Who was Susan B. Anthony?

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In the United States, people get their voices heard by voting in elections. Anyone over the age of 18 can vote, but there was a time not too long ago when that wasn’t true! African American men couldn’t vote until 1870. Women weren’t allowed to vote until 1920!

Susan B. Anthony lived from 1820 to 1906. During her life she fought for equal voting rights for all Americans. She wanted African Americans, women, and everyone else to be able to have their say in government. To her, it did not matter what color skin a person had or if they were a man or woman. She felt everyone should have the same rights.

She organized conventions and made many speeches about equal voting. She was even president of the National American Women Suffrage Association. Suffrage might sound like a bad thing, but it actually means the right to vote!

Susan B. Anthony died fourteen years before the Nineteenth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote, but her efforts during her life played a huge part in making the Nineteenth Amendment happen!

Changing the Country

Because of all of her hard work, Susan B. Anthony was honored by having her face put on a coin! It was called the Susan B. Anthony dollar and it was made in 1979, 1980, 1981 and again in 1999. She was the very first woman to have her face on an American coin!

Have you ever seen a Susan B. Anthony dollar? They’re hard to find, but maybe a family member has one saved as a collector’s item!

Ask a grown-up to show you the different coins that make up American money. Each one has a face of an important person who played a big part in the history of the United States. What do you know about these people? How did they help change the United States of America?