February 15 marks the bicentenary of the American social reformer Susan B. Anthony. Deemed an “incomparable organizer” by historian Eleanor Flexner Anthony grew up in a Quaker family that possessed only a handful of history books. Yet these included two different editions, in two and six volumes respectively, of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote during the reign of the Roman emperor Flavius Domitian to explain Jewish history to non-Jewish readers.
Awareness of Jewish history was part of her upbringing, as Anthony fought to abolish slavery and promote equal rights for women and African Americans. In 1876, Anthony and colleagues began work on what became a massive six-volume “History of Woman Suffrage,” in which public speeches are quoted referring to Jews in traditionally pejorative terms, but also from more enlightened, progressive points of view.
Read Full Article »