Happy birthday to Susan B. Anthony, a leader -- along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton -- in the movement to gain American women the right to vote. Susan never married and traveled extensively to lecture on women's rights; I've read, although I couldn't confirm the information, that Susan's first speech was at a quilting bee in Ohio. Elizabeth stayed at home, constantly pregnant. When the burdens of travel became too great, Susan would go to Stanton's house, which was always filled with the voices and antics of children, to sleep, to regenerate, and to discuss with Elizabeth the next step in their campaign to bring women into full citizenship.
As a nation, we are deeply indebted to both women for the long hours, grunt work, ridicule, and exhaustion they faced in working toward granting women more money, greater power, and increased dignity. In honor of them, let's all go make some money, bake a cake, or get pregnant.
As a sidenote, while the Susan B. dollar has been made fun of across the country since it's release, the dollars themselves aren't hard to get; in fact, they're used as change in New York City automatic train ticket dispensers.
Pass it on. We honor our foremothers by speaking their names and remembering their devotion to us, the generations that would follow.
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