In our continuing series in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Historical Society of the New York Courts is highlighting New York’s role in the creation of our nation and its legacy through its annual calendar. In June, we are spotlighting Susan B. Anthony’s voting trial.
June: Susan B. Anthony’s Trial
In 1848, the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York and demanded equality and women’s suffrage. Echoing the Declaration of Independence, Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments declared, “… that all men and women are created equal.” After meeting Stanton in 1851, Susan B. Anthony joined her fight for women’s suffrage. On June 18, 1873, Anthony was found guilty of illegally voting in the Presidential election in November 1872 in Rochester, New York. Women were not granted the right to vote in New York until 1917.
Image Captions
A political cartoon of Susan B. Anthony entitled “THE WOMAN WHO DARED,” by Thomas Wust, published in The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper, New York City, Vol 1, No. 81, June 5, 1873. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-55836.
Title page of the transcript of Susan B. Anthony’s trial, “An account of the proceedings on the trial of Susan B. Anthony on the charge of illegal voting at the Presidential election in Nov., 1872,” published by Daily Democrat and Chronicle Book Print, Rochester, New York, 1874. Library of Congress, National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, LC-97187514.
Women Fight for Vote Seneca Falls and the Start of Annual Conventions: “Ye May session of ye woman’s rights convention – ye orator of ye day denouncing ye lords of creation,” published in Harper’s Weekly, Vol. 3, No. 128, June 11, 1859. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ds-13015.