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Dylan Thrift

October 6, 2017

Eng-111

Comparative Essay

Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King, Jr. are both very important people in history.

They both changed society with non-violent actions and helped better the world. They were

leaders of the Civil Rights movement and will forever be known for their influential speeches.

Dr. King was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement from the mid-1950's until his death in

1968 and Susan B. Anthony was a woman’s rights activist and she dedicated her life to gender,

educational, and racial equality.

Martin Luther King, Jr. presented his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial

for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. His speech lasted seventeen minutes

and was intended to make freedom for African American's. Once he was finished, out of the

250,000 people that attended, he raised many people’s eyebrows and opened several people's

eyes about civil rights. The people that were not dealing with racism began to question the

nations Jim Crow laws and they began to wonder why African Americans were being treated

differently. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed because of that and the law gave the federal

government the right to the desegregation of public accommodations and it outlawed the

discrimination in any public owned facility. Susan B. Anthony illegally voted in the 1872 federal

election which soon led to her arrest. Her arrest motivated her to make a change for women’s

rights. She went on a tour speaking to all twenty-nine of the towns and villages of the Monroe

county and to the twenty-one towns in Ontario county. Her tour was so powerful, that her trial
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went to the United States Circuit Court at Canandaigua. They believed that this court had less

jurors who were prejudiced to her favor.

King and Anthony both have an impact on history and they did it in several of the same

ways. One similarity that they have is that they both changed the world. Also, they both changed

it by using their voice and doing speeches. Their influential power helped start a movement and

pass on a legacy everyone will remember. Both wanted a change and the change was for

everyone to be equal. King wanted African-Americans to be the same as whites and Anthony

wanted women to be treated the same as men. Their passion and determination changed the way

the general population thought. For example, in Kings speech, as he were presenting it, the

crowd began to applaud and agree with him. This showed he was getting the crowd on his side

and they were beginning to agree with him. King made other African-Americans confidence rise

during the movement and Anthony got women to stand up and fight for what equality. “When

the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the

Declaration of Independence (Yeah), they were signing a promissory note to which every

American was to fall heir.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.) and “The Declaration of Independence, the

United States Constitution, the constitutions of the several states and the organic laws of the

territories, all alike propose to protect the people in the exercise of their God-given rights.”

(Susan B. Anthony) King and Anthony included the Declaration of Independence and the

Constitution in their speeches as support to help persuade people. “We can never be satisfied as

long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating for

whites only.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) and “But twenty years ago, when our woman's rights

movement commenced, by the laws of the State of New York, and all the states, the father had

the sole custody and control of the children.” (Susan B. Anthony) the use of children in both
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speeches are very powerful because it makes the audience feel sorry for them and it shows them,

they have no control over anything that happens.

The biggest difference in the two is that Martin Luther King Jr. is an African-American

male and Susan B. Anthony was a white female. King was fighting for equality for African-

Americans whereas Anthony was wanting women to have the same right as men. They were both

fighting for a change, but they were fighting for a different one. King used one big speech with a

large crowd as the main source to change the world. Anthony went to fifty towns and spoke with

them separately to influence others. Martin Luther King Jr’s dad introduced him to his religious

beliefs at an early age and showed him the peaceful teachings of Gandhi. King was inspired as a

child to make the world better and was taught that everyone was equal. Susan B. Anthony was

working as a teacher for fifteen years when she realized her wages were much lower than males

and that inspired her to make a change.

They were both very successful in making an impact on the world. The 19 th Amendment,

which is “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the

United States or by any State on account of sex.” (Constitution) was created in her honor. Also,

in 1969, she founded The National Women Suffrage Association. King on the other hand, won

the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 due to his efforts with the Civil Rights Movement. King was the

reason the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were created. He is

known as one of the most inspiring and influential African-Americans in history.

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Works Cited

• Anthony, Susan B. “Susan B. Anthony Speech: Is It a Crime for a Citizen of the United

States to Vote?” Famous Trials by Professor Douglas O. Linder, UMKC School of Law,

1995, law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/anthonyaddress.html.

• King, Martin Luther. “‘I Have a Dream," Address Delivered at the March on Washington

for Jobs and Freedom.” Birmingham Campaign | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research

and Education Institute, Stanford University, 28 Aug. 1963,

kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/i-have-dream-address-delivered-march-

washington-jobs-and-freedom.

• Quanquin, Hélène. “Susan B. Anthony and the Struggle for Equal Rights | Journal of

American History | Oxford Academic.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Dec.

2013, academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/100/3/844/762799#.