Historical Context: Ratified on February 3, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution gave all African American men t
he right to vote. Many suffragists who had participated in the abolition movement felt betrayed because the right was extended only to men. They had hoped that universal suffrage among African Americans would pave the way for all women to gain the right to vote as well.
Is It a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?
by Susan B. Anthony (excerpt)
But if you will insist that the fifteenth amendment's emphatic interdiction against robbing United States citizens of their right to vote, "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," is a recognition of the right, either of the United States, or any state, to rob citizens of that right, for any or all other reason, I will prove to you that the class of citizens for which I now plead, and to which I belong, may be, and sure, by all the principles of our government, and many of the laws of the states, included under the term "previous condition of servitude."
First.-The married women and their legal status. What is servitude? "The condition of a slave." What is a slave? "A person who is robbed of the proceeds of his labor; a person who is subject to the will of another."
By the law of Georgia, South Carolina, and all the states of the South, the negro had no right to the custody and control of his person. He belonged to his master. If he was disobedient, the master had the right to use correction. If the negro didn't like the correction, and attempted to run away, the master had a right to use coercion to bring him back.
By the law of every state in this Union to-day, North as well as South, the married woman has no right to the custody and control of her person. The wife belongs to her husband; and if she refuses obedience to his will, he may use moderate correction, and if she doesn't like his moderate correction, and attempts to leave his "bed and board," the husband may use moderate coercion to bring her back.
Instructions:Select the correct answer.
Read the historical context and the excerpt from Susan B. Anthony's speech. Given the historical context, what argument is Anthony making?
A. Anthony suggests that the Fifteenth Amendment will remain powerless unless women are excluded from the classes and races under it.
B. Anthony suggests that the Fifteenth Amendment will remain a sham unless African American women are also extended the right to vote.
C. Anthony suggests that women are superior to African American men and are more deserving of the rights and duties under the Fifteenth Amendment.
Anthony suggests that since the plight of women is like that of formerly enslaved D. D. African American men, women are entitled to protection under the Fifteenth Amendment.
E. Anthony suggests that since women were the greatest supporters of the abolition movement, it is unfair to deny them the right to vote.
