After the war, they initiated the American Equal Rights Association, which campaigned for equal rights for both women and African Americans. During the Civil War they founded the Women's Loyal National League, which conducted the largest petition drive in United States history up to that time, collecting nearly 400,000 signatures in support of the abolition of slavery. Together they founded the New York Women's State Temperance Society after Anthony was prevented from speaking at a temperance conference because she was female. In 1851, she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who became her lifelong friend and co-worker in social reform activities, primarily in the field of women's rights. In 1856, she became the New York state agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society. Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17. Anthony (born Susan Anthony February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement.
