Whether it be in sports, politics, or the business world, the constant battle of men versus women rages around every corner, and though many discriminations against women are present, there is not always something that is done about it. In “Women’s Right to the Suffrage”, Susan B. Anthony is persuading the US that women should be allowed to vote. She argues that women are undeniably considered people, therefore should be entitled to the right to vote, given to all US citizens through the Constitution. Because of this, the fact that government considers men to be rulers over women, she believes is the worst discrimination of all. Throughout her speech, Anthony utilizes rhetorical strategies, but her most effective includes her use of logos, …show more content…
pathos, and allusions. The most important main idea that Anthony stresses in her speech is that when the government denies women their rights, they are violating the very base of what this country was founded on, or, that all people are created equal, and therefore have the same rights. She states, “It was we, the people; not we the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.” Her allusion to the Constitution provides a strong source of credibility to back up her argument; therefore, using ethos to persuade her audience. Additionally, she says, “For any state to make sex a qualification that must ever result in the disfranchisement of one entire half of the people, ...and is therefore a violation of the supreme law of the land.” Her central idea is based around the idea that the Constitution grants all people equal rights, so, when the government is deciding who is allowed to redeem these rights, such as voting, they are refusing to follow the Constitution, which supposedly contains the overarching rules for the country. Furthermore, she sheds light on the fact that because of the way that our government is structured, women are supposed to be granted their freedoms by being able to vote for their representation, but the government is refusing to allow them to do this. Anthony says, “It is downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government-- the ballot.” Her trustworthiness is enhanced even more by her stating that she knows exactly what she is entitled to-- the right to vote, and if the government will not allow them even that, how are women supposed to be labeled as “free”? By establishing her credibility through the Constitution, Anthony intensifies her central idea and main argument. Another crucial element to the speech is that not only is the government denying women their rights, women are considered to be “lesser” than men in this context.
She refers to recent times, like with the Emancipation Proclamation, where people realized that white men were no better than black men, or black men no better than white men. Not only does her comparison to recent events help to provide a context of how bad the situation with women has become, it reminds her audience of all of the fighting, pain and rebellion that went along with the African Americans gaining their freedom, establishing a sense of pathos in her audience. She states, “An oligarchy of learning, where the educated govern the ignorant, or even an oligarchy of race, where the Saxon rules the African, might be endured…” After Anthony surfaces the topic of the African American, she reminds her audience that all of that can be endured, that it’s sufferable. If the African Americans were being treated horribly, but even that was better than how women are being treated at that time, she goes to show how bad it really was. To add, Anthony later says, “...this oligarchy of sex, which makes father, brothers, husband, sons the oligarchs over mothers and sisters, the wife and daughters of every household-- which ordains all men sovereigns, all women subject, carries dissension, discord and rebellion into every home in the nation.” Hearing of this inequality in the equation of everyday life inspires emotion in …show more content…
her audience, and make them want to take action. To add, she says, “To them this government has no just powers derived from the consent of the governed. To them this government is not a democracy.” Again, Anthony takes what this country was supposed to be, a democracy, where the people being governed decide how and states that women would never be able to see it as a democracy when they are being treated as they were. This enhances her central idea by referring to the fact that the government considers men to be “higher up” than women, even though Anthony believes this is the most insulting discrimination anyone could make. In addition, Anthony’s argument would not be as enhanced if she did not include one of her strongest points-- women are people, and therefore the Constitution gives them the same rights as men. She starts her speech by stating exactly what she will prove, and why she is right. Anthony states, “It shall be my work this evening to prove to you that in thus voting, I not only committed no crime, but, instead, simply exercised my citizen's rights, guaranteed to me and all United States citizens by the National Constitution, beyond the power of any State to deny.” By outlining her basic process, she gives the audience a logical way to approach what she is saying, allowing them to be persuaded. She says, “The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not.” Her strong use of logos in this statement provides a solid, undeniable fact that can’t be proven wrong, therefore strengthening her argument. Then she connects this fact to her previous allusion to the Constitution where she says, “Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities.” Because the Constitution provides the superior law of the land, she says that the government doesn’t have the right to refuse women their rights, giving another example of logos. By stating her main argument through the use of her logic, she supplements her central idea that women deserve the same rights as men, as they are both people and citizens of the United States. Even today, Anthony’s argument is ever apparent within our society, whether it be in schools, sports, politics or the workplace. However, because of her use of a logical explanation, appeal to emotion, and a credible allusion to the Constitution, Susan B. Anthony not only provides the most compelling argument, the way she supports her main ideas with evidence also contributes to the overall central idea of the speech. Also, her argument, consisting of evidence from the Constitution, the lack of respect for women being overall the most disturbing discrimination of all, and the undeniable point that women are citizens, because it is so developed and thought out, supplies her speech with an incredible base for women’s rights. In her speech, Susan B.
