Shomporko Desk:-President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will pardon Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women’s suffrage movement, who was arrested for voting in 1872 disregarding laws allowing just men to vote.
Anthony is best known for her role in the movement to secure voting rights for women, yet she also was a strong anti-slavery and voting rights pioneer.
Trump said he would sign “a full and complete pardon later Tuesday, the 100-year commemoration of the endorsement of the nineteenth Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. It’s also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.
In recent weeks Trump has recognized he needs to work to undo some of the damage among the pivotal constituency and has stepped up his events aimed at women. His campaign has launched a “Women for Trump” bus tour and the president has embraced a “law and order” message with renewed vigour.
Trump’s move also comes amid an outcry over Postal Service disruptions that Democrats say endanger the voting rights of millions of Americans who would vote by mail in November amid the pandemic. Trump has denied asking for the mail to be delayed even as he levelled fresh criticism on mail-in voting.
Anthony was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted in a widely publicized trial. Although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action.
The 19th Amendment states that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Congress passed it in 1919, and the amendment was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920.
Visiting Anthony’s gravesite in Rochester on Election Day has become a popular ritual in recent years. Thousands turned out in 2016 for the presidential matchup between Trump and Hillary Clinton. In 2018, voters showed up by the dozens to put their “I Voted” stickers on her headstone.
Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
News source: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
