Susan B. Anthony
(aka Ava G.)

Good Morning! My name is Susan B. Anthony. Many of you may have heard my name before, but you may not know that much about me or the things I did. So let me share some facts about my life with you.

I was born in 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. Later, my family moved to Rochester, New York. I came from a big family. I had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. As a child I was very helpful. For example, I always did my chores such as setting the table. Once I even took the place of a sick worker to help my father at his fabric mill when he needed help.

For many years I was a school teacher. Even though I was a good teacher, I was always paid less than a man was paid for the same work. Women were always paid less just because they were women and I did not like this inequality.

After a while, I quit my teaching job and around 1850 I started to learn about the anti-slavery movement and the fight for women's right to vote. You may have heard the term "suffragist" which means a person who is fighting for a women's right to vote.

I fought for human rights. I was against inequalities that were unfair. At the time that I was an activist I was fighting against unequal rights for women and blacks which were based on how people looked. I believed all human beings were equal and should have equal rights under the law.

After the Civil War ended in 1865, slavery was abolished, which means eliminated, and soon after that black men were given the right to vote. Even though I was happy for black people, I still wanted women to get the right to vote.

In fact, I spent the rest of my life trying to get women the right to vote. I worked hard. I went to speak in front of Congress many, many times and I also traveled around the country speaking to people about women's right to vote. I started a national group that was only focused on women's right to vote called The National Woman Suffrage Association. I even started a newspaper called The Revolution and I got the president, Andrew Johnson, to subscribe to it.

I died in 1906 at the age of 86. During my lifetime laws were passed to abolish slavery, which was something I fought hard for. However, after I died the Susan B. Anthony Amendment was passed in 1920. This 19th amendment to the Constitution gave all women the right to vote, at last.

Some of you may know that in 1979 America honored my by putting my picture on a new dollar coin. In fact, I was the first woman to appear on a coin.

I hope you enjoyed learning about my life and how I helped humankind.

Thank you.

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