After voting in a national election, Susan B. Anthony was arrested and tried for violation of federal law. She testified, “Your denial of my citizen’s right to vote, is the denial of my right of consent as one of the governed…the denial of my sacred rights to life, liberty, property.” Anthony spent decades advocating the vote for women which was not won in her lifetime.
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
An Account of the Proceedings on the Trial of Susan B. Anthony on the Charge of Illegal Voting at the Presidential Election in November, 1872
Claiming the Right to Vote
In 1872, before women could vote in national elections, Susan B. Anthony cast a ballot for a federal election in New York. She was arrested and put on trial. In court she argued that her action was legal under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave all citizens the right to vote. The court found her guilty but the highly publicized trial raised public awareness about woman suffrage. Women finally achieved national voting rights with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
After voting in a national election, Susan B. Anthony was arrested and tried for violation of federal law. She testified, “Your denial of my citizen’s right to vote, is the denial of my right of consent as one of the governed…the denial of my sacred rights to life, liberty, property.” Anthony spent decades advocating the vote for women which was not won in her lifetime.
Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress
