Rhetorical Strategies in :Now we can Begin- Crystal Eastman
In the 1920’s there were many problems regarding women’s rights. The fight for the right to vote was extreme and women did all they could in order to achieve the passing of the amendment. After the 19th amendment was passed, Crystal Eastman was one of the many women that saw this as an opportunity to expand and to make more improvements in women's rights. “Now we can begin” is a speech that Eastman wrote in order to educate women and others about the difficult tasks that would remain after the amendment was passed. It was realized that even though they had accomplished the first big step in gaining more rights there were still more issues to deal with. In her speech Eastman effectively
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Eastman addressed this issue by speaking to the mothers directly, she says, “ Women are to have children when they want them[...] That ensures some freedom of occupational choice; those who do not wish to be mothers will not have an undesired occupation thrust upon them by accident, and those who do wish to be mothers may choose in a general way how many years of their lives they will devote to the occupation of child raising” (“Now we can begin” 1920). Even though she is not using words like “us” or “we” you can sense a feeling of dedication and passion towards the issue. Her tone is serious and because she has children, she wants to be able help in all areas of women’s rights not just one part of it. She mentions all mothers and women that will be mothers. She doesn't focus on any one type of person, but involves the whole population of women. One could argue that pathos is interwoven into that quote. She gets into the emotions of the mothers that struggle with having no rights to their own bodies. More pathos is shown when she connects with the women about all the opportunities that are lost when they have …show more content…
Every time that she includes a question like, “What, then, is “the matter with women”? What is the problem of women’s freedom?” (Eastman, “Now we can begin” 1920), she is prepared to answer it. The fact that she knows the answer to all these questions shows that she is truly dedicated and prepared for all of the duties that she has coming up in the future. Her audience begins to trust her because her answers are well thought out . Her word choice for answering these questions is also important. She does an outstanding job making her point clear when answering the above question, saying, “It seems to me to be this:[...] arrange the world so that women can be human beings, [...] second, if and when they choose housework and child-raising, to have that occupation recognized by the world as work, requiring a definite economic reward…”(Eastman, “Now we can begin” 1920). Her word choice plays a crucial part in her speech. If the wrong words were to be used, then her audience would have a lot more trouble confiding in
The 19th Amendment was a crucial step towards achieving women's political empowerment and paved the way for future generations of women to participate in the democratic process. The passing of the 19th Amendment was a progressive milestone in American history, as it expanded democracy and paved the way for greater gender equality. Although the previous election was largely dominated by men, as women become more educated and involved in the workforce, it is challenging long-held gender roles and stereotypes. The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 was a major milestone in the fight for gender equality, breaking free from the usual stereotype that women were incapable of making decisions (19th Amendment - Definition, Passage & Summary, 2022). The suffragists' activism also brought attention to other social and political issues affecting women, leading to further advocacy and reform efforts.
It shows women have the desire to make a change in the country. She forces her audience to think about themselves in comparison with the working children constantly throughout the speech. She associates the working with when they sleep. “Tonight while we sleep, several thousand little girls will be working in textile mills, all the night through…” This makes the audience feel guilty and truly think about how they have it compared to the children.
Anthony’s speech is historically significant and reached many people in America who eventually saw that women’s suffrage should be achieved. Throughout this essay, I will discuss how she was able to persuade her audiences, what types of arguments she used, and how powerful the speech proved to be in assisting in women’s suffrage. As I begin to explain these topics, I will examine how this led to an increased amount of attention on women’s rights and eventually led to the Nineteenth Amendment being created in 1920. Susan once said 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. (Barnett 42).
Women’s Suffrage: did or did it not change in America? Alice Paul, a young women fighting for rights, went on a hunger strike in prison to stand up for what she believed in. Paul and other suffragists were arrested and sent to Occoquan Workhouse, in Virginia. These women were fighting for their rights to vote, to be as equal as men.
