Westminster history majors are featured speakers at League of Women Voters meeting

NEW CASTLE, Pa. –  Three Westminster College history majors presented “The Life, Times and Trial of Susan B. Anthony” to the League of Women Voters of Lawrence County (LWVLC) Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the group's chapter meeting in New Castle.

Senior MacKenzie Marino of Pittsburgh and sophomores Ivy Withers of Petersburg, Ohio, and Gabrielle Lucas of Transfer addressed the organization’s founding 100 years ago, as well as the life of Susan B. Anthony, a women’s rights activist known for her role in the women’s suffrage movement. Feb. 15 marked the 200th anniversary of Anthony’s birth.

Marino discussed the context of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which allowed women the right to vote. She also talked about the 1920 creation of the League of Women Voters.

Withers delivered a brief summary of Anthony’s biography, and Lucas described Anthony’s 1873 criminal trial for illegal voting. The students also read excerpts from Anthony’s comments at her trial.

The students shared cake with the LWVLC after their presentation in celebration of the anniversaries of the league’s founding and Anthony’s birth. The league also presented Marino, Withers and Lucas with Susan B. Anthony coins to thank them.

For more information, contact Dr. Angela Lahr, associate professor of history, at 724-946-6246 or lahram@westminster.edu.

Above photo: From left, Betsy Demarest, vice president of the League of Women Voters of Lawrence County; senior history major MacKenzie Marino; sophomore history and political science major Gabrielle Lucas; sophomore history major Ivy Withers; and Linda Morrison, president of the League of Women Voters of Lawrence County

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