Susan B. Anthony: A Biography

by Kathleen Barry

Overview

Brings to life one of the most significant figures in the crusade for women's rights in America

This comprehensive biography of Susan B. Anthony traces the life of a feminist icon, bringing new depth to our understanding of her influence on the course of women’s history. Beginning with her humble Quaker childhood in rural Massachusetts, taking readers through her late twenties when she left a secure teaching position to pursue activism, and ultimately tracing her evolution into a champion of women’s rights, this book offers an in-depth look at the ways Anthony’s life experiences shaped who she would become.

Drawing on countless letters, diaries, and other documents, Kathleen Barry offers new interpretations of Anthony’s relationship with feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and illuminating insights on Anthony’s views of men, marriage, and children. She paints a vivid picture of the political, economic, and cultural milieu of 19th-century America. And, above all, she brings a very real Susan B. Anthony to life. Here we find a powerful portrait of this most singular woman—who she was, what she felt, and how she thought.

Complete with a new preface to honor the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and Anthony’s vital role in the fight for voting rights, this thorough biography gives us essential new insight into the life and legacy of an enduring American heroine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781479804962
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	704,451
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Kathleen Barry, feminist, activist, and sociologist, is Professor Emerita at Penn State University. Author of six books, she launched her global feminist activism with her first book, Female Sexual Slavery. She conducts feminist workshops on consciousness-raising and builds feminist activism against sexual exploitation and assault.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Preface to the NYU Classics Edition xi

Prologue 1

1 The Rise of a Common Woman 5

2 To Marry or Not to Be a Wife 33

3 "Woman Must Take to Her Soul a Purpose" 58

4 A Passion for Justice 88

5 The Woman's Enlightenment 117

6 Which Slaves' Emancipation? 149

7 The Male Betrayal 177

8 Reformers versus Radicals 200

9 The Vagaries of Love 231

10 Convicted of Being a Woman 256

11 The Unity of Women-At What Cost? 282

12 A Grand Old Age 311

13 "Failure Is Impossible" 344

Epilogue 365

Postscript: On Women's Biography 367

Notes 381

Bibliography 413

Index 423

Editorial Reviews

Striving to rescue women from a state she considered marital feudalism, Anthony (1820-1906) organized conventions, petitioned and canvassed for support, ceaselessly campaigning for women's property and other legal rights, and especially for suffrage. PW called this a ``comprehensive'' biography. Photos. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In this life of Anthony, Barry has produced a scholarly but very readable biography of the great women's rights activist. She explores the interaction of her subject's family background, education, Quaker upbringing, and early teaching career with the temperance movement to produce a woman who in her 20s chose striving for social justice over marriage as a vocation. Barry delineates Anthony's friendships with other reformers, her involvement in the abolitionist movement, and her stance during the splits and scandals of the first feminist era. Recommended.Christine M. Hill, Free Lib. of Philadelphia

Library Journal

Barry, noted feminist sociologists and author of, Female sexual slavery, offers an enlightening biography of perhaps the most unconventional woman of her century. By drawing upon letters, diaries, and other documents, she integrates Anthony's personal story into the political, economic, and cultural milieu of 19th c. America. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews