A Rhetorical Analysis Of Florence Kelley's Speech

During the 1900’s, it was common for children to be found working long hours in harsh conditions at factories and textile mills. Also, women were in the midst of fighting for their right to vote. However, the advocation of women’s suffrage would not only benefit women but also children as women would be able to ratify better child labor laws. As a reformer and social worker, Kelly was a strong advocate for women earning the right to vote, so they can better protect the young girls influenced by society’s poor child labor laws. Florence Kelley gave a speech at the convention of the National American Women Suffrage Association in Philadelphia on July 22, 1905 about child labor. In her speech, Florence Kelley utilizes unifying language, contrasting

Kelley uses strong centralizing diction, such as “We have, in this country, two million children under the age of sixteen who are earning their bread” (1-3), to make her listeners aware of what’s going on in their own country regarding children. Since the people at this convention are women suffrage supporters, they might not be aware of the extent of child labor present. By using words such as “we” and “in this country”, it solidifies that the convention attendees can be a part of the solution due to them being part of the United States. As a result, the people listening to her speech are being persuaded first to fight for women's suffrage in order to help these children who don’t have a voice. The unification encourages the audience to look for a solution for children working in harsh conditions because they have the ability to make a

In paragraph 5, Kelley states the child labor laws of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina and the environment the laws put in place for young children (23-28). Out of those states, Alabama was one of the better states due to having a law for the number of hours a child can work at night, whereas Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina don’t have any laws. Kelley uses the lack of child labor laws to back up her argument that laws need to be reformed. Since the convention of National Woman Suffrage Association was held in the north (Philadelphia), the people present are most likely unaware of what’s happening in the South and how the child labor is there. However, using other states in the U.S. as examples helps inform her supporters because they are being made aware of child labor and its laws across the country. As a result, the awareness of the different laws present within the country could trigger sympathy for child laborers in those states. Therefore, it would encourage women to fight for suffrage to help improve child labor laws. Florence Kelley concludes if women gain the right to vote, they also can better protect these young girls and create stronger child labor laws. Through the use of unifying diction, juxtaposition, and exemplification she was able to inform the