Rhetorical Analysis Of Anthony Speech

Throughout Anthony’s speech, she alludes to past successful revolutions, and compares historic events to the women’s suffrage to encourage victory. References to the American Revolution and the abolishment of slavery lie throughout Anthony’s speech to establish her point. For example, Anthony discusses the dissatisfaction of women with their government by referencing the chant from the American Revolution,“taxation without representation” (Anthony 1). Incorporating this familiar chant, she established that the rights for women remained unfair, and her use of war talk encourages her audience to fight for this cause. Not only did Anthony reference the American Revolution, but she also compared the abolishment of slavery to the fight for women's rights.
When talking about the citizenship of a woman she stated, “sex can not be a qualification any more than size, race color or previous condition of servitude” (Anthony 3). Anthony showed her audience sex should not make anyone ineligible for something, likewise the color of your skin. She proclaimed to the audience that how our gender and appearance should not be able to hinder us of our “God-given” rights (Anthony 3).This encouraging the audience to fight for what is right. Likewise, again Anthony ties in the rights of African Americans to women’s suffrage to emphasize their fight is no different than that of women’s suffrage. Powerfully stating, “every discrimination against women is today null and void, precisely as is everyone against negroes” (Anthony 4). By including this in her speech, Anthony encourages her audience to fight for women’s rights just as they had for African Americans rights. In short, Anthony’s references to past historical events push her audience to achieve women’s