Susan B. Anthony Paves the Way
Adapted from an essay by Joanna Strong and Tom B. Leonard Kathy Twynam
It has been rumoured that sometime within the next year, Ontarians will be facing an election – perhaps provincial, perhaps federal, perhaps both, if our politicians can ever get over themselves and decide what to do. And many of us followed the recent compelling US election with great interest, knowing that the repercussions were bound to spill over into Canada no matter who won.
Ladies, as we cast our ballots in the next election, whenever that may be, it behooves us to give a thought to the brave women before us, whose fearless determination helped win for women in democratic countries the right, and the privilege, to help elect our decision-makers. One such woman was Susan B. Anthony, an American woman whose name, more than any other, is associated with the long struggle to win the vote for American women. I found this story interesting:
It was Election Day in America, 1872. The polling booths, all manned by men, were busy and noisy. The men greeted their neighbours with handshakes, laughter and much male banter as they deposited their ballots in the ballot box, probably never giving a thought to the exalted privilege they had been accorded by virtue of their gender. But suddenly there was a hush, and the room grew silent as the men gazed in hostile amazement at the fifteen women who had just entered.
The man at the desk rose with a sneer. “What are you doing here?” he demanded to know. “This is voting day. You don’t belong here. Go home!” But their leader, the dignified woman who confronted him, didn’t give an inch.
“We’ve come to vote for the President,” she said. “He will be our President as well as yours. We women are citizens of the country as much as you are, and we insist on voting for the man who is to be the leader of this government.” And with great dignity, Susan B. Anthony walked up to the ballot box and deposited her vote. Every woman with her did the same, while the men watched in stunned silence.
In 1872, women in America could earn money, but they could not own it. If a married woman worked outside the home, every penny she earned belonged to her husband. The law appointed a male guardian to oversee any property that she was lucky enough to possess. Women like Susan writhed at this injustice. They saw no reason why it should be enshrined into law, and many vowed that they would carry on the battle to see that women were made equal in the eyes of the law while the Lord gave them the strength to do so. Susan waged this battle with thousands of speeches given across the country, pleading with men and trying to arouse women to fight for their rights. She wrote hundreds of pamphlets and letters and was the subject of many ugly and untrue things said about her as she carried on the struggle. Over time, women in America joined her by the thousands, many persuading their husbands to change their opinions snd join them in the fight for justice.
On that day in 1872 when she and her followers had the audacity to force themselves into the polling station and cast their votes, the men were not impressed. Susan was arrested and brought before a judge, accused of illegally entering a polling booth. When the judge asked her “How do you plead?”, this, in part, is what Susan said:
“Guilty! Guilty of trying to uproot the slavery in which you men have placed us women…Guilty of trying to lift the standard of womanhood so that men may look with pride upon their wives’ awareness of public affairs. But, Your Honour, I am NOT guilty of acting against the Constitution, which says that no person is to be deprived of equal rights under the law…You men have become slaveholders of your own mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters.”
The judge was more than a little nonplussed at this forceful speech from the tall, dignified woman before him – but the law was the law. “You are fined one hundred dollars,” the judge informed her.
“I will not pay it”, retorted Susan. “Mark my words, the law will be changed.” And she turned and walked out of the courtroom. When the court clerk asked if he should follow her and bring her back, the elderly judge shook his head. “I fear that she is right, that the law will be changed.”
Thankfully, Susan B. Anthony was right – the law was changed, but not until 1920, fourteen years after her death in 1906 and 48 long years after fifteen women forced their way into a polling station and illegally cast their votes for president.
Here in Canada, the right to vote was granted to some women a bit earlier, with Manitoba the first province to do so, in 1916. In 1918 Parliament passed a law removing the gender barrier and granting many women the right to vote – but not all. The struggle was far from over. Women in Quebec were not able to vote until 1940, and Indigenous women could not do so until 1960, well within the lifetime of most of us. Today, the women of Canada take the right to vote for granted. Remembering that it was a hard-fought battle by brave and determined women over the course of many years, let us be sure to exercise it in 2025 when the opportunity arises.