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Witt Spiller

Ms. Norton

AP Lang

December 5, 2016

Susan B Anthony Stating the Truths

Sojourner Truth and Susan B Anthony were two identical thinkers in different situation

who inspired different people. Sojourner Truth was born into slavery, worked manually during

her life and birthed thirteen children. Her arguments were centralized around her own

capabilities and religion. She often times bases arguments around Gods will while using logos

appeals by stating her own abilities while maintaining the fact of her gender (Truth). She uses

force to provide a pathos appeal to strengthen her logical arguments while using sarcastic

rhetoric to inspire thought in the logic of the listener. Susan B Anthony was born into a Quaker

Family, she was a teacher and later dedicated her life to fighting for womens rights. Susan B

Anthony, much like Truth, spoke as though she was a above authority (Anthony). The speeches

Aint I a Women by Sojourner Truth and On Womens Rights by Susan B Anthony provide

an example of the rhetorical strategies of pathos and logos exhibited by the two authors in their

persuasive speeches.

One of Anthony's most persuasive techniques used is her appeal to the promises of

American democracy. She explains the idealistic american socio-political setting and contrasts it

with the reality of the United States. This parallelism is highly effective in her work and in her

speeches. Anthony did not hesitate to point out that the founding of America, as a nation, was

predicated upon the idea that individual voices need to be validated (Anthony). She was wise
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enough to not simply dismiss America, but rather argue that the fundamental greatness of the

nation and the democratic settings is one where it recognizes its mistakes and quickly seeks to

rectify them. In this notion of "forming a more perfect union," Anthony is able to present her

vision of women's suffrage in a manner that is able to be seen not merely as a political response,

but rather as a historical reality in the American narrative (Anthony). In utilizing this parallelism

as a rhetorical device, Anthony is able to persuade the audience of the pressing need for the

individual rights of women.

Sojourn Truth mirror many elements found in On Womens Right to Vote while

additionally providing more specific rhetorical devices. Devices such as plain folk and anaphora

further push the pathos and ethos agenda. She speaks as though she is with every person in her

audience and uses that to stoke an emotional rise from the listeners. One difference in Truths

writing compared to that of Anthony is her use of slang. Even in the title of her famous essay,

Truth uses the word Aint in her repetitive, rhetorical question (Truth). This usage speaks to

the people, makes her seem as one of the folk. Her diction provides an appeal to the general

public while remaining unfazed by authority. These tactics combined with powerful rhetoric

create a convincing argument akin to that of Susan B Anthonys.

The two feminists pushed forward the movement of womens suffrage through powerful

diction, logos and pathos appeal. Provided the entirely different backgrounds, their similar

rhetorical strategies in attempt to accomplish the same exemplifies the effect of these specific

rhetorical devices. One from slavery, the other from quakers, both women provided bounds and

leaps for the attainment of Womens suffrage even thought they did not live to see its effects. The

speeches Aint I a Women by Sojourner Truth and On Womens Rights by Susan B Anthony
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mirror many rhetorical devices through logos and pathos while still giving their own respective

twist in regards to the issues at hand.

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Works Cited

Phillips-Anderson, Michael,"ADDRESS AT THE WOMAN'S RIGHTS CONVENTION IN

AKRON, OHIO," Monmouth University (29 MAY 1851)Voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu.

N. p., 2016. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.

Truth, S. (1851). Ain't I a Woman?. Civil Rights and Conflict in the United States: Selected

Speeches (Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/

185/civil-rights-and-conflict-in-the-united-states-selected-speeches/3089/aint-i-a-

woman/

"The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: Susan B. Anthony Speech - Women's Right To

Vote". Historyplace.com. N. p., 2016. Web. 6 Dec. 2016.