Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - January 13th

Failure is Impossible. – Susan B. Anthony

At high noon today at the Texas State Capitol, the 84^th Texas Legislature will be sworn in with a large delegation of women taking the oath of office.  Last week, there were 104 women sworn into Congress, which was the largest number of women to take the oath of office in Washington, D.C.  However, 100 years ago yesterday (January 12) the United States House of Representatives voted AGAINST giving women the right to vote.  It would take about 5 more years of fighting before the 19^th Amendment passed.  With these record number of women legislators, we all owe women such as Susan B. Anthony a big THANK YOU!

Susan B. Anthony was the 2^nd of 8 children.  During her early years, she developed a strong moral compass and spent her life focusing on social issues.  Through the years, she worked on the abolitionist and temperance movements.  Anthony realized how important women’s suffrage was when she was denied the opportunity to speak at a temperance convention simply because she was a female.  She then realized that nothing would change until women had the right to vote.

After the Civil War, Anthony turned her focus to woman’s suffrage.  In 1869, Anthony and a friend, Elizabeth Stanton, founded the National American Woman Suffrage Association.  At one of their conventions, Anthony said “Failure is Impossible” as a war cry for her fellow suffragists to continue fighting for the goal of extending freedom and legal rights, specifically voting rights, to all American citizens.  When she said these words, she did not realize how they would change history.  Anthony was so dedicated to the cause that in 1872 she voted illegally in the presidential election.  She was arrested for the crime and was fined $100.  Her vote did not count and she never paid the fine. 

Susan B. Anthony died 14 years before the 19^th Amendment passed. 

Susan B. Anthony provided the opportunity for many women to write their own story and make history. What are you doing today to make a difference in this world?  You may not see the fruit of your labors, but everything we do does make a difference. 

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK WRITING YOUR OWN STORY!!!

Source: http://www.biography.com/people/susan-b-anthony-194905