The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which articulated the rights of citizens and the principle of equal protection before the law, was ratified by the states in 1868.  Not surprisingly, activists working for women’s suffrage interpreted the amendment as an implicit guarantee of a woman’s right to vote. Four years later, fifty women in Rochester led by Susan B. Anthony attempted to vote in the 1872 Presidential election. Fourteen of them managed to cast their ballots.  On November 18, all were arrested on the charge of casting illegal ballots, as were the election officials who had received their votes.  Charges against fourteen were held pending the outcome of the trial of their leader, Miss Anthony.  Expecting a trial in Monroe County, Anthony spoke about the matter in all 29 towns. The prosecution arranged for the trial to be moved to the federal circuit court sitting in Ontario County, and again Anthony spoke in every village. The case was assigned to Justice Ward Hunt, a man with no trial experience. The trial began on June 17, 1873. Miss Anthony was not allowed to speak on her behalf until after the verdict. After two days of testimony Judge Hunt directed the jury deliver a guilty verdict. The next day he asked Miss Anthony if she had anything to say. She responded with “the most famous speech ever given in the history of the agitation for women’s suffrage”, refusing his orders to stop and sit down. When the sentence of a fine of $100 was delivered, she said “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty”, and she never did. The proceedings of that trial, a turning point in American history, including her famous speech, are transcribed and read here by Maria Kaspar.