Trump Pardons Susan B. Anthony

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for violating male-only voting laws in 1872, in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted in a widely publicized trial. She refused to pay the fine and authorities declined to take further action.  

Earlier today, President Trump said he will pardon Susan B. Anthony, the leader of the Women's Suffragist movement, at an event later in the day. 

“I will be signing a full and complete pardon for Susan B. Anthony,” he told reporters at the White House. “She was never pardoned.”

Anthony traveled extensively in support of women's suffrage, giving as many as 75 to 100 speeches per year and working on many state campaigns. She worked internationally for women's rights, playing a key role in creating the International Council of Women, which is still active. She also helped to bring about the World's Congress of Representative Women at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

When she first began campaigning for women's rights, Anthony was harshly ridiculed and accused of trying to destroy the institution of marriage. Public perception of her changed radically during her lifetime, however. Her 80th birthday was celebrated in the White House at the invitation of President William McKinley. She became the first female citizen to be depicted on U.S. coinage when her portrait appeared on the 1979 U.S. dollar coin.

The posthumous pardon comes 100 years to the day of the ratification of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony died at the age of 86 of heart failure and pneumonia at her home in Rochester, New York, on March 13, 1906.