Blog

In the 9th century, women in the United States had few legal rights and most of all did not have the right to vote. This speech on the women’s right to vote was given by Susan B. Anthony after her arrest for casting an illegal vote in the presidential election of 872. Anthony was then tried and fined $00 but refused to pay. Not only was she a women’s rights activist but she also fought for the equality of the African American people too. In this speech, she finds a way to address both of these topics and hopefully enable the court to recognize two key issues of inequality. Anthonys famous speech was spoken at her trial, where she was one of the only women in a court house full of men. Her speech had to be factual and spoken with confidence as she attempted to change longstanding political social norms. Anthonys speech was organized in a clever fashion con

structed around the laws created by the United States Constitution. She began with a fact and throughout the speech continually gave facts supported by firm evidence to defend what she is saying. She uses Kairos as she knows her audience is filled with a courtroom of people who are familiar with the laws and constitution in America and uses that to her advantage. Although the location and timing of the speech may not have been ideal as she was arguing for a false crime yet this setting was to her advantage because in the courthouse all eyes and ears were on her as she spoke. Everyone was forced to respect and listen to what she had to say. In closing her speech, she intelligently begins her statement with a rhetorical question that has a clear answer, which helped her emphasize her points and made the audience question if what they were promoting was right.