Wright, Alexandra. "Women's Rights in Present-Day America | EHow." EHow. Demand Media, 24 Sept. 2009. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.
Angelina Grimke and Sojourner Truth were both prominent American civil rights activists of the 19th century who focused on the abolition of slavery and women’s rights issues, respectively. While both of these women challenged the societal beliefs of the United States at the time regarding these civil rights issues, the rhetorical strategies used by each of these women to not only illustrate their respective arguments but also to raise social awareness of these issues was approached in very different fashions. Angelina Grimke promoted the use of white middle-class women’s positions in the household to try to influence the decision makers, or men, around them. On the other hand, Sojourner Truth, a former slave turned women’s rights activist,
Two centuries ago there was a women’s rights movement forming in order to fight an oppression. Women were poorly treated and seen as inferior to men. It is believed the women’s rights movement was “inspired-or rather provoked-by the insufferable male supremacy” (Davis 46). Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton among other women received unfair treatment at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. At this convention they were “fenced off behind a bar and a curtain similar to those used in churches to screen the choir from the public gaze” (Davis 47). They were excluded because the men believed their view at this convention was useless. Women during this time had to live up to the standards society had of them. If they did not follow,
Women spent majority of their day ironing, washing clothes, baking, sewing clothes and raising their children (page 17). Religion also added to women’s lesser status (page 18). Religion was at the core life of Americans, female submission was decreed to be part of God’s order (page 18). Lucretia Mott soon pointed out that many scriptures celebrated female strength and independence (page 18). As a young girl Elizabeth Cady Stanton learned about laws that limited rights of wives and as an adult found ways to reform marriage and divorce laws (page 23). Things were looking up for women, by 1850 female wage workers made up nearly a quarter of the manufacturing labor work force (page 30). Women were still excluded from occupations such as the military, ministry, law, medicine and jobs felt inappropriate for women (page 32). During this antebellum period women were starting to rise up and realize they deserved to have the same rights and privileges men received. This gave women hope that things could change. By the second quarter of the 19th century few positive changes for women pushed Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B Anthony, Lucy Stone and others to challenge injustices and reform efforts (page
Sojourner Truth’s speech at the Women’s Convention in 1851 was powerful, truthful and personal. As a black woman she experienced both type of discriminations, a double jeopardy of race and gender. In a time where the focus was on black men rights, Sojourne raised her voice in favor of black women rights too. During her speech she used personal experiences to connect with the audience as both women and mothers. She also made biblical references and strategically used repetition and rhetorical questions like: “Ain’t I a woman” to make a point about gender equality. One of the passages of her speech that caught my attention was when she pointed out a man in the crowd who had previously said. It was a powerful counterargument that exposed the social
The voices between male and female freedoms and privileges were very unequal, and usually females were limited and ignored if they stood up for what they believed in. Women constantly fought for the right to speak at all in the conventions of social organizations, but overtime one women started the push forward to women’s right; Susan B. Anthony. Susan B. Anthony was a leader who gained justice through her speech, “On Women’s Right to Vote”. She was a prominent force of nature, and led the charge in women’s suffrage. Through her tactics and protesting, she made her name known throughout the entire world. Susan B. Anthony was one of the early leader to make a step forward in creating equality between men and women.
To begin with, there are many events in United States history that have shaped our general understanding of women’s involvement in economics, politics, the debates of gender and sexuality, and so forth. Women for many centuries have not been seen as a significant part of history, however under thorough analyzation of certain events, there are many women and woman-based events responsible for the progressiveness we experience in our daily lives as men, women, children, and individuals altogether. Many of these events aid people today to reflect on the treatment of current individuals today and to raise awareness to significant issues that were not resolved or acknowledged in the past.
Isabella Van Wagener one of the most effective women’s rights leaders is an example as she was born into slavery, but she was later freed and took the name of “Sojourner Truth”. Do you know why she took this name? She believed that God wanted her to travel across the land and nation to preach abolition. She believed that God wanted her to fight in the battlefield of slavery and took part as a mesmerizing speaker whose words could rarely be written down for they spread through words of mouth. One quote from the speech she said at Akron’s Women’s Rights Convention in 1851 inspired me to join this war and fight for my own rights, “I have as much muscle as any man and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than
In Sojourner Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I A Woman,” she speaks of women and African Americans deserving to have equal rights to men. The speech was delivered in 1851 at a convention in Akron, Ohio. Truth’s goal during the speech was to make people doubt what they previously believed. For them to join her outlook about equal rights.
In her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman”, Sojourner Truth expresses her concerns regarding her identity as a woman and the identity of women everywhere. She begins by pointing that, though “the negros of the South and the women at the North” are vigilant in their pursuit of equality, the opinion of white men will likely prevail. Truth then recalls the “definition” of a woman which includes the “need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches.” However, when she looks back at her treatment in life she realizes that she, although a woman, is not being treated as such. Truth recalls her work in the fields, work that is typically expected of a man. She recalls the pain of losing her children as proof of her strength as a woman. Finally, she battles the argument that “Christ wasn’t a woman” by reminding the reader that Christ was born of a woman and Eve was able to turn the world upside down all on her
Trecker, J. L. (1971). Women in US history high school textbooks. Social Education, 35(3), 249–260.
Sojourner Truth was an advocate for women’s rights. The essence of her speech at the “Woman’s Rights” convention showed the external thoughts of a woman, not just any woman but a former slave. Truth used, like all other inequalities around that time, religion as a base to fight for women’s right; as well as women’s children and their attitudes towards their mothers. She started off her speech with background information about herself. Truth wanted the audience of her speech to know why she had a right to be on that stage; why women deserved equal rights just as men.
Being a member of today’s society is extremely difficult, and it certainly wasn’t any simpler in 1851. Sojourner Truth delivers a powerful speech titled: “Ain’t I A Woman” at a women’s convention in Akron, Ohio. In her speech, she states very rational and important facts on sexism, racism and inequality all together.
Sojourner Truth was a brave and headstrong woman who went through more than her fair share of hardships. From escaping slavery to seeing her own sons sold back into the life that she worked so hard to leave behind. It is all these experiences that makes her speech so powerful. In the beginning of her speech she talks about the notion that women are fragile and need to be taken care of, she counters this idea with the fact that as a slave nobody took care of her, nobody helped her, she had to work just as hard as the men and endured the same violent
The world has evolved more than ever before in the 18th century and today there are still some men in the world who treat women wrong and think women can’t do the same things as men.There are many women today who have become more successful than MOST men like Sheryl Sandberg, Elizabeth Holmes, and Christy Walton and it is time for all of the women in the world to be treated equally. One such woman, Sojourner Truth wrote a short essay about women having the same treatment as men and she argues that women are humans too and should not be treated like slaves. She begins to build her source with personal facts. In 1851 Sojourner Truth made a speech and read her speech aloud in the women's convention