Elizabeth Cady Argumentative Essay

Words: 1855
Pages: 8

On February 14th and 15th, 1868, Elizabeth Cady Stanton gave the speech,“The Destructive Male”, at the Women's Suffrage Convention in Washington D.C.. In the speech, Elizabeth Cady Stanton urges the government to make a 16th amendment that would allow women the right to vote. She encourages women to fight for their rights in society and get level with men. Elizabeth uses strong rhetorical appeals in her speech to inspire women to stand up for the equality they deserve. By pointing out how women’s suffrage could help society as a whole, she rallies women in the audience to put up a resilient fight. To solidify her argument, Stanton uses strong language that has a resounding impact on her audience. “The Destructive Male” is a very well balanced speech that acknowledges other potential counterarguments, while simultaneously shutting them down. One of the key …show more content…
Stanton argues from an emotional side when she tugs on the heartstrings of those in government, and tries to make them feel for women. The most effective appeals in her speech are ethical and logical. By using an ethical approach Stanton degrades the male gender’s mentality with proof from the past. By using a logical approach she further proves and solidifies her argument for women’s suffrage by rationalizing how women’s involvement in society improves decision making. Her most effective and prevalent rhetorical appeal is logical because it resonates with the predominantly male government officials. While Stanton was not immediately successful in her goal of achieving voting rights for women, she did set the ball in motion for women of the future. In the long run, Elizabeth Cady Stanton along with Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott achieved their lifelong goal of women’s suffrage eighteen years after Stanton’s