The below piece is the winning high school essay in the Network of Enlightened Women’s Essay Contest, sponsored by the Washington Examiner.
Women have faced oppression throughout American history, but there have always been those that rebel and ultimately change the game. Examples include Coretta Scott King, Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks, and Sandra Day O’Connor. However, the one woman that has made the biggest impact is Susan B. Anthony.
Anthony was born on Feb. 15, 1820, into a family that was heavily involved in politics. The family was located in Adams, Massachusetts and were advocates for the abolitionist movement. Anthony dedicated her life to the women’s suffrage movement. During the 1872 election she was fined for casting a ballot and after deciding that this was an injustice, she never paid the fine but instead launched a speaking tour.
These speeches empowered women across the country. After the tour there were marches, boycotts, and rallies held by women who were inspired by Anthony’s words. It’s easy to see why.
She once said in a speech:
Anthony’s belief in equal rights was not just for women but for every race. And she was dedicated to assuring the rights of women to vote, as the decisions made by the government affected women just as much as men. Anthony has been described as a “pioneer of the women’s suffrage movement” and her efforts paved the way for the 19th Amendment’s ratification in 1920, although she passed away years earlier.
Women can learn from Anthony that efforts always pay off even if they seem out of reach, as they will benefit future generations. We can also learn to devote ourselves to what we want to change, and although it will be a difficult process, Anthony’s work shows it will all be worth it in the end.
One quote from Anthony says, “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of a man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.” Her view was that we as women should be independent — protecting, providing for, and loving ourselves.
We as women can help support others around the world by networking with each other and with organizations that share our same beliefs. We can also mentor each other and younger women because no matter what age, women need to be enlightened and uplifted.
This quote from Anthony says, “The true woman will not be exponent of another, or allow another to be such for her. She will be her own individual self … stand or fall by her own individual wisdom and strength … She will proclaim the ‘glad tidings of good news’ to all women, that women equally with man, was made for her own individual happiness … to use, worthily, every talent given her by God, in the great work of life.”
It’s true: Each woman has a talent or key feature that can contribute to the entire community, and if we all come together and recognize that nobody is lesser, then we will all be powerful.
More than 100 years later Susan B. Anthony still has an impact on women of all ages. Her story teaches us that it is not out of reach for us to see female empowerment worldwide because, in her words, “failure is impossible.”
Xaviera Lee is a student at Bishop Dunne Catholic School.
