Against a Roaring Tide

From the womb of a nation imperfect, arose a star,
Born in old Massachusetts, Susan B. Anthony afar.
Born in a time where her voice was but a whisper,
Against the roaring tide, she became our sister.


A tireless advocate of rights both large and small,
An echo of justice, she answered its call.
Through the temperance movement, she sought to convey,
The power of women, to have their rightful say.


In the year of ’63, under the war-torn sky,
She built the League of Loyalty, her resolve ever high.
With slavery anathema and freedom her aim,
Her efforts were instrumental in abolishing the same.


Through relentless commitment to the cause she held dear,
She held up the torch of equality clear.
With Elizabeth Cady Stanton by her side in the fray,
She founded the Suffrage Association to lead the way.​

Across our great nation, her voice could be heard,
Delivering impassioned speeches, each word stirred.
Arrested in ’72 for daring to vote,
Her fine went unpaid; defiance she wrote.


Her dream was realized, though she was no longer here,
With the Nineteenth Amendment, her victory was clear.
Passed away in New York, in the springtime chill,
Her legacy remained, a beacon on the hill.


Today, her name rings through halls of justice and lore,
A key figure in suffrage, her contributions we adore.
Her relentless activism, a clarion call,
The rights of women, she fought for them all.


The face of a dollar, a statue in stone,
Her legacy imprinted in flesh and bone.
The List that bears her name, champions the pro-life plea,
Her spirit, in every effort, for women to be free.


From an imperfect nation toward more perfect union we stride,
Her life, her work, a constant guide.
In the heart of every battle, in the soul of every song,
Resides the spirit of Susan, inspiring and strong.
Across our great nation, her voice could be heard,
Delivering impassioned speeches, each word stirred.
Arrested in ’72 for daring to vote,
Her fine went unpaid; defiance she wrote.


Her dream was realized, though she was no longer here,
With the Nineteenth Amendment, her victory was clear.
Passed away in New York, in the springtime chill,
Her legacy remained, a beacon on the hill.


Today, her name rings through halls of justice and lore,
A key figure in suffrage, her contributions we adore.
Her relentless activism, a clarion call,
The rights of women, she fought for them all.


The face of a dollar, a statue in stone,
Her legacy imprinted in flesh and bone.
The List that bears her name, champions the pro-life plea,
Her spirit, in every effort, for women to be free.


From an imperfect nation toward more perfect union we stride,
Her life, her work, a constant guide.
In the heart of every battle, in the soul of every song,
Resides the spirit of Susan, inspiring and strong.

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SUSAN B. ANTHONY (1820-1906)
• Susan Brownell Anthony, an icon of the women's rights movement, was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, Massachusetts, United States.
• A dedicated advocate for women's rights and suffrage, Anthony devoted her life to the pursuit of gender equality and the extension of voting rights to women.
• Early in her career, Anthony became actively engaged in the temperance movement, advocating for the prohibition of alcohol as a solution to societal issues.
• She played a crucial role in creating the Women's Loyal National League in 1863, which was committed to abolishing slavery.
• Anthony's unyielding dedication to the women's suffrage movement was pivotal in advocating for and securing the right to vote for women.
• In 1869, she and her close associate Elizabeth Cady Stanton established the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), an organization dedicated to advancing women's suffrage nationally.
• As a steadfast champion for women's rights, Anthony traveled extensively across the country, delivering stirring speeches and leading campaigns to support women's suffrage throughout the United States.
• Anthony grabbed headlines in 1872 when she was arrested for voting illegally in the presidential election. Fined for her defiance, she resolutely refused to pay the penalty.
• Her enduring advocacy for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote ultimately led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, a landmark achievement that occurred fourteen years after her death.
• On March 13, 1906, Susan B. Anthony passed away in Rochester, New York, leaving a legacy that significantly influenced the women's suffrage movement.
• Her relentless activism and advocacy facilitated advancements in women's rights and were instrumental in securing the right to vote for American women.
• Anthony's unwavering commitment to promoting equality and justice continues to inspire generations of activists and feminists.
• Posthumously, she has been honored for her monumental contributions. In 1979, Anthony was commemorated on a U.S. dollar coin (the Susan B. Anthony dollar), and her life and work are memorialized in various statues and memorials across the nation.
• The Susan B. Anthony List, an organization dedicated to promoting pro-life women in politics, proudly carries her name as a tribute to her pioneering efforts.
• Indeed, it is often the struggle that defines an individual. The struggle against the current, against the odds, and in Susan B. Anthony's case, against a society entrenched in inequality. Her resolve in the face of these adversities truly captures the spirit of her legacy.