Rhetorical Strategies In The Declaration Of Sentiments

In Seneca Falls, New York in 1848, American activists in the movement to abolish slavery, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, called a conference to address women’s rights and issues. This conference was called because Mott was refused consent to speak at the world anti-slavery convention in London despite the fact she was an official delegate. Although women were barely entitled to any rights in the late 1840s and were “inferior” to men, Stanton and Mott could not sit defenselessly, so they decided to take action by applying an analysis of human freedom and began the career of modern feminist analysis. The Declaration of Sentiments demanded that women receive the same acknowledgement and respect the men receive; they are not inferior or superior by any way because of gender. Stanton and Mott …show more content…
(Modern). Throughout the Declaration of Sentiments, various rhetorical strategies were utilized in order to prove that woman should be acknowledged and respected as right-bearing individuals. For instance, one rhetorical strategy that amplifies the fact that men did not treat women equally is parallelism. Stanton and Mott’s repetition of the word “he” before providing a compelling example that perfectly depicts the distinction in male rights versus women rights leaves a long lasting impression on the reader by appealing to emotions.