In the early 1800s, American society reached a point where it began to evolve; although women being treated equally was still an issue and has been a major issue and topic for many years to come. Many women have done the absolute most to get their voices heard, some have led protests, written speeches, and documents hoping this will make their life easier. In some ways, these pieces have exposed the way men have been treating women and the inequality toward them. There have been millions of papers written on this behalf that has impacted the world. The speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” Given by Sojourner Truth is more persuasive than the document “Declaration of Sentiments” written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton due to its rhetorical strategies and appeals it has.
In the speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” Sojourner Truth uses many appeals to discuss women’s inequality. As the speech begins she uses her own experiences to connect with pathos, she explains that “[she] has borne thirteen children, and seen them most all sold off to slavery, and when I cry out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me.” The experience she has lived through contributes to the rhetorical appeal of pathos, giving the readers mixed emotions, the first emotion is sadness due to the fact that she sees her own children being sold off into slavery in front of her own eyes and she can not do anything really breaks your heart and the second emotion is raged how nobody really cares about the situation and nobody hears her crying for help or they just ignore her. As she advances with her speech she uses imagery to highlight what she heard a man say and she repeats what he says: “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere.” As she continues to go on about what the man said she responds to him by saying “Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mudpuddles, or gives me any best place!” the statement that the man said and that she heard appeals to ethos, and how she is stating what is morally wrong and right in the community when it comes to treating women. She emphasizes how men are saying that all women have to be treated like a princess with the best things that can ever exist but yet she as a woman has never received this, and how many others have not received that but that doesn’t make them not a woman. She also wants to inform the reader that women don’t need a big house and all these glamours things to be a woman. As her speech continues she states again what a man’s idea was: “he says that women can’t have as many rights as men, ‘ cause christ wasn’t women! Where did your Christ come from?… man had nothing to do with him.” She uses allusions to appeal to logos, in which she adds in religion to empathize that those who say that women don’t deserve to have the same rights as men are wrong because Christ did not come from a man and women but just a woman itself. In which is emphasizing that women could do powerful tasks all by themselves and they do not need men to get involved. The speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” uses many appeals to make her speech be more persuasive making the reader feel more connected and sympathize with the speech.
My opponents will argue that “Declaration of Sentiments” is more persuasive, due to the great number of rhetorical strategies and appeals Elizabeth Cady Stanton uses. She uses parallelism to appeal with logos, the way she does this is that she starts off by stating “when, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary…” in this way the reader figures out that she is basing it off The Declaration of Independence which is a very credible source considering it is the laws all Americans follow, therefore many readers will feel more appealed to reading and agreeing with her. She also includes anaphora to achieve pathos by repeating ‘He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise. He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice. He has… he has. . . he has. . .’ to show all the offenses men have done to women, and she also tries to give the reader a feeling of injustice that they allow women to be treated like that. This appeal contributes to the reader’s emotions. Showing how women are just looked down as servants to their masters. They have no choice but to listen and do whatever their husbands say. Stanton also gives her personal thoughts on the subject to appeal with ethos she expresses that ‘… a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a course.’ it shows that Stanton still has respect to mankind, however, there are some ideas that she does not agree with and she believes that they should change. She comments on behalf of this to show her own opinion and to show that she has a right to express them as well. Elizabeth Cady Stanton did a very effective job using rhetorical devices to appeal to the reader.
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Those who argue that “Declaration of Sentiments” is more persuasive than “Ain’t I a woman?” have a compelling argument. Even though Sojourner Truth used uneducated words rather than how Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s word choice was, Truth manages the reader to feel more connected to her by using slang words. Elizabeth had good intentions in putting an end to women’s suffrage but due to her lack of rhetorical devices and appeal she failed to connect with the reader, on the other hand, Sojourner Truth gave many rhetorical appeals and devices that got her point to the audience very well making it more persuasive.
In conclusion, Both the speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” and the document “Declaration of Sentiments” fight for women’s equality and are trying to show how men treated women unfairly. The use of rhetorical devices and appeal used by Sojourner Truth shows that “Ain’t I a Woman?” is more persuasive than “Declaration of Sentiments” written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In the way that the speech moves the reader’s emotions.
References
- New York Times Obituaries: “Notable Deaths” section
- Article: “Suffragist Chased Down Halls of Congress, House Banned Her Letter” by Smithsonian Magazine
- Biography: Sojourner Truth on Britannica
- Biography: Elizabeth Cady Stanton on History.com
- Time Magazine articles tagged with “Women’s Equality”
- Website: “Her-Story of Women in Scientific Endeavors” – Women in 1800s America
- National Park Service website: Women’s Rights National Historical Park
