Emmeline Pankhurst starts her argument by stating clearly that she is not there to advocate for women’s suffrage. She makes that clear in the first line of her speech. Pankhurst does not want to justify why it is necessary to fight for women’s suffrage, but wants to justify the way she and her fellow American suffragists fight for women’s suffrage. Pankhurst, as a militant suffragist, makes an analogy by saying that fighting for women’s suffrage is like fighting in a civil war. She makes it clear that she is only making this speech because she is considered to have no value in her society and is considered a threat to the community because of the women’s suffrage movements. This is why she wants to explain to the public why women have no choice …show more content…
This way, she is able to put forth an idea that women’s suffrage is something that is denied when it is a part of justice of law that every member of the society should be able to take privilege of. She compares the situation to the men of Hartford. Men of Hartford are citizens that have rights under their government. If their legislature laid a grievance upon their community and rejected to listen to its citizens, then the men of Hartford can simply ‘turn out that legislature and elect a new one,’ because that is how the democratic society is structured to resolve political matters. However, she suggests men to imagine a society where they were denied their political rights as citizens, where their demands and needs were ignored by the government. She argues that there would be only two ways to go about this situation: to conform to the legislature or to stand up to rightfully fight for their rights, just like how their forefathers have done when they were denied of their rights. Here she makes an emotional appeal by referring to the foundation of how America was formed. When denied their rights, their ancestors protested using revolution, as demonstrated in the Boston Tea Party. She replies to any misconceptions of her speech by telling her audience that she and her fellow suffragists don’t consider violence as their top choice. However, they are only left with the choice to become violent because otherwise, it would mean that women have to submit to the society’s judgement that women do not need rights to
The third, and final, device Florence Kelley uses to build her argument is a shift in topic. Her speech is delivered to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, a group primarily concerned with the equality of voting laws. She vows to use her right to petition “in every possible way until the right to ballot is granted.” By referring to a common goal shared by the author and her audience, a sense of trust is established between the two parties.
Women suffrage is women gaining the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony was a very important person in this movement. The first major meeting of women to discuss their rights was in Seneca Falls, NY. A document similar to the declaration of independence was written by women. It listed the grievances, or issues, that women had with society, it was named the Declaration of Sentiments.
Because of sexist opinions of the time, many people believed that a woman had no power to create change, especially in government since she could not vote. Women themselves believed this societal expectation, and although Grimke does not reject society’s idea of femininity and womanhood entirely, she specifically rejects their supposed political incompetence in a rebuttal. Using evidence from general and specific political movements in England, all of which were greatly aided by the support of women petitioning the government, Grimke assured her audience that “When the women of these States send up to Congress such a petition our legislators will arise, as did those of England, and say: ‘When all the maids and matrons of the land are knocking at our doors we must legislate.’” (Grimke, 192) This summary of her somewhat vague past points is similarly nonspecific; however, this is still effective since simply alluding to historical events rather than explaining them was sufficient for an audience that knew more about England and its history than contemporary Americans do today.
She started this with her speech on women’s right to
Susan’s argument was that if colored people could obtain their rights, why could women not have them too? It was as if they were finally living like civilized people but far from equal. She would come to state, "My right as a human being is as good as any other human being. If you have a right to vote at 21 years, then I have. All we ask is that you should let down the bars, and let us women and Negroes in….”
During the nineteenth century economic changes increased the amount of European industrial workers. Conditions under which they lived and worked improved along with the availability of jobs for women. Ultimately, the industrial revolution and the agricultural revolution lead to migration to cities for factory work. Theses changes in conditions for industrial workers were caused by the debate between government involvement in economics and if workers themselves have to take the initiative to create changes. English economists argue that the government should not get involved in helping the poor.
The Gradual Unbinding of Revolutionary Women Women back in the 17th to 18th century were labeled insignificant and served no major roles in any life-changing events. The fate for most of the women, was being confined in their own living spaces- left to prioritize housework duties such as cooking and cleaning. The etiquette of women was subjected to remain obedient to men. The inferiority of women forced imposition of loyalty and obedience towards men; the respect to women remained unrecognized in society. Preluding to the beginning of the 18th century, before the American Revolution arose, the position of a woman was strictly only to maintain household orders and comply towards the necessities of men.
Document 4 shows a petition made by the London Workingmen’s Association in an attempt to, “enact that every person producing proof of his being 21 years of age shall be entitled to have his name registered as a voter.” In 1838, the time that this petition was created, it was mainly nobles and upper class citizens who had the right to vote, so it makes sense that the working men of Europe wish for male suffrage because then they have the ability to elect people whom they believe will better improve their lives. Document 5 introduces a woman activist, Flora Tristan, who wants universal working rights for all citizens in the, “universal union of working men and women.” Document 8 introduces another woman activist, Pauline Roland, who claims that, “as soon as a woman comes of age, she has the right to arrange her life as she wishes.” Women have historically been undermined in the working society through such laws as the Factory Law or the Mines Act, which left women without work or having less hours.
How they couldn’t vote and how they didn’t have the rights that white men had. But throughout the whole speech, she is trying to convince people to start a big ordeal on how white men are not the only ones able to vote. In conclusion, the author is speaking to her fellow women and the to the wrong white men of the United States. Her purpose of making this speech is that woman have just as much right to vote as white men do.
She does not find it fair that only men are given the right opportunity to vote. Shaw’s tone is persuasive when she gives the definition of a republic to prove
Women’s Suffrage Reaction Paper The declaration of independence states that all men and women are created equal. This document, along with the constitution, is what the administration of the United States was founded on. The men who created these documents were citizens striving for equal rights and representation in government. Ironically, these rights the founding fathers worked so hard to create for themselves were not granted to women in their newly established nation.
Women’s place and role in the society is something that has been discussed and changed over time. Should their rights be the same as men’s? Should they be superior? Inferior? The world faces a dilemma on weather they should be or not equal as men.
It was an enormous social change for women to take part in public decision making, and gave them a voice to abolish unjust laws. The suffragettes in Australia argued that they were intelligent enough to vote, that it was unfair for them to be taxed without representation, and that they were equal to men therefore should have equal rights. In contrary, the suffragettes’ opponents alleged that women already had indirect power through manipulating their husbands and father’s voting choices at the ballot box, that women were equal but different and that women could not fulfil the duties of citizenship therefore should not vote. The suffragettes encouraged people to sign their petition, as well as held meeting and debates in order to gain supporters. Women in Australia used civil methods of protest, and didn’t adapt the more radical methods used by suffragettes in other countries.
In her speech she continues to say, “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-republic government -- the ballot.” (Anthony,1)
In the speech "Freedom or Death" (1913), Emmeline Pankhurst expresses the need for resistance towards American and British Governments as a result of the state 's denial of women 's voting rights. She describes the suffragist movement 's efforts of civil disobedience as a result of gender inequality and the urgent need to fight for women 's rights as human rights. In the speech, she discusses the significance of the term ‘militant’, an attribute suffrage women were given based on their radical actions during this time. Suffrage women were described as militant due to their confrontational reactions and support for women’s rights which was sometimes perceived to be an unfavourable political cause. Many at this time, negatively applied the term ‘militant’ to the suffrages.