Susan B. Anthony: On a Woman’s Right to Vote

Susan B. Anthony: On a Woman’s Right to Vote is part of Crabtree’s new series, “Deconstructing Powerful Speeches”. Like the other books in the series, Susan B. Anthony: On a Woman’s Right to Vote begins by establishing the social and political context of the time of the speech. The American Civil War ended in 1865. In 1868, the 14th Amendment of the American Constitution defined the rights of American citizens, including the right to vote. In 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting in a presidential election. In a speech titled “Is it a crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?” that Anthony delivered several times between her arrest and her trial, she attempted to educate potential jurors about her case.

Are women persons? ... I hardly believe any of our opponents will … say they are not. Being persons, then, women are citizens, and no state has a right to make any new law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states, is … null and void … To be a person was to be a citizen, and to be a citizen was to be a voter …

“Are women persons?” may sound very familiar to Canadian history students. In Canada, an appeal of The Persons Case resulted in Canadian women who were British/Canadian citizens receiving the right to vote in 1929. This was nine years after the 19th Amendment to the American Constitution ended discrimination against women’s voting rights. Unfortunately, there is no mention of the Canadian case in this book.

All four books in the “Deconstructing Powerful Speeches” series are written by the same author, Rebecca Sjonger, and follow the same format. Susan B. Anthony: On a Woman’s Right to Vote includes a Table of Contents, bibliography with references listed for each chapter, additional resources listed in “Learning More”, and an Index. Although the book is about a famous world history figure, the focus of the book is on how a powerful and persuasive speech is written and delivered. The chapter titles reflect this focus: “Persuasive Primary Sources”; “Words and Meaning”; “Analyzing Perspectives”; and “Influences Then and Now”.

The text is well-written and well-supported by historic black and white photos, drawings, historic newspapers, and modern day colour photos.

Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends. Susan B. Anthony is an important figure in the women’s suffrage movement, but there is no connection to Canadian history included in this book. The obvious mention of The Famous Five/Persons Case in Canada is omitted. This oversight greatly reduces the value of this book in a Canadian school.

Purchase Susan B. Anthony: On a Woman’s Right to Vote if you already have a comprehensive collection of resources about the fight for women’s suffrage in Canada and around the world for this age level. Or purchase this book if your goal is to enhance your resources on how to deconstruct persuasive writing. But Susan B. Anthony: On a Woman’s Right to Vote could have been so much more useful in Canadian schools if it was more comprehensive in its historical content. If your budget is limited, you are unlikely to get your best value out of this book.