UNITED STATES—To commemorate the anniversary of the ratification of women’s voting rights, on Tuesday, August 18, President Donald Trump announced he would officially pardon Susan B. Anthony, one of the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement who was charged for voting illegally.
Anthony was tried and fined $100 for voting in 1872, during an event that brought attention to the women’s suffrage movement. During the proclamation of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in 1920, President Trump said he would pardon her.
“Later today, I will be signing a full and complete pardon for Susan B. Anthony. She was never pardoned, did you know that?” Trump said at The White House. “She got a pardon for a lot of other women and she did not put her name on the list.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony list, an organization that seeks to reduce abortion in the U.S, expressed that she was happy for Trump’s remarks.
“Thank you @POTUS! She never paid the $100 fine. She created the model of how to fight for human rights. She loved the unborn child and her mother and believed their rights were inextricably connected,” said Dannenfelser via her Twitter account.
Kathy Hochul, Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York said she was troubled by the announcement.
“As [the] highest ranking woman elected official in New York and on behalf of Susan B. Anthony’s legacy we demand Trump rescind his pardon,” said Hochul in a tweet. “She was proud of her arrest to draw attention to the cause for women’s rights, and never paid her fine. Let her Rest In Peace, @realDonaldTrump.”
