Every American who was alive and spending money in the 1980's knows Susan B. Anthony as the stern face on dollar coins that looked like quarters. I hope most of you also know she was a strong supporter of equal rights for women. When she was born, married women in the United States had no legal rights. They couldn’t own property. Anything they might earn was turned over to their husbands. Their children could be taken from them and even willed to a third party. If their husbands cheated, drank, beat or abandoned them, they had no protection. Worse, they couldn’t vote for representatives who would write laws in their favor, and they couldn’t run for office themselves. On this day in 1920, because of the efforts of Susan B. Anthony and others like her, all that changed. What most people don’t know is she was also an accomplished quilter. At least three of her surviving quilts are museum pieces.
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