T he 14th Amendment, ratified in July 1868, stated: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United State.” It made no mention of sex. In 1871, the National Woman Suffrage Association encouraged its members to attempt to vote; and when turned away, they should sue in federal court and use the 14th Amendment as their defense.

Susan B. Anthony and her three sisters put this to the test when they demanded to be registered to vote on November 1, 1872 for the upcoming presidential election. Anthony even threatened to sue the election inspector personally if he refused to register them, quoting the 14th Amendment as her justification. Once registered, Anthony gave an interview at a local newspaper as to what happened. She then drew broad attention for women’s suffrage by giving twenty-nine pre-trial speeches entitled “Is it a Crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?” throughout Monroe County, New York where her trial was to be held, thereby influencing potential jurors.

On Election Day, Anthony and fourteen other women arrived at the polling place and cast their ballots; they were surprised not to be turned away. Nine days later, all were arrested for voting “without having a lawful right to vote.” Each posted bail to be released from jail, except for Susan B. Anthony. She demanded a trial.

In court, Judge Ward Hunt, a known opponent to women’s suffrage, refused to allow Anthony to speak on her own behalf until the verdict was delivered. After both sides concluded their case’s presentation, the Judge read his prepared judgment and directed the jury to find Anthony guilty. He then asked Miss Anthony if she had anything to say.

“Yes, your honor, I have many things to say; for in your ordered verdict of guilty, you have trampled under foot every vital principle of our government. My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights, are all alike ignored. Robbed of the fundamental privilege of citizenship, I am degraded from the status of a citizen to that of a subject; and not only myself individually, but all of my sex, are, by your honor's verdict, doomed to political subjection under this, so-called, form of government.” Her speech was one of the most famous and invigorating in history in support of women’s rights.

Judge Ward fined Anthony $100.00, to which she replied, “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty;” and never did.