Copy of RI.CS.6 On Woman's Rights to the Suffrage (9/2/2025)

I stand before you to-night under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote. (paragraph 1)

And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people—women as well as men. (paragraph 2)

And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them. . . . (paragraph 2)

By it the blessings of liberty are for ever withheld from women and their female posterity. (paragraph 3)

It stresses the unfairness of arresting Anthony for voting when women’s right to vote was specifically granted in the Constitution.

It explains why women should be allowed to vote in federal elections even if they can’t vote in state elections.

It emphasizes that the country’s founders were incorrect when they stated women should not vote because they were not equal to men.

It reinforces the contrast between women’s inability to vote and the freedom the country was founded on.

this democratic-republican government—the ballot (paragraph 2)

bill of attainder, or an ex post facto law (paragraph 3)

woman and their female posterity (paragraph 3)

odious aristocracy; a hateful oligarchy of sex (paragraph 3)

She hopes they will be concerned that democracy, like all other forms of government, is a failed political system.

She hopes they will be indignant that wealthy, educated women care about the right to vote.

She hopes they will be outraged that Anthony was fined $100 for breaking the law.

She hopes they will be alarmed at the idea that their country is not a true democracy.

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. (paragraph 2)

For any State to make sex a qualification that must ever result in the disfranchisement of one entire half of the people is to pass a bill of attainder, or an ex post facto law, and is therefore a violation of the supreme law of the land. (paragraph 3)

By it the blessings of liberty are for ever withheld from women and their female posterity. (paragraph 3)

To them this government has no just powers derived from the consent of the governed. (paragraph 3)

It emphasizes the fact that the country’s ideals apply to everyone, not just some people.

It stresses the fact that the federal government is more powerful than state governments.

It creates a logical argument to show that laws that exclude women should be deemed unconstitutional.

It reinforces the idea that a government without women has no real authority.

First is the danger of futility, the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills. . . . (paragraph 2)

[A]nd crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. . . . (paragraph 4)

Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. (paragraph 5)

[T]hose with the courage to enter the conflict, will find themselves with companions in every corner of the world. (paragraph 6)

It presents a graphic picture of the violence that can occur among large groups of people.

It provides an image to show how small acts of bravery can combine to have a powerful impact.

It describes how people feel when they are overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness.

It paints a picture of the personal loneliness that is sometimes required to improve society for the better.

his description of the current world as “revolutionary”

his mention of famous young people who influenced history

his comparison of moral courage to bravery in battle and intelligence

his assertion that attempting to do right is more important than having good qualities

to illustrate that individuals on their own have changed the world

to present qualities Americans and South Africans share

to show that war is a painful reality that cannot be changed

to explain why all countries should unite in a common cause

These men moved the world, and so can we all. (paragraph 3)

Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events. . . . (paragraph 3)

Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. (paragraph 5)

It is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change the world, which yields most painfully to change. (paragraph 5)