Rhetorical Analysis Of Susan B Anthony Speech

Joe Weiler
Dr. Ripley
College Reading and Writing
03/21/17

The Call-Out of the White Man: Rhetorical Analysis of
Susan B. Anthony’s Speech After Being Convicted of Voting

Susan B. Anthony was one of the biggest leaders of the women’s rights movement because many men during the 19th century believed that women were not strong or smart enough to vote in government elections which is why women were not granted suffrage until August 18th, 1920. In Anthony’s speech that she gave in 1872, after being accused of voting in the presidential election, she argues that all of American citizens should have the right to vote and not just the white man. Anthony’s speech made several logical, ethical and emotional appeals which is what made her empowering and memorable speech set the tone for the women’s rights movement for decades to come. In her speech, Anthony starts off by reciting the preamble of the Federal Constitution. She then adds,

Anthony’s speech made several logical, ethical and emotional appeals which is what made her empowering and memorable speech set the tone for the women’s rights movement for decades to come. By stating the preamble of the Federal Constitution she built her credibility because it is reputable and it is a document that we built our country on. She effectively relies on the founding fathers and other esteemed members of society to help support her claims. She was able to logically express and correlate that anyone who is born in the united states is a citizen and that every citizen has the right to vote. Instead of just saying that women should have rights they do not have and making an argument, she states that the United States Constitution already guarantees her and other women the right to vote. She is able to carefully evaluate whom falls in the boundaries of American citizenship. Anthony is able to connect American democracy ideals with the reality of the unequal situation going on in our country at the