A Rhetorical Analysis Of Angelina Grimke's Speech

Wanting, hoping, and praying for change will never be enough. When something must be transformed then someone needs to step in and put forth effort to make the dream for change a reality and in this case, it was a women. Angelina Grimke from the young age recognized the faults within her life and society as a whole and decided it was time to fight for change. Angelina was born in Charleston, South Carolina to a slaveholding family. While slaves were prominent in her family growing up, Angelina and her sister Sarah; even from a young age, fought with their parents against the owning of slaves. This issue took on a new perspective for the sisters, when older sister Sarah; who was accompanying their father to Philadelphia for a health treatment,

As committed as Angelina was to their new life mission, she was unaware at the time that this was the start to a long road of change ahead. Angelina Grimke’s ability to effectively speak rhetorically in a public setting about the oppressions and discrimination we face in society was a stepping stone in the introduction of the women’s rights movement.

In February 1838 Angelina Grimke gave a speech before the Massachusetts Legislature in the Boston State House. In this speech Angelina discussed the need to end slavery and bring attention to how women have the ability to contribute in a large part to help towards this end goal. In this speech, Angelina addressed her decision to speak publically was itself a start to social change. During this time period women had no place in legislation. Women could not vote. They could not run for any type of office. They most certainly did not have a place

Grimke went as far as acknowledging the fact that she was a “repentant slaveholder” and successfully established a position of familiarity with the body of men she spoke before. However, the fight to eliminate the oppression of one group cannot be effective unless we are consistent in promoting the rights of everyone. Grimke took the opportunity to present herself as a “moral being” (not a woman, not man, not a slave). She did so, but also continued to acknowledge the current state of intersection by calling out the multiple forms of discrimination in the oppression against both women and slaves. Once she addressed this injustice, she appealed to the legislature to view all people as precious and with inalienable rights. She presented a strong position in that her goal was to overturn a system that was “built upon the broken hearts and prostate bodies of her countrymen in chains” all while appealing to duty and responsibilities of the men who stood before