Susan B. Anthony
Fighter for Women’s Suffrage
D
uring the 1800s, the life of women was very different
from what it is today. By law, women were not allowed
to vote in national elections, and therefore could not influence
legislation (laws) to further their interests. Their husbands or
fathers controlled all household money, even their wages. They
were forbidden to own property. Susan B. Anthony, a wage earner
herself, and unmarried, felt this inequality keenly.
Very independent, Susan never had the desire to marry. She
supported herself for years as a teacher and helped her parents
and siblings after her father’s business failed. Raised a Quaker,
she was tall, thin, conservatively dressed, and rather stern in
Born: February 15,
appearance. But on the inside, she was deeply passionate. A
1820, near Adams,
gifted writer, she also traveled frequently, giving speeches and
Massachusetts
raising money for various causes. But most of her energy was
Died: March 13, 1906, in
spent trying to obtain the right to vote (suffrage) for women. She
Rochester, New York
felt voting was the key to obtaining other laws to help women.
Famous for: working
Sometimes in real physical danger, and often mocked and
very hard to obtain the
insulted, Susan never gave up.
right to vote for women
She developed a close, lifelong friendship with Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, who was also dedicated to women’s rights.
Stanton’s husband, an abolitionist, fought to end slavery. In 1848, Stanton, along with Lucretia
Mott and others, organized the first convention for women’s rights in Seneca Falls, New York.
(The Women’s Rights National Historic Park and Hall of Fame there, now commemorate this
important event.) Susan B. Anthony had to miss that meeting, but she made up for it later with
her hard work and extreme devotion to the cause of women’s suffrage. In 1872, she was actually
arrested for voting. Tried and convicted, she was fined $100. Till the end of her life, she refused
to pay that fine.
One of Susan’s many accomplishments was raising $50,000—which was a very large sum of
money in those days—so that the University of Rochester would build facilities so it could admit
women. She knew that the education of women was an important step toward their full equality.
In 1920, 14 years after her death, the Nineteenth Amendment, allowing women the right to
vote, was added to our Constitution. Called the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, it passed 100
years after her birth. Shortly before her death, in her last public statement, Susan announced,
“Failure is impossible.” Thanks in large part to her tireless efforts, she proved to be right.
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Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords: Famous Americans © Silvia Charlesworth, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords
Name
Susan B. Anthony
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
10
6
9
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
DOWN
ACROSS
1. Susan B. Anthony worked as a
for many years.
3. The word “
privilege to vote.
2. Susan was a member of the
4. “
” means the right or
6. When Susan B. Anthony voted, she was
.
7. Elizabeth Cady
and Susan B.
Anthony were fighters for women’s rights.
8. Until 100 years after Susan’s birth, women
were prohibited from
.
9. Susan’s family moved from a farm to
, New York.
is impossible,” Anthony said.
5. In 1848 the first women’s rights convention
was held in Seneca
, New York.
7. Her father’s business failed, so Susan had to
help
the family.
12. People who wanted to outlaw slavery were
called
.
13. The Women’s Rights National
Park honors women’s fight for suffrage.
15. The
Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution gave women the vote.
10. Susan B. Anthony’s biggest job was to raise
to support causes.
11. Susan never paid the $100
told to pay for voting illegally.
faith.
she was
14. Elizabeth Cady Stanton called a convention to
discuss women’s
.
16. Susan raised
thousand dollars so the
University of Rochester would admit women.
17. A married woman’s
household money.
18.
had control of all
Mott joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton
in calling the Seneca Falls convention.
19. Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820 near
Adams,
.
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Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords: Famous Americans © Silvia Charlesworth, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Answer Key
SUSAN B.
ANTHONY
(page 8)
Down:
1. teacher
3. suffrage
6. arrested
7. Stanton
8. voting
9. Rochester
10. money
11. fine
14. rights
Across:
2. Quaker
4. failure
5. Falls
7. support
12. abolitionists
13. Historic
15. nineteenth
16. fifty
17. husband
18. Lucretia
19. Massachusetts
58
Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords: Famous Americans © Silvia Charlesworth, Scholastic Teaching Resources