHONY'S CAMPAIGN WAS BEGINNING TO SHOW RESULTS.
THE CAMPAIGN SPREAD TO OTHER STATES.
VOICE ONE:
THE END OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR IN EIGHTEEN-SIXTY-FIVE FREED
NEGROES FROM SLAVERY. SUSAN B. ANTHONY FELT THAT THERE WAS STILL
MUCH TO BE DONE TO GET FULL FREEDOM -- FOR NEGROES AND ALSO FOR
WOMEN. SHE BEGAN TO CAMPAIGN FOR THE RIGHT FOR NEGROES AND WOMEN TO VOTE.
THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION WAS
APPROVED IN EIGHTEEN-SIXTY-EIGHT. IT GAVE NEGRO MEN THE RIGHT TO
VOTE. BUT IT DID NOT GIVE WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE.
VOICE TWO:
SUSAN B. ANTHONY LED EFFORTS TO HAVE VOTING RIGHTS FOR WOMEN
INCLUDED IN THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION. HER
EFFORTS WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL. THEN MISS ANTHONY DECIDED TO TEST
THE LEGAL BASIS OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT. SHE DID THIS DURING
THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF EIGHTEEN-SEVENTY-TWO.
ON ELECTION DAY, MISS ANTHONY LED A GROUP OF WOMEN TO VOTE IN
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK. TWO WEEKS LATER, MISS ANTHONY WAS ARRESTED.
SHE WAS CHARGED WITH VOTING ALTHOUGH SHE HAD NO LEGAL RIGHT TO DO
SO.
VOICE ONE:
BEFORE HER TRIAL, SUSAN B. ANTHONY TRAVELED AROUND NEW YORK
STATE. SHE SPOKE TO MANY GROUPS ABOUT THE INJUSTICE OF DENYING
WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE. SHE SAID:
VOICE TWO:
"OUR DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT IS BASED ON THE IDEA THAT
EVERY PERSON SHALL HAVE A VOICE AND A VOTE IN MAKING THE LAWS AND
PUTTING THEM TO WORK. IT IS WE, THE PEOPLE -- ALL THE PEOPLE --
NOT JUST WHITE MEN OR MEN ONLY, WHO FORMED THIS NATION. WE
FORMED IT TO GET LIBERTY NOT JUST FOR HALF OF US -- NOT JUST FOR
HALF OF OUR CHILDREN -- BUT FOR ALL, FOR WOMEN AS WELL AS MEN.
"IS THE RIGHT TO VOTE A NECESSARY RIGHT OF CITIZENS? TO MY MIND,
IT IS A MOST IMPORTANT RIGHT. WITHOUT IT, ALL OTHER RIGHTS ARE
NOTHING."
VOICE ONE:
SUSAN B. ANTHONY WAS TRIED AND FOUND GUILTY OF VIOLATING THE LAW.
SHE WAS ORDERED TO PAY ONE-HUNDRED DOLLARS AS A PUNISHMENT. SHE
SAID THE LAW WAS WRONG. SHE REFUSED TO PAY.
MISS ANTHONY THEN LED EFFORTS TO GAIN VOTING RIGHTS FOR WOMEN
THROUGH A NEW AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION. SHE TRAVELED ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO CAMPAIGN FOR SUCH AN AMENDMENT UNTIL SHE WAS SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD. IN NINETEEN-OH-FOUR, SHE SPOKE TO A
COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE FOR THE LAST TIME. THE
COMMITTEE WAS DISCUSSING THE PROPOSAL FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE
CONSTITUTION GIVING WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE. SHE KNEW THE
VICTORY WOULD COME. BUT SHE ALSO KNEW IT WOULD NOT COME WHILE
SHE WAS ALIVE.
VOICE TWO:
SUSAN B. ANTHONY DIED IN NINETEEN-OH-SIX AT THE AGE OF
EIGHTY-SIX. THIRTEEN YEARS LATER, IN NINETEEN-NINETEEN, CONGRESS
PASSED THE NINETEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION. THE
AMENDMENT STATED THAT THE RIGHT TO VOTE SHALL NOT BE DENIED
BECAUSE OF A PERSON'S SEX.
THE AMENDMENT HAD TO BE APPROVED BY THREE-FOURTHS OF THE STATES.
IT WON FINAL APPROVAL ON AUGUST TWENTY-SIXTH, NINETEEN-TWENTY.
IT WAS CALLED THE ANTHONY AMENDMENT, TO HONOR SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
THIS SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY SHELLEY GOLLUST. IT
WAS PRODUCED BY LAWAN DAVIS. I'M STAN BUSBY.
VOICE TWO:
AND I'M SHIRLEY GRIFFITH. JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER
PEOPLE IN AMERICA PROGRAM ON THE VOICE OF AMERICA.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/