Susan B. Anthony: Rebel for the Cause

This BIOGRAPHY of the suffragist, Susan B. Anthony, documents her life and era with photographs, illustrations, and interviews. It demonstates how this feminist leader simultaneously influenced events and was shaped by external forces, while examining the role of women in nineteenth-century America.

Susan B. Anthony: Rebel for the Cause is recommended for middle and upper school students, especially in civics, civil rights, American history, and women’s studies subject areas.

• 13th Amendment
• 14th Amendment
• 19th Amendment
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Frederick Douglass
• Harriet Tubman
• Quaker
• The Liberator
• William Lloyd Garrison
• abolitionism
• civil rights
• convention
• feminism
• pioneer
• temperance

1. What was the importance of Quakerism in Susan B. Anthony's life? In what ways was Quakerism different from other religions at the time? What was the role of education in Anthony's life?

2. What did American society expect of women in the 1800's? What rights did men possess that women did not in the 1800's? In what ways were women trapped in a subservient role?

3. What was the Jacksonian Revolution? What effect did the Jacksonian Revolution have on Anthony?

4. For what reasons did Anthony support and oppose marriage?

5. How did Anthony become involved in the abolitionism movement? Who were the Daughters of Temperance? How did Anthony's work and involvement in the abolitionist and temperance movements affect her career?

6. What was the significance of the convention at Seneca Falls in 1848? Who was the primary leader of this convention?

7. Why did Anthony wear only black in front of audiences? What is the significance of her red shawl? How was it possible for Anthony to afford her life as a reformer?

8. What were the terms of the 14th Amendment? Why were these terms controversial? How did the 14th Amendment create a rift between anti-slavery and women's rights movements?

9. What important lesson did Anthony learn from the abolitionism movement?

10. What were Anthony's goals in registering and voting in 1872? How did Anthony lose the chance to bring her case to the Supreme Court? What were some of the benefits of her trial? In what ways was her trial a "travesty of justice"?

11. How did the women's movement change under Anthony over the course of the 19th Century? What changes in life did women experience in Anthony's lifetime?

12. What significance did admitting Wyoming to the United States in 1890 have for the women's rights movement?

13. What sacrifices did Susan B. Anthony make in order to pursue her goals? Did the realization that she would most likely not enjoy the fruits of her labor during her lifetime prevent Anthony from working hard toward realizing her goals? Why or why not?

1. On June 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified. In what ways were Anthony's actions responsible for women's rights today? In what ways was Anthony a mentor to a new generation of young women? Create a storyboard, write a short story or write an essay to express your opinions of these questions. Use examples.

2. In what ways was Anthony's life unconventional? In what ways was her message revolutionary? What did people expect from women in the 1800's? Make a chart of the ways in which Anthony's life differed from that of average women living in the 1800's.

3. Anthony realized towards the end of her career that without a political voice she would not be able to cause change in a significant way; she could collect signatures on petitions, but if the signatures did not represent votes then the petition meant nothing in Washington. Split into groups and debate the following statement: political empowerment is fundamental to America.

4. Were many poor women part of the feminist movement in the 19th century? What role did class play in terms of political involvement?

5. Create a timeline of events from 1800 to 1995 pertaining to women's rights.

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Air Dates

• July 06, 2004