Three Years after “Speech before Congress” was delivered by Carrie Chapman Catt a well-known leader of the women suffragist movement were women granted the right to vote and receive all rights as citizens. Catt’s speech was a major stepping stone for Congress to pass the 19th amendment. She was able to deliver her speech in a manner, which was persuasive to congress and encompassed all the rhetorical appeals. Not only did she describe benefits to enfranchising women, but she played to the patriotism of her audience to further her cause. During her speech she established herself as a woman of credibility by the eloquence she presented throughout it, also she used the logical appeal by referring historical precedence, and she created sympathy
1920’s: Women’s Suffrage Alice Paul once said; “There will never be a new world order until woman are part of it.” In this quote the women’s right leader refers to how women are important to society. Society need women because of their capacity in a smartest way to take decisions.
She subtly interjects a commentary on the absence of sufficient historical research concerning the role women played in shaping our society, past and
She appealed to the women who believe in equality, and people who want to make a change to better the lives of women. She believes if we treat each other equally, ideally we will live in a better world. The argument was definitely a worldwide and relatable topic. And the logical, emotional, and credibility used in this speech, strengthened many hearts of the American
In her pilgrimage to fight for women’s rights, activist Margaret Sanger created a speech on a severely controversial topic not only during her time period, but during our present time period as well. While many firmly disagreed with her and still do, she did bring to light a major disparity between sexes and social classes. By vocalizing her qualms with the rights of women, mainly in the middle and lower classes, to decide for themselves if they wish to have children or not. By voicing her opinions in an extremely misogynistic era she made herself a totem in women’s history. Women do have a right to decide for themselves if they wish to have children or not.
For example Anthony says, “but this oligarchy of sex, which makes father, brothers, husband, sons, the oligarchs over the mother and sisters, the wife and daughters, of every household” This is very sad since women and girls should not be ruled or told what to do because they are thought of to be less than man. The constitution is in place to have a unified country not to have an oligarchy of men lead households. The pathos appeal is used to show what suffering women are going through due to men ruling them, and not knowing how to fight back. Susan B. Anthony in her speech also says, “Are women persons?.....and no state has the right to make a law, or to enforce an old law, that shall abridge their privileges and immunities.”, which also connects with the emotions of the audience. She is trying to make people feel bad that women are treated less even though they are just as righteous as men to have the same privileges.
They Did It ! Recently a decision was made that will change America forever. On August 18th Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment, therefore granting women the right to vote in all states. This decision with certainly be met with both support and opposition from many.
The Roaring Twenties, characterized as a progressive era toward changes and advances, it was a start for freedom and independence for women. Women gained political power by gaining the right to vote. They changed their traditional way to be, way to act and dress to gain respect, and the liberty of independence. Society had different ways of ideals and the ways women were willing to do were disapproved of, and it was wrong for lots of different people, including women from the older generation. In the 1920’s women went through a lot of changes that made them a free spirit, changes that made them what they are now and having the liberty of being independent.
The 19th century was a time of strong attitudes and even stronger disagreements. While many individuals passionately agreed upon the advancement of the women’s suffrage movement, or a woman’s right to vote, many citizens, including women, had counterarguments for the establishment and development of women’s rights. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was a strong advocate for this movement, wrote The Declaration of Sentiments, which powerfully acknowledged the oppression women faced during this time. On the other hand, the Committee of Brooklyn Women gathered to create an alternative opinion on the matter, which was presented in a protest, entitled Preamble and Protest. The two opposing opinions, both made by female figures in the late 1800s, exposes
The issue of women's role in society has always been a prominent topic discussed in society fro many years now. Sojourner Truth was a former slave and dealt with the conditions of slavery, and the idea that a women was weaker than a man; truth was freed from slavery in 1827. Later in 1851, Sojourner Truth gave her speech to address her views on women's rights and to advocate equal rights of men and women all around. Truth is confident in her argument, that women are capable of all or more men can do, they should be granted the same freedom. Throughout Truths speech, she used juxtaposition, allusion and repetition to advance her claim.
At this point she is giving into the idea of women being taken from their families and given specific roles in a controlled environment; the idea of women being classified by the fertility of their womb or the status of their husband. Controversially, Offred also