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Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By Florence Kelley

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On July 22, 1905, Florence Kelley delivered a passionate speech on child labor at the convention of the National Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia. Her primary audience for this speech was the social activists at this convention, while her secondary audience was all American citizens. Throughout her speech, Kelley uses a variety of rhetorical devices to encourage people to fight against child labor and to argue for women’s suffrage.
In the first half of Kelley’s speech, she employs a solemn tone as she describes the current condition of child labor in the United States. She begins with a statistic that is meant to shock her audience: “in this country, two million children under the age of sixteen years … are earning their own bread.” …show more content…

She explains that although the number of workers in all demographics have been increasing, only the number of young girls working has “double[d] from census period to census period.” Her anticipation of her opposition’s argument makes her appear to be more credible because it shows that she has an in depth knowledge of this issue. Additionally, this demonstrates that she has considered the opposing views, but still maintains that hers is more correct. The statistic also further emphasizes the need for reform since it demonstrates that the growth rate of female child laborers has become almost uncontrollably high. The orator also offers vivid descriptions of child laborers in order to arouse …show more content…

This is evidenced by the growth of small, often internet-based, media outlets that target a niche audience with a very specific ideology. For example, the online broadcast channel The Blaze mainly targets highly conservative millennials. By having these highly specific statements of opinion, people can only choose to affirm their beliefs and make them feel stronger about them. Thus, when statements of opinion are misused, the public becomes more divided in opinion and less open to compromising with other viewpoints. This can be seen today as increasingly opinionated news reporting has been a major factor in the growing political divide in the United States. Furthermore, it can prevent people from being open minded about issues and seeing the complexity in

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Florence Kelley a United States social worker and reformer delivered a speech about child labor in 1905. In Kelley’s speech, she uses sophisticated word choice, ethics, and imagery to reveal her message about child labor particularly in six states. In Florence Kelley speech she uses specific word choices to explain the wages of men, women and youth. “Boys increase in the ranks of the breadwinners; but no contingent so doubles from census period to census period.”

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On July 22nd, 1905, Florence Kelley, a United States social worker and reformer who fought successfully for child labor laws and improved conditions for working women, delivered a speech on child labor before the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia. The purpose of her speech was to convince her audience that the only way to stop child labor was by allowing women the right to vote. Florence Kelley uses certain rhetorical strategies, such as pathos, diction, and an extensive use of figurative language, to appeal to her audience and accomplish her goal. Kelley’s speech is composed of a substantial amount of emotional appeals to aid her in connecting with her intended audience. In paragraph four she says, “Tonight while we sleep, several thousand little girls will be working in textile mills, all the night through, in the deafening noise of the spindles and the looms spinning and weaving cotton and wool, silks and ribbons for us to buy.”

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