President Donald Trump paid tribute Tuesday to the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment by announcing he would grant a pardon to suffragist Susan B. Anthony.
Anthony, one of the leading figures in the movement to secure voting rights for women, was arrested for voting in Rochester, New York, in 1872, violating the laws that said only men could vote. She was convicted the following year.
“She was never pardoned,” Trump said during a ceremony at the White House. “She got a pardon for a lot of other women. And she didn’t put her name on the list.”
With first lady Melania Trump at his side, Trump signed a proclamation commemorating the 100th anniversary of the amendment, which was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920, giving women the right to vote.
“It was a monumental victory for equality, for justice, and a monumental victory for America,” he said.
Last week, Trump announced his support for a bill that would create a monument in Washington to honor suffragists and the 19th Amendment.
The legislation by Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., would establish a 22-foot monument called “Every Word We Utter” to pay tribute to women who fought for their right to vote. It would include depictions of Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Harriot Stanton Blatch, Ida B. Wells and Alice Paul.
Trump is on a nationwide tour designed to counter this week’s Democratic National Convention.
During a speech Monday in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Trump claimed presidential candidate Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats want to raise taxes, increase government regulations, “confiscate” guns and “protect the criminals.”
“We are in a fight for the survival of our nation and civilization itself,” Trump said.
Democrats cast the election in equally apocalyptic terms. Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told the Democratic convention, “The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake.”
Sanders said Trump “is leading us down the path of authoritarianism.”
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