SUSAN B. ANTHONY

by Katharine Anthony ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 7, 1954

Against a sweep of 19th century American history is set this workmanlike biography of Susan B. Anthony, the most dedicated of all suffragettes. Daughter of a dynamic Qauker businessman and a silent, withdrawn mother, Susan B. Anthony took up the path of ""shoestring heroism"" and worked for many decades alongside such pioneers as Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Until the Civil War and the fight was joined with the Abolitionists; after that the suffragettes were left to fight their own battle. This they did with gentility and decorum, unlike their more violent sisters in England who endured hunger strikes and jail terms. The most dramatic step of Susan Anthony's life was to lead 15 women of Rochester, N.Y. calmly to the polls in 1872 to cast votes for Grant for President. Astonished men delayed three weeks before questioning their act, eventually tried them and ordered a fine which was never paid. In private life, Susan, the stately spinster, prized handsome clothes and skilled housekeeping. Her public life was marked by lectures all over the nation on ""Bread and the Ballot"" and years of shrewd lobbying in Washington. In 1905, at eighty-five, she visited Theodore Roosevelt and tried to extract a promise that he would speak out for women's suffrage before he left the White House. This readable biography is unlike other works by the author which lean heavily towards psychological interpretation, and should interest students of history and also those who like general biography.

Pub Date: Oct. 7, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION