Susan B Anthony Biography

Introduction/Biography

Simone de Beauvoir was born in France on 9th February 1908. She was a writer, philosopher, and a political activist. She grew up in a Catholic household, however at the age of fourteen she had a crisis of faith and converted to atheism, she then devoted herself to the study of existence and maths, literature, and philosophy. Her father, Georges Bertrand de Beauvoir, encouraged De Beauvoir to apply for a high education, and because of the family’s wealth depleting she couldn’t rely on a dowry. During the early 1900s women were still placed on a lower pedestal then men, as families were still composed of one income earner- the male, and the women’s job was mainly caring for her husband’s children and cooking dinners. However,

Anthony was born in the United States on 15th February 1820. She was a social reformer and a women’s right activist. She grew up in a Quaker household, meaning a member of the Religious Society of Friends, who had long activist traditions, which strengthened her sense of justice and her morals at a young age. After teaching for fifteen years she became active in temperance, however she was not allowed to speak at the rallies. This discrimination, and her friendship with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, led her to joining the women’s rights movement. In the 1800s women were encouraged to not purse further education or employment, instead they spent their days in their home tending to the children and cooking meals for the family. However, this expectation did not stop Anthony, as from a young age she was taught to speak her mind and she outwardly ignored the abuse she received from her protests and

De Beauvoir was also an existentialist philosopher and, along with her open relationship partner Jean-Paul Sartre, thought about the concept of human freedom, which, along with her ideas of feminism, were her most inspiring and influential concepts. However, because of these ideas and her novels, she often received criticism from scholars, such as Alfred Kinsey, and David M. Haperin who claimed that the novel had no original data of interest or importance to science. While another scholar, Judith Butler, claimed that the novel as potentially providing a radical understanding of gender. The novel received mixed reviews both from critics and women themselves.

Susan B. Anthony had strong ideologies regarding abolishing slavery, she also believed in gender equality, however she found it difficult to convince the world to share her beliefs, and she strongly believed in temperance. During her life, she often dealt with angry mobs and armed threats, and objects were frequently thrown at her. However, she still went on to become one of the most recognised feminists in the world and even appeared on the American dollar