While Susan B. Anthony's arrest and trial for voting in the 1872 election captured national headlines and became a defining moment for the women's suffrage movement, her case was not an isolated incident. The events surrounding her vote had far-reaching consequences, affecting other suffragists who also attempted to cast ballots, as well as the election inspectors who allowed them to do so. The legal and political fallout from this period highlighted
the complexities of citizenship and voting rights, and ultimately influenced the strategic direction of the women's rights movement for decades to come.
The Fate of Other Suffragists and Election Inspectors
Fourteen other women in Anthony's ward in Rochester, New York, also voted in the 1872 election and were subsequently arrested. However, unlike Anthony, the government never took these women to trial. In January 1873, they were indicted, but on May 22, they were released on their own recognizance after U.S. Attorney Crowley announced that Anthony's case would serve as a test case. They were informed they did not need to appear at Anthony's upcoming trial. After Anthony's trial concluded, on June 21, 1873, the prosecutor entered motions of *nolle prosequi* in the circuit court, signaling that the government would not pursue their cases any further.
The election inspectors who had allowed Anthony and the other fourteen women to vote faced their own legal repercussions. Their trial was held immediately after Anthony's. They were found guilty of violating the Enforcement Act of 1870 and were fined. When they refused to pay their fines, they were jailed. There was considerable public sympathy for the inspectors, who were seen as being in an impossible situation: they risked legal action whether they allowed the women to vote or turned them away. The Rochester Evening Express, on February 26, 1874, described their imprisonment as "a petty but malicious act of tyranny."
Public Support and Presidential Pardon
While jailed, the election inspectors received food, coffee, and a steady stream of visits from their supporters, including the women they had allowed to vote. Susan B. Anthony herself appealed to her friends in Congress for their release. These congressional allies, in turn, appealed to President Ulysses S. Grant, who ultimately pardoned the men on March 3, 1874. Notably, the inspectors were reelected to their offices on that very same day, demonstrating a degree of local support for their actions despite the legal convictions.
Long-Term Impact on the Suffrage Movement
The trial of Susan B. Anthony, and the broader legal actions surrounding the 1872 vote, had a profound impact on the women's rights movement. The national press coverage helped to elevate women's suffrage into a prominent national issue. It also marked a significant shift in the women's rights movement, transitioning it from one that addressed a variety of issues to one primarily focused on securing the right to vote. Judge Hunt's directed verdict in Anthony's trial sparked controversy within the legal community that persisted for years, eventually leading to a Supreme Court ruling in 1895 that a federal judge could not direct a jury to return a guilty verdict in a criminal trial. Although the "New Departure" strategy, which argued that the Fourteenth Amendment implicitly enfranchised women, was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court in *Minor v. Happersett* in 1875, the events of 1872 and the subsequent legal battles solidified the movement's resolve to pursue a constitutional amendment explicitly granting women the right to vote, a goal that would eventually be realized with the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
