Donald Trump pardons female suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony who was convicted of illegally voting to mark 100th anniversary of 19th amendment giving women right to vote

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will pardon Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women´s suffrage movement, who was arrested for voting in 1872 in violation of laws permitting only men to vote.

‘Later today, I will be signing a full and complete pardon for Susan B Anthony. She was never pardoned,’ he said at a White House ceremony celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. It´s also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.

‘She got a bargain for a lot of other women, and she didn’t put her name on the list. So she was never pardoned for voting,’ Trump said.

President Donald Trump said he will pardon Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women´s suffrage movement, who was arrested for voting in 1872

Susan B. Anthony, who was president of the Woman Suffrage Association and campaigned for women to have the right to vote

The president had teased on Monday he would pardon someone ‘very, very important’ the following day but would not say who it was – other than to rule out former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Edward Snowden.

Anthony is best known for her role in the movement to secure voting rights for women, but she also was a strong anti-slavery and voting rights pioneer.

Trump’s move also comes amid an outcry over Postal Service disruptions that Democrats say endanger the voting rights of millions of Americans who would vote by mail in November amid the pandemic. Trump has denied asking for the mail to be delayed even as he leveled fresh criticism on mail-in voting.

It also comes as Republicans have expressed concern the party is losing support of women voters.

Anthony was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted in a widely publicized trial. Although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action.

In 1869, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association as part of their battle to secure a woman’s right to vote.

Anthony gave as many as 100 speeches a year and traveled to numerous states to push for an amendment to be added to the constitution.  

The 19th Amendment states that ‘The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.’ 

Congress passed it in 1919, and the amendment was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920.

First lady Melania Trump joined President Trump at the celebration; she wore a white suit in honor of the suffragettea

In this September 1916 file photo, demonstrators hold a rally for women’s suffrage in New York. The Seneca Falls convention in 1848 is widely viewed as the launch of the women’s suffrage movement, yet women didn’t gain the right to vote until ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920

Visiting Anthony´s grave site in Rochester on Election Day has become a popular ritual in recent years. 

Thousands turned out in 2016 for the presidential match-up between Trump and Hillary Clinton. 

In 2018, voters showed up by the dozens to put their ‘I Voted’ stickers on her headstone.