By Jackson Cote
masslive.com
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) At a special ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment (which gave women the right to vote), President Trump announced he will pardon renowned suffragist Susan B. Anthony.
Massachusetts
Anthony was arrested in 1872 for trying to cast her ballot in violation of laws that made it so only men could vote, but she was never pardoned, Trump noted, according to reporting from USA Today.
Alongside First Lady Melania Trump, the Republican president signed a proclamation commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the amendment, the news outlet reported.
“It was a monumental victory for equality, for justice, and a monumental victory for America,” Trump said, according to USA Today.
The New York Times reported that Trump’s pardoning of Anthony appeared to be an effort to distract from the Democratic National Convention this week and narrow Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s lead over him among female voters.
Last week, Trump announced he would support a bill that would create a 22-foot-tall monument in Washington, D.C. to honor various suffragists, including Anthony, as well as the 19th amendment, USA today reported.
“She was never pardoned. Did you know that? She was never pardoned,” Trump said about Anthony, according to the Times. “What took so long?”
Anthony, known in history as one of the foremost leaders of the women’s suffrage movement of the late 1800s, has become an increasingly controversial figure.
According to the Times, Anthony has been lauded by anti-abortion political groups like the Susan B. Anthony List and criticized for ignoring the concerns and efforts of Black suffragists.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, was one of a number of women in the Blue Room of the White House Tuesday when Trump made his announcement and signed the proclamation.
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