Pankhurst in Defense of Militancy During the Suffragette Movement
1916 was the year the first woman was finally elected to Congress. This was not from disinterest or a lack of qualifications, but because women had no rights. During the early 20th century, while men relaxed in the comfort of their homes, women waged a war. The fight for equality influenced women like Emmeline Pankhurst to become soldiers on the front lines in the fight for suffrage. Her speech, “Freedom or Death,” outlines the necessity of her militant methodology. She defends her methods with an extensive use of metaphors and hypotheticals. She states that her explanations should not be necessary by pointing out the double standard between men and women. Her use of counterargument along with the aforementioned combine to strengthen and solidify her purpose to both inspire young American women and prove the effectiveness of her radical actions.
In the year 1913, Emmeline Pankhurst went to Hartford, Connecticut to deliver a speech to American women, invigorating them to support the suffragettes’ cause in England. Before one can understand the speech, one must know the historical context that landed Pankhurst in Connecticut. When feminism was becoming more common in Europe after World War I, many judged feminists harshly, describing them as a “shrieking sisterhood” and manly, neglecting their duties at home. The negative feedback made many women negligent to describe themselves as feminists(“Feminism in