November 2, 1920

Today’s lesson takes us back to western New York, circa 1848, when the first American women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls. The participants signed a “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” that outlined the main issues and goals for the emerging women’s movement - including the demand for women’s right to vote.

Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment
The efforts of the suffragists went beyond petitions and parades. “Testing another strategy, Susan B. Anthony registered and voted in the 1872 election in Rochester, NY. As planned, she was arrested for ‘knowingly, wrongfully and unlawfully vot[ing] for a representative to the Congress of the United States.’” You can read her handwritten petition to Congress declaring her $100 fine “unjust,” along with eight other primary source documents (and teaching activities) from the National Record Archives.

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[tags]vote,suffrage,19th amendment,susan b. anthony,women’s rights,1872[/tags]