Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to Who's Amazing Life early and ad free right now.
Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or Wondry Kids Plus on Apple Podcasts.
From Wondery, I'm Cree Summer, and this is Who's Amazing Life.
You've heard of people who've changed the course of history, but before they made their mark on the world, they were people like you and me, still figuring out what they wanted to do with their lives.
On this episode, you will be that person everyone knows.
You might be a musician... or an athlete, a scientist, or a painter.
You may know what the person accomplished later in life, but now you can experience everything they faced along the way, from challenges and heartbreak to triumphs and excitement.
All the moments that built this person into someone who would change the world.
There will be clues, so pay attention.
But only at the end will you find out who you are.
So sit back and imagine your amazing life as The Voter.
Imagine you're 11 years old and you're sitting with your father in his office.
He runs a cotton mill in a small town in upstate New York.
As you gaze out his office window at the factory floor below, you spot machines turning and workers weaving cotton into fabric with their fingers.
You wave at Sally Ann, a worker on one of the machines, and she gives you a smile.
Look, Father.
Sally Ann's working today.
Of course she is.
She's one of the best workers we've got.
Whenever there's a problem with one of our machines, she's the first one to untangle the yarn.
That makes sense.
She knows more about weaving than anyone.
You've spent a lot of time around cotton mills.
Your father built a cotton mill when you were two years old.
And a few years later, he took a job as a manager of a larger mill, which is where you are today.
The busy sights and humming sounds of the machines are familiar to you.
You also know many of the hardworking men and women who work for your father.
It's the 1830s, and at this time, there are only a few jobs that women can do.
But equality is important to your father.
He and your family are Quakers, which is a religion that focuses on living a simple life and advocates for equality for all people.
So your father has happily employed both men and women in his factory.
But today, as you look around the factory floor, you'll notice something.
All of the women are working on machines, but only some of the men are working with them.
The other men are working as overseers, which means they are given more responsibility and help manage the mill.
That's strange.
If men and women are supposed to be equal, shouldn't there be women working as overseers too?
You glance back at Sally Ann and furrow your brows.
Your father probably just made a mistake by not putting her in charge.
You're pretty sure if you speak up, he'll fix it right away.
Father, if Sally Ann is so good at her job, why don't you make her an overseer?
Your father laughs and crosses his arms.
Well, that's impossible.
A woman would never be an overseer.
Your mind starts spinning like the machines at the mill.
Your parents taught you everyone is equal.
So why couldn't a woman be an overseer?
How could your father say that?
It doesn't seem right.
As you walk out of your father's office, you feel your heart sink.
You were in charge.
You'd make sally ann an overseer right away, but at 11 years old you don't have a lot of power to change things.
But then it hits you.
You may not have a lot of power, but one thing you do have is your voice.
You used it to ask your father about Sally Ann.
Sure, you didn't get the result you were hoping for, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try again, because someday maybe people will listen to what you have to say.
If you notice that things aren't right, you can question them.
You can ask for what you want and speak up for other people.
As you head home, you make a promise to yourself to do just that.
You will do your best to speak up for women like Sally Ann and for anyone who isn't being treated fairly.
Your parents value a good education, so you work hard in school and learn as much as you can.
You study algebra, literature and philosophy and continue your education longer than many women at this time do.
But unfortunately, a few years later, you have to leave school.
Your father's cotton mill shuts down, and it becomes hard for your family to get by.
And it's not just your family who is going through a hard time.
People all across the country are hurt by an economic depression, which happens when a country's economy is unstable.
A lot of people lose their jobs and some people have difficulty affording clothing to wear or enough food to eat.
You're sad to see your father struggle and you want to help.
So you take a job teaching to help pay off your family's debts.
When you're 25 years old, you and your family move to a farm in Rochester, New York.
Many of your neighbors are also Quakers, and you find a good community there.
Your neighbors are active in the anti-slavery movement, which means they're working to free enslaved black people in the United States.
And you and your family quickly get involved.
