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Compare And Contrast Grimke And Susan B Anthony

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Susan B. Anthony and Angelina Grimke were extremely influential characters of their time. Both Anthony and Grimke believed in freedom for slaves and women. Anthony and Grimke were also both quakers, their religious beliefs and personal experiences greatly influenced their opinions on abolition and feminism. Although Anthony and Grimke shared many common values, their backgrounds greatly differed.
Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. Anthony was born into a Quaker family who were also social reformers. Anthony’s brothers Daniel and Merritt moved to Kansas to support an anti-slavery campaign. Anthony’s father was an abolitionist and temperance advocate who encouraged his children to be self supporting, and …show more content…

Anthony appreciated the rare equal treatment of blacks that she witnessed. From 1830 to 1836 Anthony attended The Friends’ Boarding School in Plainfield, Connecticut. Anthony and her classmates would often visit a school for black children that was near the boarding school. When Anthony got her first teaching job in 1839, at Eunice Kenyon’s Boarding School she often interacted with and taught black students. In a letter home Anthony wrote, “A strict Presbyterian school it is, but they eat, walk and associate with the white people. O, what a happy state of things is this, to see these poor, degraded sons of Afric privileged to walk by our side." Anthony was passionate about blacks getting equal education opportunities as whites. Anthony already felt passionate about blacks getting education and being free due to her family, but gained even more passion about the issue once she began teaching. Anthony also gained a passion for women’s rights when she began teaching. As Anthony’s teaching career moved on, she gained an interest in algebra. When Anthony visited her brother in law Aaron McLean, she made biscuits for dinner, and he said, "I'd rather see a woman make such biscuits as these than solve the knottiest problem in algebra." "There is no reason why she should not be able to do both," Anthony replied. Anthony obviously faced some discrimination for being a teacher rather than a housewife. Anthony believed that women could be smart, have a career, …show more content…

Anthony’s experiences from teaching opened up more opportunities for Anthony to get involved with social reforms. In 1852, Anthony founded the Women’s New York State Temperance Society. Anthony founded the society with Elizabeth Cady Stanton with the goal of petitioning the state legislature to pass a law limiting the sale of liquor. Anthony felt that alcohol was a form of enslavement of itself. In 1856, Anthony became an agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Anthony’s personal experiences inspired her to fight for change. Anthony was originally passionate about freedom for slaves, while fighting for that passion she also discovered that she was passionate about temperance and women’s

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