On Tuesday, President Trump formally uttered leading suffragist Susan B. Anthony, who died in 1906. He noted she had been arrested in 1872 for voting until it had been legal for women to do so.
"She wasn't pardoned!" He exclaimed at a White House ceremony. "Did you know that she was never pardoned? What took so long?"
It was partially that Anthony would not have wanted to be pardoned, according to some historians who've pointed out that the activist didn't think she had done anything wrong. Joining those voices is the executive director of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, N.Y.
"Objection! Mr. President, Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon," Deborah L. Hughes wrote in a statement. She continued:
"Anthony wrote in her journal in 1873 that her trial for voting has been'The greatest outrage History ever witnessed.' She wasn't allowed to speak as a witness in her own defense, because she was a woman. At the conclusion of discussions, Judge Hunt dismissed the jury and pronounced her guilty. She had been outraged to be denied a trial by jury. She proclaimed,'I will never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty.' To cover would have been to confirm that the proceedings. To pardon Susan B. Anthony does exactly the same."
Hughes pointed to Anthony's support of gender education, fair labor practices, excellent public education, equal pay for equal work and removal of all types of discrimination.
She implied that the best way to honor Anthony would be using a clear stance against voter suppression and advocating for human rights for all.
"She wasn't pardoned!" He exclaimed at a White House ceremony. "Did you know that she was never pardoned? What took so long?"
It was partially that Anthony would not have wanted to be pardoned, according to some historians who've pointed out that the activist didn't think she had done anything wrong. Joining those voices is the executive director of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, N.Y.
"Objection! Mr. President, Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon," Deborah L. Hughes wrote in a statement. She continued:
"Anthony wrote in her journal in 1873 that her trial for voting has been'The greatest outrage History ever witnessed.' She wasn't allowed to speak as a witness in her own defense, because she was a woman. At the conclusion of discussions, Judge Hunt dismissed the jury and pronounced her guilty. She had been outraged to be denied a trial by jury. She proclaimed,'I will never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty.' To cover would have been to confirm that the proceedings. To pardon Susan B. Anthony does exactly the same."
Hughes pointed to Anthony's support of gender education, fair labor practices, excellent public education, equal pay for equal work and removal of all types of discrimination.
She implied that the best way to honor Anthony would be using a clear stance against voter suppression and advocating for human rights for all.