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Carrie Chapman Catt Speech

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Carrie Chapman Catt, an effective advocate for women 's rights, utilizes Ethos and Logos effective to craft a persuasive argument for the suffrage of women. In Catt’s speech “Address to Congress on Women’s Rights,” she utilizes Logos to gain support for women’s rights. She creates a compelling argument through her concession, repetition, and historical facts to back up what she says. Catt uses concession effectively in her well planned speech. This is evidenced in the line “Gentlemen, we hereby petition you, our only designated representatives, to ...(fight for women’s suffrage)... and to use your influence to secure its ratification in your own state, in order that the women of our nation may be endowed with political freedom before the next …show more content…

The diction of Catt’s speech aids in making Catt sound credible and able to effectively connect with her audience. Her use of words like “revolution”, “Rebellion”, “government”, and “leadership” are all things that are oriented towards men. These words evoke feelings of power, authority, and coups, all things that are directed, derived from, and destroyed by men. Her use of the word “our” subconsciously makes the audience feel though they have formed a personal connection, they feel though as they are on Catt’s team and they are all working towards the same goal. The word “Our” functions as both a euphemism and an emotionally appealing word. It acts as a euphemism by making the audience feel as though they aren’t being chastised by a word as blunt as “You” or even just “Men.” Instead of making the men Catt is speaking to feel as though they have had a proverbial finger pointed at them, they feel less insulted by the unifying word “our”. It would be unwise to start bashing men in her speech when ultimately she needs them, so instead Catt connects with them to gain credibility. Yet another way that Carrie Chapman Catt gains credibility with her audience is through her utilization of overall educated and informed diction. Women during this time period that Catt delivers her speech were seen as unequal and inferior to men. The sheer fact that Catt delivers such a well prepared and eloquently worded speech, even though her kind was not respected, proves that women are just as capable of greatness as men. Her willingness to share her views to an audience who believed her to be unequal proves that she is a strong and confident

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