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Primary sourceNewspaper articleJune 1873

The Woman Who Dared

Thomas Wust · June 1873

A mocking 1873 newspaper caricature of Anthony published just before her trial for illegal voting.

This caricature mocked Anthony in the press shortly before her trial for voting illegally.

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Front page of The Daily Graphic, New York, June 1873, with a wood-engraved caricature titled 'Graphic Statues, No. 15—The Woman Who Dared.' A tall, stern woman in a striped Uncle Sam-style hat and shawl stands with an umbrella in a park, while a crowd gathers behind her and two men in top hats stand to the right.
Thomas Wust, "The Woman Who Dared," The Daily Graphic, June 1873.

About this source

What it is

This wood-engraved caricature by Thomas Wust appeared on the front page of the New York Daily Graphic in June 1873, titled "Graphic Statues, No. 15 — The Woman Who Dared." It shows a tall, stern woman in a striped, Uncle-Sam-style hat and shawl standing with an umbrella in a park, with a crowd and two top-hatted men nearby. The image illustrates Susan B. Anthony and ran alongside a story about her upcoming trial.

Why it matters

The caricature shows how mainstream newspapers ridiculed Anthony in the days before she stood trial for voting illegally in the 1872 election. Rather than treating her as a serious political actor, the press depicted her as an oddity, revealing how women demanding political rights were often mocked rather than engaged with seriously.

Look closer

  • What details in the drawing, the costume, the crowd's reactions, are meant to make Anthony look ridiculous?
  • Why would a newspaper publish this image right before a major trial?
  • How might Anthony herself have responded to seeing this caricature in print?

This newspaper article is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Susan B. Anthony on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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