Anthony was fighting for women’s right to vote, but also for women’s rights in general. While women have gone extremely far since Anthony gave her speech in 1873, like securing the right to vote, there are still several examples of discrimination and sexism towards women, one of the most obvious being the pay gap. In the article, “The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap” by Catherine Hill, the author tells that on average, women only earn 79% of what men do. The author states, “The gap has narrowed since the 1970s (Figure 1), due largely to women’s progress in education and workforce participation and to men’s wages rising at a slower rate.” (Hill, page 1) Although many people have realized women’s role in society, making that statement true, there is still a significant gap, 21%, for men and women with the same qualifications. Additionally, there are many political disadvantages for women. According to “Women in Congress 2015”, by the Associated Press, “In 2015, 104 (76D, 28R) women hold seats in the United States Congress, comprising 19.4% of the 535 members…” (AP, page 1). This just goes to show that in what was once an all male form of leadership, after 200 years, still only 20% of Congressmen are female, and there is yet to be a female president. Despite the fact that women’s equality has no doubt grown in the form of rights, representation in the government, and wage gap, the level of discrimination is still shown through things like
gender-based violence and limited opportunities in the workplace.
And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government—the ballot.” (Anthony 182). This speech was meant to kindle the flame of the women’s right movement for the citizens of the United States more accurately “Friends and fellow citizens…. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void” (Anthony 181-182). She uses much logos, unlike Chief Joseph, stating the constitution and supporting it with “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but
A short speech from a politician during the Civil Rights era is “For the Equal Rights Amendment”, delivered by Shirley Chisholm. In this speech, Chisholm uses ethos, pathos, and logos to argue her point of equal rights. An example of ethos that could be found in the speech is when Chisholm says “The Constitution they wrote was designed to protect the rights of white, male citizens. As there were no black Founding Fathers, there were no founding mothers -- a great pity, on both counts. It is not too late to complete the work they left undone. Today, here, we should start to do so.” This would serve as an example of ethos because Chisholm is showing creditably by mentioning why the Constitution was wrote. Additionally, she challenges what the
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with many other women, packed into a convention on a hot July day to all fight for a common cause; their rights. At the first Women’s Rights convention, Stanton gave a heroic speech that motivated the fight for the cause to be even stronger. Through Stanton’s appliances of rhetorical devices such as emotional, logical, and ethical appeals, she was able to her win her point, change the opinions of many, and persuade people to follow her.
Throughout the 1800s, women across the world began establishing organizations to demand women’s suffrage in their countries. Today, there are still women in countries fighting for their right to vote. Some countries who’ve succeeded in the mid to late 1800s were Sweden and New Zealand. Once they expanded women’s suffrage, many other countries followed. Like Sweden, countries first granted limited suffrage to women and other countries approved to the full national level. Additionally, there were quite a few countries who had taken over a century to give women the right to vote, Qatar being a prime example. Although the fight for women’s suffrage varied in the United States, France, and Cuba in terms of length and process, each effort ultimately
Anthony attended a women’s rights convention before she started campaigning for women’s rights (“Susan” Encyclopedia par. 2). Also before she started campaigning, Anthony worked at Canajoharie Academy in 1846. She taught there for two years. While she was there, Anthony campaigned that all colleges should open their doors to everybody, regardless of race or sex. Because of Anthony, women started attending
Women throughout the suffrage act were faced with many challenges that eventually led into the leading roles of women in the world today. Suffrage leaders adopted new arguments to gain new support. Rather than insisting on the justice of women’s suffrage, or emphasizing equal rights, they spoke of the special moral and material instincts women could bring to the table. Because of these women taking leaps and boundaries, they are now a large part of America’s government, and how our country operates.
Anthony’s speech as a whole you get her message of overwhelming desire to claim that the entirety of The United States built the perfect union in which she so adamantly calls upon in the subject of Women’s Suffrage. Anthony insists that white male Americans weren’t the only persons to build the country she lives in, but women as well. She acknowledges the fact that the oligarchy of race in America is among the downfalls of the United States, but she argues that it is the oligarchy of men over women that truly is the greatest disgrace in American Society. This attitude toward race and sex limits the intersectionality it has between the two classifications by saying that identities are ranked. Anthony opposes the argument laid out by black feminists and Terborg-Penn’s article that claim identities are equally important and cannot be
...re and an American hero she devoted her life to working towards equal rights for all women. Through writing, speaking, and campaigning, Anthony and her supporters brought about change in the United States government and gave women the important voice that they had always been denied. Any study of feminism or women’s history would be incomplete without learning about her. She fought for her beliefs for 50 years and led the way for women to be granted rights as citizens of their country, Thanks to Anthony’s persistence, several years after her death, in 1920 women were given the right by the Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution. I do believe she was the key figure in women getting the right to vote. “She will forever stand alone and unapproached, her fame continually increasing as evolution lifts humanity into higher appreciation of justice and liberty.”
