Susan B. Anthony was an activist in many movements, including abolition, suffrage, and temperance. The intersectionality of these roles has led her to be historically remembered as a philanthropic visionary. He influenced how we advocate for change in the United States and paved the way for future generations to fight for their rights. However, it has some flaws that are often overlooked. In both his successes and his downfalls, he can teach us how to be better philanthropists in our own ways. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Philanthropy is defined broadly by Payton and Moody as voluntary action for the public good. Susan B. Anthony can clearly fit this definition because she spent much of her life using her time to help our legislative system advance equal treatment for both women and African Americans, to some extent. His intentions, as far as is known, have always been for the betterment of society and our American government. He used his philanthropy to change our government because our government was clearly failing. Anthony is best known as a lawyer. This is defined by Leroux and Feeney as "attempts to influence legislation or change government spending in order to achieve an outcome more favorable to a group's agenda or objectives". Susan B. Anthony was born to a Quaker family in Massachusetts, but grew up in New York. Her family life gave her a strong sense of independence and individuality that led to her success as an advocate for change (Willard and Livermore). His first major role in philanthropy was during the Temperance movement, working to create stricter liquor laws (Willard and Livermore). She joined the Daughters of Temperance in 1847. She and others believed that alcohol was at the heart of domestic violence at the time. This was his way of preventing alcohol-related spousal abuse. He created a petition to regulate and limit liquor sales in New York that received 28,000 signatures. Unfortunately the petition was not taken into consideration because most of the signatures came from women and children. This is ironic given that they are likely to be the ones being abused. This role was also her introduction to women's suffrage. She stood up at a Son's of Temperance event to speak and was shut down because she was a woman. When Anthony realized that without the right to vote, women couldn't bring about the change they wanted, she began fighting for it. right to vote and the right of other women to vote in the United States. She spoke across the country for many years in hopes of gaining supporters and getting women the right to vote. In 1872 she and 14 other women registered to vote, expecting to be denied, and planned to sue for their right to vote (Front Matter). However, they were recorded without problems. Several days later they voted. They were arrested nine days after the election for voting as female. Anthony pleaded not guilty and was eventually fined. She fought the charges and refused to pay the fine, even after receiving offers to pay from others (Front Matter). It wasn't until 1920, 14 years after her death in 1906 (when she was 86), that women would finally have the right to vote. Although Susan B. Anthony did not live to see the 19th Amendment, she was instrumental in its conception through her actions of civil disobedience. This is the cause for which it is best knownthe reason why most people would consider her a philanthropic visionary. Susan was also a self-proclaimed abolitionist. She and her friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton used their notoriety as women's rights activists to speak out for abolition. In total, they collected more than 400,000 signatures on a petition seeking abolition (Willard and Livermore). In 1851 he helped organize an anti-slavery convention in Rochester, and they continued to do that work until their efforts paid off in 1865, when the 13th Amendment finally abolished slavery in America. Anthony and Cady's efforts played a huge role in gaining supporters of abolition and, consequently, outlawing American slavery. This role further showcased her beliefs and helped her become a philanthropic visionary. We will now analyze his various philanthropic endeavors through the term intersectionality. This term typically refers to multiple social identities of individuals. Here we'll use it a little differently: to talk about Susan B. Anthony's multiple causes. The three we talk about here are all related in some way. Her efforts in the temperance movement are directly linked to her desire to uplift and empower women in society, because she believed that alcohol kept them down (indirectly through their husbands' drunken abuse). He tried to make men in society sober so that women would not have to face abuse apparently caused by alcohol. Continuing our analysis of her intersectionality, her abolition efforts were made possible because she had already made a name for herself in her suffrage efforts by speaking to audiences across the nation. The combination of these causes solidified her identity in American history as a philanthropic visionary. But there is much more to his story than his successes. His abolition efforts eventually led to the debate over voting rights for African Americans. This period was not Anthony's brightest time as he seemed to give up some of his strongest beliefs. Something quite unknown about Susan B. Anthony is that at one point she wasn't quite the outspoken advocate we like to think of her. There was a time in American history when the voting rights of women and African Americans were debated almost in unison. After black men gained the right to vote, Anthony, as well as other women's rights activists, distanced themselves from the African American cause (Adams). Susan began to oppose the black vote, in favor of making the rights of educated (white) women appear more valuable than the “uneducated” African American population. This is one of its biggest flaws. Instead of fighting alongside African Americans to earn their rights together, he threw them under the bus in the hope that it would achieve his goals. This could very well have left African American women further behind than they otherwise would have been. And in this historical moment they would definitely need a little empowerment. After this separation, the distinction between black and white female activists grew. Because of this, her actions during this time have been severely altered in American history, which is why this is a little known fact (especially in the white community) and generally does not hinder her name as a philanthropic visionary for most of today's society. For our purposes, we can use this mistake as a lesson that if we fight the good fight, without excluding or harming another's cause, we will achieve much more rewarding change. Today we can.