The Suffrage Movement

entirely devoted to the domestic sphere as they were either caring or nursing infants or pregnant (Dubois & Dumenil, 2009). Although there was an increasing presence of women in economic and political matters, this was trumped by their roles as housekeepers, wives and mothers. Therefore, the lives of women revolved around home and family life. Childbearing and being a housewife were not perceived as work, but rather as effortless manifestation of the feminine nature of women (Dubois & Dumenil,2009). According to Kleinberg (1999), by 1890, on average, a woman had four children. During this period, men had the ability of suing their wives for neglecting their obligations as wives (Kleinberg, 1999). For instance, an examination of the divorces
Collins (2003) noted that the rhetoric for and by women skyrocketed between 1848 and 1919. This development can be attributed to the suffrage movement that considered the mutually exclusivity of rhetorical action and femininity (Campbell, 1989). The suffrage rhetoric characterizes the second wave of feminism. The emergence of the suffrage rhetoric based on the notion that suffragists were involved in the advocacy for women and their rights. Most female rhetoricians employed different rhetorical means to voice their opinions and destabilized traditional rhetoric by employing conventional ways of arguing for fundamental goals (Ritchie & Ronald, 2001). Suffragists had to change the social norms that had been in existence for centuries. Specifically, the suffragists considered the limitation of women to the domestic sphere as unjust. The suffragists employed the natural rights contention in advocating for change in relation to the position of women in society. The suffragists argued that it was the natural right for all individuals to vote including women under the declaration of independence. The foundation of rhetorical approaches used by suffragists was the patriotic notions that characterized the revolutionary war. In the declaration of independence, natural rights were guaranteed to all citizens of the United States. Therefore, women had the right to vote because of
Stanton’s declaration focused on the lack of justice for women. Her contention depended on such injustices as a way of resonating with audiences in the mid-19th century. The declaration aroused principles of personal liberty and equal rights for citizens. Suffragists employing this strategy argued that women had entitlements to judicial, economic, and political equality with men because of their common humanity. The choice of words used by Stanton in the declaration created a lasting impact on the audience as they emphasized the oppressive nature of the denial of enfranchisement of women. Stanton’s argument depends on the basic rhetoric of the country’s founders by constructing a contention that consists of both emotion and logic as it outlines the facts that deny women their rights, while concurrently revealing to women the injustices of this act. Stanton’s description of the injustices faced by women is direct assaults on men that illustrate societal truths and acts on women’s emotions. This is shown when Stanton brings to light the fact that the rights and liberties that were promised in the declaration of independence do not cover