--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tell them I have worked 40 years to…" description: "\"I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S. platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/susan-b-anthony-2103_atheist_i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-ma_2271879.jpg" --- # I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S… ![“I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S. platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon. (on women's suffrage)” quote by Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/susan-b-anthony-2103_atheist_i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-ma_2271879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/susan-b-anthony-2103_atheist_i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-ma_2271879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/susan-b-anthony-2103_atheist_i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-ma_2271879.jpg) > “I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S. platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon. (on women's suffrage)” [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She claims to have built an inclusive platform for all, yet insists on preserving a strict Catholic framework, highlighting tension between universal rights and religious exclusivity. **In simple terms:** Balancing inclusivity with religious constraints. Key Takeaway Recognize when inclusivity becomes exclusionary. Themes gender equality religion politics inclusion conflict Mood defiant reflective Type political activist When to use this quote - activism - policy drafting - interfaith dialogue - rights advocacy Key Concepts pluralism dogma social contract Questions to Reflect On - How can universal rights be protected without imposing specific religious standards? - What are the risks of conflating political platforms with religious doctrine? A Different Perspective The platform may alienate those outside the specified faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [40 Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/40-catholic-5268036/) [Agnostics Stand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostics-stand-5268035/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Beads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beads/) [Broad Atheists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broad-atheists-5268037/) [Broads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broads/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Fairness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairness/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Orthodox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox/) [Permit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permit/) [Platforms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platforms/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Religionist Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religionist-speak-5268038/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Straightest Orthodox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straightest-orthodox-5268039/) [Suffrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffrage/) [Women 's suffrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-s-suffrage/) [Women's Suffrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/womens-suffrage/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/those-who-are-really-in-earnest-must-be-willing-to-be-anything-or/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/cautious-careful-people-always-casting-about-to-preserve-their/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [The first organised opposition by women to women's suffrage in England dates from 1889, when a number of ladies led by Mrs Ward appealed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-fawcett/the-first-organised-opposition-by-women-to-women-s-suffrage-in/) [Millicent Fawcett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-fawcett/) > [What is true of Mr. Mill's influence on the women's-suffrage question is true also of the other political movements in which he took an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-fawcett/what-is-true-of-mr-mill-s-influence-on-the-women-s-suffrage-question/) [Millicent Fawcett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-fawcett/) > [There is something that governments care for more than human life, and that is the security of property, and so it is through property…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmeline-pankhurst/there-is-something-that-governments-care-for-more-than-human-life-and/) [Emmeline Pankhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmeline-pankhurst/) > [White supremacy will be strengthened, not weakened, by women's suffrage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-chapman-catt/white-supremacy-will-be-strengthened-not-weakened-by-women-s-suffrage/) [Carrie Chapman Catt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-chapman-catt/) > [The women's suffrage movement is only the small edge of the wedge, if we allow women to vote it will mean the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-women-s-suffrage-movement-is-only-the-small-edge-of-the-wedge-if/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [It's unfortunate that we see a great many women settling. They think that simply because they have gotten the right to vote, own property…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/it-s-unfortunate-that-we-see-a-great-many-women-settling-they-think/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It would be ridiculous to talk of male and female atmospheres, male and female springs or rains, male and female sunshine…How much more ridiculous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/it-would-be-ridiculous-to-talk-of-male-and-female-atmospheres-male/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [“The evolution of national unity and equal rights is all about what America represents as a nation today: a manifestation of the historical episodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mendis/the-evolution-of-national-unity-and-equal-rights-is-all-about-what/) [Patrick Mendis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mendis/) > [I used to oppose women's suffrage and I've come to support it because these women have convinced me that we need full gender equality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/i-used-to-oppose-women-s-suffrage-and-i-ve-come-to-support-it-because/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [Everybody counts in applying democracy. And there will never be a true democracy until every responsible and law-abiding adult in it, without regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-chapman-catt/everybody-counts-in-applying-democracy-and-there-will-never-be-a-true/) [Carrie Chapman Catt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-chapman-catt/) > [Our 'pathway' is straight to the ballot box, with no variableness nor shadow of turning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/our-pathway-is-straight-to-the-ballot-box-with-no-variableness-nor/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [While women's suffrage has not brought about the political millennium which its fondest backers predicted, its effects on the whole have been decidely beneficial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-daniel-ames/while-women-s-suffrage-has-not-brought-about-the-political-millennium/) [Jessie Daniel Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-daniel-ames/) > [The socialist parties of all countries are duty bound to fight energetically for the implementation of universal women's suffrage which is to be vigorously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-zetkin/the-socialist-parties-of-all-countries-are-duty-bound-to-fight/) [Clara Zetkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-zetkin/) ## More by Susan B. Anthony > [I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-stand-and-rejoice-every-time-i-see-a-woman-ride-by-on-a-wheel-the/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Nothing is hopeless that is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/nothing-is-hopeless-that-is-right/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [It has always been thought perfectly womanly to be a scrub- woman in the Legislature and to take care of the spittoons; that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/it-has-always-been-thought-perfectly-womanly-to-be-a-scrub-woman-in/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [It is cruel for you to leave your daughter, so full of hopeand resolve, to suffer the humiliations of disfranchisement she already feels so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/it-is-cruel-for-you-to-leave-your-daughter-so-full-of-hopeand-resolve/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/let-me-tell-you-what-i-think-of-bicycling-i-think-it-has-done-more-to/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/the-only-question-left-to-be-settled-now-is-are-women-persons/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [“I was born a heretic. I always distrusted people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-was-born-a-heretic-i-always-distrusted-people-who-know-so-much/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Many abolitionists have yet to learn the ABC of woman's rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/many-abolitionists-have-yet-to-learn-the-abc-of-woman-s-rights/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [To no form of religion is woman indebted for one impulse of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/to-no-form-of-religion-is-woman-indebted-for-one-impulse-of-freedom/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/it-was-we-the-people-not-we-the-white-male-citizens-nor-yet-we-the/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty. All the stock in trade I possess is a $10,000 debt, incurred by publishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-shall-never-pay-a-dollar-of-your-unjust-penalty-all-the-stock-in/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Whichever way I turn, whatever phase of social life presents itself, the same conviction comes: Independent bread alone can redeem woman from her curse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/whichever-way-i-turn-whatever-phase-of-social-life-presents-itself/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Oh, if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/oh-if-i-could-but-live-another-century-and-see-the-fruition-of-all/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [To be wedded to an idea may be, after all, the holiest and happiest of marriages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/to-be-wedded-to-an-idea-may-be-after-all-the-holiest-and-happiest-of/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [For twelve successive Congresses we have appeared before committees of the two Houses making this plea, that the underlying principle of our Government, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/for-twelve-successive-congresses-we-have-appeared-before-committees/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) [Explore all 186 Susan B. Anthony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) ## More Atheist quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S. platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon. (on women's suffrage)", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan B. Anthony" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-make-the-w-s-platform-broad/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-make-the-w-s-platform-broad/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/susan-b-anthony-2103_atheist_i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-ma_2271879.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/susan-b-anthony-2103_atheist_i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-ma_2271879.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/susan-b-anthony-2103_atheist_i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-ma_2271879.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I tell them I have worked 40 years to make the W.S. platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to…” — Susan B. Anthony", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Susan B. Anthony", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I tell them I have worked...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-make-the-w-s-platform-broad/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-tell-them-i-have-worked-40-years-to-make-the-w-s-platform-broad/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```