Susan B. Anthony in Lake City

Susan B. Anthony in Lake City. The long trail to equal rights. , Excitement was rampant in September of 1877 as Lake City awaited the arrival of a graying spinster nationally known for her strong opinions on liquor abstinence, the role of African Americans in post-Civil War America, and most notably , the inalienable rights of women. Fifty-seven year old Susan Brownell Anthony was determined to address the citizens of Lake City and rode a burro to Lake City from Del Norte, Colorado. , Susan B. Anthony was born in Massachusetts in 1820. She was an early advocate of the abolition of slavery and the prohibition of alcohol. Her fight for women's rights began in 1851 when Miss Anthony met Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Together, they founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. In 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting and indicted in Albany, New York. She was tried and fined $100 that she refused to pay. She was not imprisoned. Despite Miss Anthony's dedication and struggle, women were not granted equal rights during her lifetime. , After the successful Colorado tour of 1877, Miss Anthony presented 10,000 signatures from 26 states petitioning equal rights. Undaunted by a lackadaisical response, she continued to appear regularly before Congress every year from 1877 until her death in 1906. , Lake City Connection , The subject of Women's suffrage had been a particularly hot topic in Lake City and throughout Colorado ahead of the general election of 1877. A key provision on the ballot asked Colorado voters to amend the state constitution and extend the right to vote and own property for women. , The concept of women being allowed to vote was considered radical by many and heatedly discussed in the state press. The SILVER WORLD urged moderation. “She appears to think that men ought to be gallant enough to aid women in their efforts to obtain the ballot.” , A better alternative, the SILVER WORLD concluded, would be for women to continue “to be the rulers of men by the force of their womanly modesty and retiracy. These, in their hands, are far more potent instrumentalities than the ballot.” , Lake City attorney John C. Bell recalled the position of detractors in his book The Pilgrim and the Pioneer ... allowing women on a public podium and “mixing up in political affairs .... would simply destroy the home and much happiness of both sexes.” , This highly charged debate set the backdrop for Susan B. Anthony's arrival more than 130 years ago. Following the 140-mile ride on a burro over the toll road from Del Norte, Susan B. Anthony arrived in Hinsdale County on September 19, 1877, at the Hinsdale House (now the location of G&M Cabins) for overnight lodging. She was scheduled to give a two-hour lecture in the upstairs of the newly constructed Hinsdale County Courthouse. In addition to the curious population of the town, miners streamed into town from nearby mines to catch a glimpse of the celebrated reformer and hear her speech. The Courthouse was packed to capacity half-an-hour before the speech was to begin. The crowd was so dense, Miss Anthony couldn't make her way up the stairs to the courtroom, and the presentation was moved outside. The SILVER WORLD estimated the crowd in the hundreds, with both men and women attending. Miss Anthony stood on the front steps of the Courthouse, facing Henson Street. She spoke about an $8/month salary for female teachers versus $24/month salary for male teachers. She said that the existing laws were an invasion of rights and encouraged the oppression of women. She appealed to the independent-thinking pioneers of Lake City to award women the right to own and control themselves, their property, and their labor. Susan B. Anthony was greeted with shouts and ringing applause. , Despite the warm Lake City reception, state and local voters rejected the equal rights amendment during the general election of 1877. In Hinsdale County, 1,009 votes were cast with 322 votes supporting equal rights. Opponents of the proposal argued that the vote would unnecessarily degrade females whose rightful place, they said, was in the home and certainly not on the lectern or at the ballot box. , Equal Rights , Susan B. Anthony had sown the seeds of the suffragette movement and echoes of her Lake City address reverberated in the state for decades. An audience member , young attorney J. Warner Mills , was inspired by the speech and for much of his career represented minorities whose voices might not have otherwise been heard. Mills later lived in Denver and drafted the text of the Colorado Equal Rights amendment that passed by a narrow majority in 1893. Colorado was the second state (Wyoming the first) to pass such a measure. , Nationally, it was not until August 26, 1920, that equal rights for women passed under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. On January 10, 1878, a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote was introduced to Congress, and reintroduced every session until its passage in 1919. This amendment was ratified in 1920 with the wording from the original amendment virtually unchanged. , Grant E. Houston, Historian , Lake City, Colorado , Courtesy of Lake City DIRT and Pioneer Jubilee Women's Club , [image caption] Artist Ned Hadley recreated the “quiet and respectful” crowd of September 20, 1877, which gathered outside the Hinsdale County Courthouse to hear Susan B. Anthony speak.