Susan B. Anthony: Voice for Women's Voting Rights

by Martha E. Kendall

Describes the life of the early women's rights activist who fought for women's right to vote.

Library Binding

First published April 1, 1997

About the author

Martha Kendall is an educator, writer, and musician known for her engaging speaking programs that blend inspiration, humor, and music. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan, she earned a double major in English and Spanish, followed by a Master’s degree in English from Stanford University and a Master’s in Social Science from San Jose State University.
A Carnegie Scholar, Kendall has influenced education globally, speaking at conferences from Boston to Buenos Aires. She served as Senior Executive Editor of the international journal College Teaching and authored widely used textbooks and the Real Thing DVD series, which have reached students across the U.S., Europe, Canada, the Middle East, and China.
At San Jose City College, she was a beloved educator, receiving multiple “Best Teacher” awards from student groups. She also served as Chair of the English Department, Coordinator of the Teaching and Learning Center, and Dean of Language Arts, and she founded the college’s annual Women’s History Celebration.
Beyond academia, Kendall is a dedicated musician, playing bass, cello, guitar, fiddle, banjo, and penny whistle. A native of Rochester, New York, she now lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California with her husband, Joe Weed.

Reviews

[Sergio Roque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer for woman's rights. From a young age she wondered why were women stopped from doing certain things that the men can do? She faced challenges during her lifetime, she was standing for what she believed in. She said, why do they have all the rights and we are limited from reaching our potentials? She helped created the path for others to follow and helped woman's rights tremendously.

[Estela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan B. Anthony is the protagonist of this biography by Martha E. Kendall. This book talks about her childhood as well as how she develops her opinions over the years. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts, on February 15. During her life, Susan saw many injustices. People were judge for their gender, culture, skin, and even religion. Susan hated to see all of that, so she decided to start changing things. When her religious group kicked out some people with a different tone of skin, Susan went to their houses and ask them to forgive her and invited them out. Susan defended women rights when every men was against it, she help them to have a voice and demonstrated that they have talents that nobody considered before. Susan had to argue to let her vote, “If you still refuse us our rights as citizens, I will bring charges against you in Criminal Court and I will sue each of you personally for large, exemplary damages!”(Kendall 11). For defending what is right, Susan even went to jail just for voting and for refusing to pay the $500 for it. Susan never gave up and learned fast. She loved education and even became a teacher. Susan taught for about ten years at various schools throughout New York State. In 1849, she gave up teaching to live with her family and begin public lectures on temperance. Susan resigns the group she had founded, in order to focus more o women rights in 1853. Anthony managed and spoke in campaigns of women rights and slavery and also a petition to the Congress to end permanently slavery. In 1892, Susan became president of the National-American Woman Suffrage Association. Susan B. Anthony dies at age of eighty-six at her home in New York on March 13 of 1906 and in 1920 women’s right to vote is added to the Constitution.
“I’d rather see a woman make biscuits like these than solve the knottiest problem in algebra” (Kendall 35). This book talks about Susan B. Anthony life and how she help women to be appreciated by men. This quote said by Aaron McLean made Susan respond, “There is no reason why she should not be able to do both” (Kendall 35). Susan was a brave woman that did not fear what orders could think of her. Bravery is an adjective that played an important role in Susan’s personality. Susan stand up to her religious group the Quaker, to men and all the people that were necessary to help the women to have a voice. Persistence was another quality of Susan B. Anthony’s personality. Susan;s persistence was proved all the time, “I guess if you could hear her you would believe in a woman’s preaching. What an absurd notion that women have not intellectual and moral faculties sufficient for anything but domestic concerns!” (Kendall 33). Her persistence for women rights never end, she told people what women could do and that they were not only there to cook and have kids. Susan Anthony once said, “The secret of all my work is that when there is something to do, I do it” (Kendall 30). Susan Anthony was a strong women. Susan worked hard for her family and when her sisters begin a family on their own she missed them a lot but she knew she had to continue and help the world. Susan was on her own, she did not accept proposal marriage from anyone. She was a women who did not need a man in her life, “I never found the man who was necessary to my happiness. I was very well as I was” (Kendall 36-37). Susan was happy and could maintain herself alone. For Susan happiness was not all about lovers but about her family and helping others have their rights back. The last important characteristic Susan had, intelligence. Susan was a really smart women. People also recognize her as that, “The smartest woman who ever came to Canajoharie” (Kendall 39). Susan had all of this in her personality and she was not scare to share it with people.
Susan B. Anthony is an amazing book that many people should read. It surely taught me a lot about her past and women rights and her biography. This book should be recommended to middle and high school students, boys and girls, teachers, students that have a history project about an important women, students that are interested about women rights, and students that have to learn about the life style of someone born in a different time period. Martha E. Kendall’s book has easy vocabulary so it would nor be a problem for middle schoolers to read and also a very interesting book for high schoolers. This book does not have a gender type, boys and girls could read this book even if it is the biography of a woman and women rights. Also teachers would find helpful the information to share with their students as well to help them create projects and new essay topics. People that have a history project about an important women, could read this book because this woman helped other people to have their voice, also students that are interested about women rights. Students that have to learn about someone’s different life style of a person of the past could benefit from this book because it teaches you how people judge and criticize others just because of their differences.