Susan B Anthony’s best friend Elizabeth

19th century woman holding baby

Susan B. Anthony’s best friend was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Born November 12, 1815, Stanton was Anthony’s opposite in many ways. However, their bond of common reforms – temperance, antislavery, and women’s rights – held them together even when their differences might have torn them apart. Early years of their friendship Stanton teased about their respective […]

Listening with the Enneagram: Susan B. Anthony as Type One

Black and white photo of woman with hair pulled back

The more I “listen” to my characters, the more convinced I am that Susan B. Anthony was a Type One on the enneagram. This character portrait is often called the Reformer Perfectionist. I am greatly indebted to Anita Plat-Kuiken, my co-aothor on this blogpost series, for her enneagram summaries. Anita has based her Type One […]

Trailblazers: Susan B. Anthony and Jeannette Rankin

Little girl in read dress holding American flag

Susan B. Anthony and Jeannette Rankin are two trailblazers who left an indelible mark on the world. Although separated by time and geography, these two women were united in their desire to see women’s voices heard. These courageous pioneers blazed a trail that led to the passage of the 19th Amendment, allowing women to vote for the first time.

Rankin, born in Montana in 1880, was the first woman in the United States to serve in Congress, and the first female member of the Republican Party. She was an ardent supporter of civil rights, and she fought for suffrage alongside Alice Paul and others in the National Woman’s Party. After her historic election in 1916, she continued to advocate for women’s rights, sponsoring successful legislation to increase funding for women’s education.

Susan B. Anthony, born in Massachusetts in 1820, was an ardent abolitionist and feminist. She formed the National Women’s Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1869 and was a leader in the fight for women’s suffrage. She and her cohorts traveled the country to rally support for the cause, and in 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting women the right to vote.

These two women have left an indelible mark on the world and their legacies remain to this day. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at the lives of Jeannette Rankin and Susan B. Anthony—two trailblazers who revolutionized the way women are seen and heard in society.

Song for Mary Anthony

Susan B Anthony family

In “Song for Mary Anthony,” listeners accompany Susan B. Anthony’s sister Mary who fulfills Susan’s request to continue suffrage work in far away Oregon.

Anthony family: diversity of religious expression

Susan B Anthony family

Last night my husband and I attended our Presbyterian service of Maundy Thursday to commemorate the evening of the Last Supper when Jesus was betrayed. Afterward, we accepted an invitation to participate in a seder meal with the Congregation Etz Chaim, just down the road from our church.   As the evening concluded, we prayed […]

Be a cover sleuth

Susan B Anthony family

Hi, friends, I need some cover sleuths to help me decide whether this design accurately signals what this book is about. (Yes, I’m asking you to judge a book by its cover!) Are you game for it? If so, please see my questions below and give me your thoughts in the comment box. First of all, […]

Cartoon: The president and Susan B.

cartoon of Susan B. Anthony hitting Grover Cleveland over the head with woman suffrage

In honor of Presidents’ Week, I offer you this fun cartoon of the president and Susan B.. It appeared in 1905 as the result of ex-president Grover Cleveland’s expression of disdain for women’s clubs. Unfortunately for him, he got a lot worse than he gave! I loved the cartoon when I first discovered it during […]

Who was Susan B. Anthony’s sister Guelma?

Guelma Penn Anthony

Susan B. Anthony’s sister Guelma Penn Anthony McLean (1818- 1873) was the oldest child in the Anthony family. She was 20 months older than Susan. Altogether there were four girls and two boys. Guelma took her name from the first wife of Quaker William Penn, who founded the (then) British colony of Pennsylvania. Those who […]

Historical research: Walk where they walked

large white house with picket fence

When I first researched Susan and her family, I walked where they walked. Wearing a long skirt, wool cape, and boots, I trudged snow-clogged streets of old Rochester. A bit later, I was dismayed to learn that the Rochester home of Frederick Douglass no longer exists. Undeterred, I branched out to visit Seneca Falls, where […]