President Donald Trump on Tuesday officially pardoned Susan B. Anthony, the famed women’s suffrage leader arrested in 1872 for attempting to vote, which was, at the time, an illegal act for a female and carried with it a $100 fine.
“She was never pardoned,” said the president. “Did you know that? She was never pardoned. What took so long?”
BREAKING: On 100th anniv. of 19th Amendment’s ratification, President Trump says he will pardon women’s suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony, who was convicted of illegally voting in 1872. pic.twitter.com/FQjd4rQaDB
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 18, 2020
Anthony was tried and ultimately found guilty by an all-male jury for daring to cast a vote in the 1872 presidential election between incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant and Liberal Republican Horace Greeley.
Trump’s decision to pardon the iconic suffragist comes on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which was ratified in August 1920 and guaranteed no citizen would be barred from voting based on the account of sex.
“She was guilty for voting,” Trump said from the White House, “and we’re going to be signing a full and complete pardon.”
During every presidential election, nearby voters travel to Anthony’s grave site in Rochester, New York, to place their “I voted” stickers on her tombstone.
Thousands of people are leaving their #IVoted stickers on Susan B. Anthony’s tombstone #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/q75xbD0fF4
— The National Desk (@TND) November 8, 2016
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