In 1872, Susan B. Anthony, a nationally recognized leader of the women's suffrage movement, took a decisive step that would lead to a landmark legal battle. On November 1, 1872, in Rochester, New York, Anthony, accompanied by her sisters Guelma, Hannah, and Mary, went to a voter registration office located in a barber shop. She demanded to be registered, citing the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as justification for
her right to vote. Anthony even threatened to sue the election inspectors personally if they refused her demand. This bold action, and the subsequent legal proceedings, brought the issue of women's suffrage to national attention and became a pivotal moment in the fight for women's voting rights.
The Act of Voting and Initial Reactions
The election inspectors, faced with Anthony's insistence and her legal threats, consulted a prominent local lawyer, John Van Voorhis, who was a strong supporter of women's suffrage. He advised them to register the women after they took the standard oaths of registry, stating that this would place the entire responsibility on the women themselves. Anthony, known for her skilled publicity, immediately went to a newspaper office to provide an interview about the registration. News of the women's registration quickly spread through afternoon newspapers, with some even calling for the arrest of the inspectors who had allowed the registration.
Anthony returned to the registration office to encourage the inspectors to remain firm and assured them she would cover any legal costs they might incur. Inspired by her actions, other women in Rochester also began to register, bringing the total number of registered women to nearly fifty. On election day, November 5, Anthony and fourteen other women from her ward proceeded to the polling place to cast their ballots. A poll watcher, Sylvester Lewis, challenged their right to vote, which required them to take an oath affirming their qualification to vote, which they did. The election inspectors found themselves in a difficult position, risking violation of state law if they turned the women away, as state law did not authorize them to refuse a ballot to anyone who took the required oath. However, federal law made it illegal to accept a ballot from an ineligible voter and prescribed the same punishments for accepting an ineligible ballot as for refusing an eligible one. Ultimately, the inspectors decided to allow the women to vote. Officials in other wards, influenced by the negative publicity, turned away other registered women.
Arrest, Trial, and Public Outcry
Anthony's successful vote and subsequent arrest generated national news, which she skillfully used to promote the suffrage movement. Before her trial, she embarked on a speaking tour, visiting 29 towns and villages in Monroe County, New York, where her trial was to be held and from which the jurors would be drawn. Her speech, titled "Is it a Crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?", argued that the Fourteenth Amendment granted her the right to vote. She proclaimed, "We no longer petition Legislature or Congress to give us the right to vote. We appeal to women everywhere to exercise their too long neglected 'citizen's right to vote'."
During her speeches, Anthony quoted the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment, emphasizing that if women were persons, they were citizens, and no state had the right to abridge their privileges or immunities. Her speech was even printed in its entirety in a Rochester daily newspaper, further disseminating her message to potential jurors. She also highlighted the inconsistent use of gendered pronouns in law, noting that tax laws used male pronouns but women were still taxed, and the federal Enforcement Act of 1870, which she was accused of violating, similarly used only male pronouns. She famously stated, "I insist if government officials may thus manipulate the pronouns to tax, fine, imprison and hang women, women may take the same liberty with them to secure to themselves their right to a voice in the government."
The Judge's Role and Anthony's Defiance
The trial itself was closely followed by the national press and significantly elevated women's suffrage as a national issue. The judge, Ward Hunt, a recently appointed U.S. Supreme Court Justice, presided over the federal circuit court where the trial took place. He did not permit the jurors to discuss the case and instead directed them to find Anthony guilty. On the final day of the trial, when asked if she had anything to say, Anthony, who had previously been denied the opportunity to speak, delivered what has been called "the most famous speech in the history of the agitation for woman suffrage." She protested what she termed "this high-handed outrage upon my citizen's rights" and the injustice of denying women the right to vote. When Justice Hunt sentenced her to pay a fine of $100, Anthony defiantly declared she would never pay it. In a move that prevented her from appealing her case to the Supreme Court, Hunt announced that Anthony would not be jailed for failing to pay the fine. A month after the trial, a deputy federal marshal attempted to collect the fine but reported finding no property to seize, and the court took no further action.