Your family starts hosting meetings in your home.
Their people speak out against the horrors of slavery.
You even meet some famous abolitionists like Frederick Douglass.
It's so inspiring to see the ways people are using their voices to speak out against this cruel system.
In addition to your work with the antislavery movement, you continue teaching.
You still get to speak up and use your voice, but now it's to help other people learn.
It's not exactly the same as speaking up for other people in need, but by teaching the next generation you're helping empower kids to use their voices.
Just like your father's mill, there are both women and men who work as teachers.
It seems fair, equal even, but you have no idea how unequal things really are.
You're 28 years old and you're standing in a large room in central New York waiting for the teachers union meeting to begin.
A union is a group of workers who push for certain things to be better in their place of work.
In this case, the teacher's union is a group of teachers who advocates for improvements to schools and better working conditions.
Women aren't allowed to be full members of the union, so they aren't allowed to speak at meetings.
But this one hasn't started yet.
And you're deep in conversation with some of your fellow teachers.
You enjoy connecting with them and hearing about their experiences.
Then a new voice from across the room catches your ear.
I just started teaching and I'm making $10 a week.
Maybe I could make more or be more respected if I was a doctor.
But this will do for now.
You're surprised by his comments.
Ten dollars a week?
And he just started teaching?
That's way more than you make.
And you've been teaching for years.
So long that you're now working as the headmistress of a school.
You walk across the room to him.
I heard what you said.
Is it true?
I'm only making $2.50 a week.
The man looks you up and down and shrugs.
That's how it always is.
I guess it just makes sense this way.
He turns away to talk with another teacher, leaving you standing there in shock.
You're a really good teacher.
When you first started, you were often taking over positions held by men.
Men who were no longer working their jobs because they were bad teachers.
You were expected to work hard and improve the learning environment for students.
And you did.
And now, years later, how are you making so much less than a male teacher?
One who has much less experience than you do.
Even worse, you know you can't possibly be the only female teacher being treated like this.
Everyone, take your seats.
It's time for the meeting to begin.
You want to say something to the other teachers, to scream about how unfair this is.
But the meeting is starting, which means women aren't allowed to speak.
It's all so frustrating.
You made a promise to yourself to speak up when things aren't right.
You're not a kid anymore.
But right now, you feel just as powerless as you did back at your father's mill.
All because you're a woman.
Women aren't allowed to make their voices heard here.
But you know that's not right.
And neither is being paid so little for the same amount of work.
As the meeting begins and the men in the room start to speak, an idea forms in your mind.
You're going to speak up.
When the time is right, you're gonna use your voice to make a big statement.
You're going to let everyone know about the inequality you and other women are experiencing.
The right time comes a few years later at the 1853 New York Teachers Union Convention.
You're not a teacher anymore, but after nearly two full days of listening to just the men talk, you summon your courage and begin to speak.
It's a big meeting with lots of people and many argue with you.
They tell you to sit down or leave, but you know that if you stop you'll lose your chance to be heard.
You advocate for women to have more of a say and to be paid better.
You're the first woman to ever speak at a teacher's convention.
But you're not the last.
More women speak at conventions in the following years.
And eventually, women are given the same power as men in the union.
Throughout the next two decades.
You spend most of your time advocating for issues you're passionate about.
But one issue begins to feel more and more important to you.
Women's suffrage, which means the right for women to vote.
At this time, only men are allowed to vote.
It's just not right, and you know what you have to do.
Speak up.
You give hundreds of speeches over the years and help other women who feel the same way.
You do advocate for change.
You even start a newspaper to write about suffrage and other issues important to women.
In 1872, when you're 52 years old, women still aren't allowed to vote.
So you decide to do something a little different.
Along with 14 other women in Rochester, New York, you head down to your neighborhood polling place and vote.
It might not be legal, but you're not going to back down when it comes to doing the right thing.
You want to challenge the law and push for change.
As you expected, there's an instant backlash.
Your actions are reported in the local newspapers.
Election officials and politicians are angry.