Within Hon. Shirley Chisholm’s well known speech, Equal Rights for Women, which she presented on May 21, 1969, she discusses in detail the ideology of woman’s rights before the United States House of Representatives. She touches base on her own experience with discrimination, how society has prejudice against women, and introduces the Equal rights act, in which she states “that has been before every Congress for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law of the land.” With her speech, Hon. Shirley Chisholm makes a substantial argument about women’s rights. With her use of anecdotes, counter arguments, and statistics, her speech obtains great value.
Susan B. Anthony was an equal rights activist and one of the founders of feminism. She was fined $100 for voting illegally in the 1872 election. She was outraged by this, and traveled the country speaking on women’s suffrage and equal rights. Though women weren’t given the right to vote until 14 years following her death, she delivered a powerful speech, now known as “Women’s Right to Suffrage” to express her anger with the lack of rights in this country. She argues that “we that people” isn’t just inclusive to white men, and that both men and women should be given equal opportunity. Today, Ms. Anthony’s words still echo into the hearts and minds of fourth wave feminists, like myself, and inspire them to continue fighting against inequality
Sixty- nine years after the Declaration of Independence, one group of women gathered together and formed the Seneca Falls Convention. Prior and subsequent to the convention, women were not allowed to vote because they were not considered equal to men. During the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the “Declaration of Sentiments.” It intentionally resembles the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal…” (Stanton, 466). She replaced the “men” with “men and women” to represent that women and men should be treated equally. Stanton and the other women in the convention tried to fight for voting rights. Dismally, when the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to the Congress, the act failed to be passed. Even though women voiced their opinions out and urged for justice, they could not get 2/3 of the states to agree to pass the amendment. Women wanted to tackle on the voting inequalities, but was resulted with more inequalities because people failed to listen to them. One reason why women did not achieve their goals was because the image of the traditional roles of women was difficult to break through. During this time period, many people believed that women should remain as traditional housewives.
The goal of Hillary’s speech is to persuade her audience that her ideas are valid, by using ethos, pathos, and logos. Hillary is the First Lady and Senator, she shows credibility as an influential activist for woman rights. “Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children, and families. Over the past two and a half years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my country and around the world” (Clinton 2).
The Eventual Success of Women's Suffrage Rhetoric In One Half the People and Women and the American Experience, we learn that women were outraged upon finding that the 15th amendment constitutionally enfranchised men of every race and ethnicity, but still excluded women. According to Susan B. Anthony, one-time president of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association, this occurrence brought women “to the lowest depths of political degradation” (Woloch 329). Women quickly realized that the governing body of white men would more quickly give freedom to uneducated and poor foreigners than to their own mothers and wives, whom were steadily beginning to make financial contributions at home, as a result of industrialization. The analysis, herein, is meant to illustrate how the frequent lack of unity in the rhetoric of the various women’s suffrage organizations postponed and often stifled women’s attainment of full constitutional enfranchisement, but eventually forced the government to give into the women’s plight. Women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton, of the NWSA, preached that “women must lead the way to their own enfranchisement and work out her own salvation” (Woloch 330).
He mentions how far women have come since his grandmother's day, but realizes the country as a whole has more room to grow. He mentions how tough it can be for women to juggle a demanding career while raising a family. Both text reference what honor motherhood is but they also admit the demanding workforce can determine how successful a mother they can be. Women today may not face slavery, but they face double standards that limit them to be successful professionals and parents.
Throughout history, women have always fought to gain equal political rights, but conventional roles kept women from getting enough political representation. Many suffrage groups founded by women challenged the conventional roles of women during 1840 to 1968 with the dream of obtaining equal political representation. In 1919, the nineteenth amendment, drafted by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was passed. The 19th amendment has been desired by many women for years. Although the 19th amendment passed and women thought that they were able to be equal in politics, many women did not get equal political representation due to their conventional roles at the time period. Women were not able to achieve high roles in politics, shown through the fact that there has never been a woman president in the history of the United States. The presidency of women did not occur due to the perceptions that generally, women should be protected and hidden, not out in the open and leadin...