United States v. Susan B. Anthony

 June 18, 1873: Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 (about $2200 today) for breaking the law.            She had tried to vote in the 1872 election. This is the case of the United States v. Susan B, Anthony.

For decades, Susan B. Anthony had been the USA’s foremost advocate for women getting the right to vote. (Oddly, a woman named Victoria Woodhull attempted to run for President in the 1872 election. Her views were too radical for Anthony and the mainstream dynamos of the Women’s Suffrage Movement!)

But here is an interesting Constitutional question. Hypothetically, if Ms. Woodhull had won and had been old enough to meet the required minimum age – could she have been sworn in as a President? Here is the question: Since women could not legally vote for President, were they actually citizens, as defined by the Constitution?  As the Constitution required that the President be a citizen, and citizens were sometimes defined by having the right to vote, it is unclear if women were citizens of the USA!

United States v. Susan B. Anthony

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women registered to vote in Rochester, New York. Although their votes were not legal, each voted in the presidential election. A few weeks later, the women and the registrars who had allowed them to register were arrested. Susan B Anthony refused to pay bail. (The other women, feeling they had made their point, posted bail and were subsequently released from jail.) Hoping to avoid embarrassment, a judge released her anyway. In fact, the first judge paid the bail so that Anthony would not have to be jailed.

The Trial of the United States v. Susan B. Anthony

A jury quickly found Anthony guilty. Her fine was set at $100. (That is about $2000 in today’s money,) On principle, Anthony refused to pay the fine. The judge did not require her to be jailed.

An interesting comparison to Susan B. Anthony’s case would be the case of Clyde Kennard. He was sent to jail to stop him from going to college.

Voting rights are civil rights. States should encourage every citizen to vote. We owe it to Susan B. Anthony, Medgar Evers, and so many others who suffered to protect this sacred right!