Anthony, Susan B.

Where did Susan Anthony get the resolve to take on the United States government? What life events caused her to believe she could defy conventional thinking?

Susan's parents were Quakers. Like others of their faith, Daniel and Lucy Read Anthony believed in hard work, education and generosity toward others. They opposed slavery and believed alcohol was bad for human beings.

In religious matters, Quakers believed men and women have equal standing before God. Such was the focused, egalitarian home into which Susan Anthony was born in 1820. With that background, it is easy to understand how Susan became an independent thinker. But more than philosophy shaped this young woman. The sting of discrimination came early and its effects lasted her whole life.