Did Susan B. Anthony oppose the 15th Amendment?
Asked by: Judge Buckridge | Last update: February 25, 2026Score: 4.3/5 (5 votes)
Yes, Susan B. Anthony, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, strongly opposed the 15th Amendment because it granted suffrage to Black men but excluded women, leading them to prioritize women's rights above Black male suffrage and, at times, using racist arguments, which split the suffrage movement. While they had been allies with abolitionists, they felt betrayed, arguing for a "universal suffrage" amendment that included all genders, not just race.
Why did Susan B. Anthony oppose the 15th Amendment?
But when the 15th Amendment was passed with no mention of gender, suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton opposed it, arguing that it unjustly prioritized Black men over white women. In doing so, they used racist and elitist language to make their case.
Who opposed the 15th Amendment?
Activists bitterly fought about whether to support or oppose the Fifteenth Amendment. Stanton and Susan B. Anthony objected to the new law. They wanted women to be included with black men.
What rights were denied to Susan B. Anthony?
She testified, “Your denial of my citizen's right to vote, is the denial of my right of consent as one of the governed…the denial of my sacred rights to life, liberty, property.” Anthony spent decades advocating the vote for women which was not won in her lifetime.
Which Amendment did Susan B. Anthony fight for?
The Senate debated what came to be known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment periodically for more than four decades. Approved by the Senate on June 4, 1919, and ratified in August 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment marked one stage in women's long fight for political equality.
"Did Susan B. Anthony Need A Pardon? Women's Suffrage, Personhood, and Race in the 19th Century."
What were Susan B. Anthony's beliefs?
Though she was avidly antislavery, Anthony did not always support racially universal suffrage. Prior to the passage of the 15th Amendment, Anthony publicly voiced her belief that white women were more deserving of voting rights than African American people regardless of sex.
Why did Susan B. Anthony believe she had the right to vote?
Anthony argued that she had the right to vote because of the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, part of which reads, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States."
How did Susan B. Anthony feel about slavery?
Anthony spoke out against slavery wherever she could find an audience. She even challenged Abraham Lincoln's moderate position on slavery in 1861, demanding “no compromise with slaveholders.” It was a chapter in her life she would later call “The Winter of Mobs”.
Who led women's suffrage?
It commemorates three founders of America's women's suffrage movement: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott.
Was Susan B. Anthony fined $100?
At that time, women were not allowed to vote. Two weeks later, Anthony was arrested, and eventually fined $100 for voting illegally. “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty,” she said—and she never did. It was more than 40 years before the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote in the United States.
Who tried to stop the 15th Amendment?
White supremacists, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), used paramilitary violence to prevent blacks from voting. The Enforcement Acts were passed by Congress in 1870–1871 to authorize federal prosecution of the KKK and others who violated the amendment.
Who opposed women's right to vote?
And it wasn't just apolitical or conservative women who opposed suffrage. “Antis,” as they were sometimes known, included leaders in women's education as well as prominent professional figures such as journalist Ida Tarbell. Among the most active was Josephine Dodge, an advocate for child care for working mothers.
Who approved the 15th Amendment?
After the election of Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency in 1868, Congress proposed a new amendment that would ban all restrictions on the right to vote regarding ethnicity and prior slave status. In spite of heavy opposition by the Southern delegations, Congress ratified the Fifteenth Amendment on February 3, 1870.
Who opposed the 15th Amendment and why?
White women activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony were discouraged that the Fifteenth Amendment would not include women's suffrage.
What was Susan B. Anthony's famous quote?
No man is good enough to govern any woman without her consent.
How did Susan B. Anthony use civil disobedience?
Anthony cast a vote in her hometown of Rochester, NY, and was subsequently arrested and tried in 1873. While Susan B. Anthony's voting trial is the one most publicized, women throughout New York State and the nation committed civil disobedience by voting as early as 1868 – four years before Anthony.
What is Susan B. Anthony known for?
Susan B. Anthony is famous for being a pivotal leader in the American women's suffrage movement, tirelessly campaigning for women's right to vote, which ultimately led to the 19th Amendment, often called the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, and also fought for abolition and temperance, working alongside Elizabeth Cady Stanton to form organizations like the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and even getting arrested for illegally voting in 1872.
Did Lucy Burns ever marry?
No, Lucy Burns, the prominent American suffragist, never married and did not have children; she dedicated her life to the women's suffrage movement and later worked with the Catholic Church after the 19th Amendment passed. She was known for her strong views, even critiquing married women who didn't join the fight for voting rights, according to homework.study.com.
Who changed women's rights?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and women like Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Sojourner Truth traveled the country lecturing and organizing for the next forty years. Eventually, winning the right to vote emerged as the central issue, since the vote would provide the means to achieve the other reforms.
Which first lady fought to end slavery?
Mary Todd Lincoln was a strong supporter of abolition as first lady, even though she came from Kentucky family that had enslaved servants and had relatives serving in the Confederate army.
Who disagreed with Susan B. Anthony?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony disagreed with their friend. They insisted that all men and women must gain the right to vote at the same time.
What protests did Susan B. Anthony lead?
In 1837, at age 16, Anthony collected petitions against slavery as part of organized resistance to the newly established gag rule that prohibited anti-slavery petitions in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1851, she played a key role in organizing an anti-slavery convention in Rochester.
Was Susan B. Anthony a Republican or Democrat?
Its antislavery stance attracted activist women to the party before the Civil War. Moreover, the party supported women suffrage, endearing itself to reformers like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone, who self-identified as Republicans.
Who started the women's suffrage movement?
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in May of 1869 – they opposed the 15th amendment because it excluded women.
What does the B stand for in Susan B. Anthony?
Susan B. Anthony, a name synonymous with women's rights and social reform, carries a middle initial that stands for her mother's maiden name: Brownell.