Two weeks later, you and the other women are arrested.
You're told you'll be put on trial.
You're ready to argue your case before a judge and jury.
But as your court date approaches, you begin to feel nervous.
Your trial is getting a lot of attention.
And this might be the most important opportunity you've ever had to make your voice and your beliefs heard.
It's the day of your trial.
You nervously fidget in your chair and glance around the courtroom.
There are tons of reporters, along with many women who are here to offer you support, including the other women who were also arrested.
You try to smile, but it's hard.
If you're found guilty, you could face prison time.
The lawyers on both sides have already argued their case.
Now, the judge stands and a hush falls over the room.
Distinguished members of the jury, this woman is guilty.
Your heart plummets.
He didn't even give you the chance to speak.
The judge continues.
The Constitution of New York prohibits her from voting.
She took the risk, and she cannot escape the consequences.
You're stunned by his harshness.
The jury wasn't even able to talk about the case before the judge made his decision.
His mind was already made up.
Others in the room seem just as surprised as you are.
This is an uncommon thing for a judge to do.
The judge turns to you and tells you to stand.
Now's your chance.
You will make your voice heard.
Has the prisoner anything to say?
Yes, your honor.
I have many things to say.
You have stomped on every vital principle of our government.
All of my rights have been ignored.
An angry expression flashes across the judge's face.
The court cannot allow the prisoner to go on.
But your honor, you cannot deny me the only chance I have to speak out against the outrageous treatment I've received.
The prisoner has been tried according to the law.
He's trying to get you to stop.
But you won't.
You won't lose this opportunity to let your voice be heard.
The law you speak of is made by men, and it only favors men.
As a woman, I'm not given the same rights as other United States citizens.
I hope that I would be guaranteed equal rights as a person born in the United States.
But I fail to get this justice.
You continue to give a passionate speech, advocating for equal rights for women.
You can feel the support from the other women in the room.
It encourages you to continue on, in spite of the judge's harsh glare.
When you finally sit down, the judge gives you a $100 fine, your punishment for voting illegally.
You didn't win your case, but you feel so powerful.
You've made your voice heard and no one, not even an unfair judge, can stop you from fighting for what is right.
Your trial and speech make national headlines.
You had hoped your case would be brought before the Supreme Court, who could then make changes to US law and grant women the right to vote.
But the judge in your trial was one step ahead.
He didn't sentence you to prison, which means you can't appeal your case.
Without an appeal, all you're left with is the fine, which you refuse to pay.
But your trial helps push the women's suffrage movement forward.
You work on documenting the movement and publish several books detailing its history.
Your advocacy also helps some Western states change their laws to let women vote.
In 1892 you become the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, an organization you helped start over 20 years prior.
You push for equality for the rest of your life.
When you're 85 years old, you meet the President of the United States.
You talk to him about passing an amendment to the United States Constitution that would give women the right to vote.
Fourteen years after your death, the 19th Amendment passes.
It finally gives women the right to vote.
And it's named after you.
Your voice has continued to inspire generations of women and advocates to fight for what's right.
You are Susan B. Anthony.
If you like, Whose Amazing Life.
You can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondry.com slash survey.
This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details.
While we can't know exactly what was said, we use many sources when researching our stories.
Some that were particularly helpful include Susan B Anthony Biography of a Rebel Crusader and Humanitarian of the Women's Rights and Feminist Movements by Alma Lutz.
The Life and Work of Susan B Anthony by Ida Husted Harper and an article about Susan B Anthony from the National Women's History Museum.
I'm your host, Cree Summer.
This episode was written by Lexi Peary.
Sound design by Andre Pluss.
Additional audio assistance is by Sergio Enriquez.
Desi Blaylock is our managing producer.
Callum Pluss is our senior managing producer.
Our senior producers are Megan Begala, Jenny Bloom, and Jennifer Klein Walker.
Executive producers are Lauren Dee, Marshall Louis, and Erin O'Flaherty.
For Wondery.
