Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the most famous abolitionists who fought for women’s rights and again slavery. She was among the founders of the National Woman Suffrage Association and first Woman’s Rights Convention. Her Keynote Address at the First Woman’s Rights Convention, proving that women should have the same rights as men, is a great example of a strong, effective argument. In this masterpiece, Stanton protests against the discriminative laws which determine the submissive role of women in mid-nineteenth century society. She objects to treatment of women as the inferior race and argues for the equal status of men and women. Stanton finds it essential for the harmonious development of the society to set women free of male oppression and bestow them with the right to vote, which she claims belongs to women according to the governmental declarations. She proceeds with her argument by justifying the necessity of change in society and acknowledges that the path which is yet to go through is not an easy one. In this essay, I will outline the sequence of points she makes from the organizational perspective and provide a rationale for it.
The main thesis of the whole piece, around which all of the arguments orbit, is that men alone cannot handle the moral and ethical problems, which the world is stuck in. Without the help from women, they will not deal with the decay and stagnation taking place in the society. As long as women are kept as slaves and inferior type of humans, such help cannot be offered. The sequence of the arguments in Stanton’s work can be briefly represented as follows. Firstly, she sets the stage by stating that her speech and discussion deal with the variety of complex and fundamental issues and not with the social life alone. Stanton claims that she is there neither to change the clothing between men and women, nor their social roles. Next, she outlines what exactly she is opposing. Namely, Stanton stands against the laws discriminating women and, in the same time, for the right to vote and equal rights for men and women. In the next move, she makes, she states that the equal rights belong to women as they belong to men. Stanton’s (340) next claim can be succinctly expressed as “vice is swelling.” She tells that her contemporary world is facing moral decay and that women are more suitable for certain actions than men are. Stanton proceeds by asserting the view that the nation cannot be prosperous or virtuous without the participation of women in its life. She claims women to be the essential part of the social life and of the humankind itself. And until this part is not kept as some creatures or slaves, the decay will continue. In the next move, she gains the support of God by making an allusion on Joan of Arc. She finishes with acknowledging that the path awaiting for her and her kindred spirits will be neither easy nor short.
The way Stanton organized her argument is indeed virtuous. In aiming for her central thesis, she employs a chain of different types of arguments and puts all of them in appropriate places. The opening of this piece will be discussed in detail in the next section. But, in essence, it sets the starting point of her arguments and suggestions and cuts down the most basic paths of fallacious objections. The next part describes the core of what she argues against. By mentioning this clearly and explicitly, as well as symbolically, she gets the attention of the audience and strongly builds up the ethos of her argument. In the next part, she expands her view on the crucial and tentative aspect -- the right to vote. Here, she employs pathos by making bright comparisons and descriptions – “the ignorant Irishman in the ditch has all the civil rights he has”, “the most tiny, weak, ill-shaped stripling of twenty-one has all the civil rights of the Irishman” (Stanton 339). But her use of logos in this part is determinative – she makes a distinction between rights and equality and provides support for this view. In the next part, she moves the focus on pathos. She claims that equal rights belong to women and appeals to emotions and the concept of dignity. Namely, she says that it is insulting, that the rights of women are recognized inferior to the rights shared by the worst of men. After a smooth passage from relying on ethos through logos to pathos, Stanton closes the circle and returns to building up ethos by presenting the broader picture to the audience. By depicting the moral decay of the society, she explains the more important issue standing behind her argument and discussion. Stanton conveys that she should be listened to because what she is telling about really matters and has much deeper implications than it was previously anticipated. After making this move, she switches again to logos, but, this time, in the context of the causes of the negative phenomena described in the previous part. She argues that the oppression of women is the main reason of the moral decay occurring in the world and that it cannot be fixed without changing the position of woman. She uses several arguments to convey this to the audience. Not surprisingly but not less effectively, the next part builds up pathos very strongly and at the same time is the closing one. Stanton makes an allusion to Joan of Arc for several purposes. First of all, by doing that she draws God as a universal powerful and unifying concept into her argument. And, secondly, she creates a powerful heroic symbol of their struggle. Joan of Arc is a very apt choice because she is a woman, a hero, and called to action by God Himself. The reliance on pathos is also a very felicitous choice for the closing part of the argument because the emotion with which the audience finishes such pieces strongly determines their overall effect. It also defines the inferences people will make and the way they will act. In the state of emotional uplift, they will be motivated for further active actions. It can be noted, that the basic scheme employed by Stanton is the following. The main emphasis in the parts of her speech follows the pattern ethos – logos – pathos. Also, the step back to the broader context of the problem, that she argues against, is very important to the success of her argument.
The opening that Stanton makes is extremely important to the soundness of her argument. The first step that she makes in the opening is that she sets the reference point from which the further discussion will proceed. Stanton (338) states that her argument will involve profound and important implications for a number of issues which will not be limited to “go[ing] into the detail of social life alone” as some opponents might have anticipated. At the same time, she refrains her opponents from treating her not seriously and slipping into fallacious objections. She saves her argument from the possibility of being overturned into the claim that she intends to force men to do something absurd. By further developing her argument, Stanton asserts that she does not want to become a man or imitate them. She establishes her pride as a woman while respecting and acknowledging men's right for self-determination. At the same time, she creates a small breach in the opponents' defenses by stating in a playful form that men and women have much in common. She does this by finding similarities in the clothing of the most wise and powerful men and women’s dresses.
The way Stanton organized her argument in Keynote Address at the First Woman’s Rights Convention is a masterpiece example of the powerful and convincing argument. Despite the general patterns explained in this essay, Stanton makes a strong and appropriate use of emotion evoking language and achieves her goal with elegance.
References
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. "Keynote Address At The First Woman's Rights Convention". The Well-Crafted Argument. A Guide And Reader. Fred D. White and Simone J. Billings. 6th ed. 338-341. Print.
