Declaration Of Sentiments Rhetorical Analysis

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Men should have absolute rule over society. This was the mindset back when women's rights activists were considered rare and unorthodox. In A Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Elizabeth Cady Stanton rejects the status quo and finds solutions to the overbearing problems she sees within society. A concept that has greatly been dreamt over throughout history has been challenged, by a woman. Elizabeth Cady Stanton exerts repetition, allusion, and pathos to express her opinions in favor of increasing women's rights. Within Stanton’s deceleration, her use of repetition helps the reader determine her intended argument and how important it is to the overall context. Stanton emphasizes, “He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise. He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice” (Stanton 1). Stanton repeats “He” at the beginning of each phrase and uses “she” within the …show more content…

Stanton states, “When the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man” (Stanton 1). Stanton used this line to start her declaration as Thomas Jefferson used it in the first line of the Declaration of Independence. Using such a well trusted piece of writing that helped shaped the United States increases her credibility which helps her case in her argument. Another point in Stanton’s view, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: in that all men and women are created equal” (Stanton 1). This line starts the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, but Stanton added in “women” instead of just “men”. This obviously shows she is on the side of women's rights in her argument and again, quoting the Declaration of Independence, gives her the quality of formality using lines from a piece that dear to American