Who really said it
Susan B. Anthony wrote this in “Social Purity.” The address, first delivered in Chicago in spring 1875, is printed in Ida Husted Harper's 1898 biography, volume II, p. 1008.
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
For presentations
Verified quote & credit
“Independence is happiness” — Susan B. Anthony
Can you use it?
Free to use, including in commercial and paid presentations — no permission or licence needed.
Image direction — grounded in this quote’s real context; paste into your image tool
In context
Evoking the world of Susan B. Anthony — Suffrage organizer and speaker. Theme: "Independence is happiness". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Independence is happiness". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
Independence is happiness.
Harper: Social Purity in fullHow we verified this
The English speech is reproduced in an identified 1898 edition, before 1931.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Context
In the speech, Anthony moves from the need for women in paid work and the professions to a literary example of a dependent man discovering freedom. The surrounding passage ↗ makes independence a practical condition of happiness, not simply a pleasant mood.
Explore
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
Go further
Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.
The 1898 biography prints the speech, including Independence is happiness, on p. 1008 and dates its first delivery to spring 1875 in Chicago.
Transcribes Social Purity, dates it March 14, 1875, and includes the exact sentence.
Documents Anthony's abolitionism, suffrage work and collaboration with Stanton.
A source collection for Anthony's public campaigning, useful background rather than the primary witness for this sentence.
You’re skipping our source pages — these links now open the source directly. Show them again
The author
For writers & researchers
Anthony, Susan B. “Social Purity.” In Ida Husted Harper, The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, vol. II, 1004–1012, at 1008. Indianapolis and Kansas City: Bowen-Merrill, 1898.
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Independence is happiness’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/independence-is-happiness/