Susan B Anthony Persuasive Speech

Thousands of women have screamed at the top of their lungs, clawed at the patriarchy, and tirelessly fought for their rights as citizens of the United States of America. From the beginning of mankind, women have been labeled as inferior to men not only physically, but mentally and intellectually as well. Only in 1920 did women gain the right to voice their opinions in government elections while wealthy white men received the expected right since the creation of the United States. A pioneer in women’s suffrage, Susan B. Anthony publicly spoke out against this hypocrisy in a time when women were only seen as child bearers and household keepers. Using the United State’s very own Constitution and Declaration as ammunition, Anthony wrote countless

By using the countries’ own governmental document, Anthony masterfully poses, “In this very first paragraph of the declaration, is the assertion of the natural right of all to the ballot; for, how can “the consent of the governed” be given, if the right to vote be denied. Again: ‘That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles’” (Anthony par. 4-5). Women are citizens of the United States who are governed, yet they have no say in their government. The very Constitution declares that when a government no longer has the safety and rights of their people in mind, then the people should take it upon themselves to abolish it, but women did not have a vote to exercise this right. Similarly, in their article, “Teaching the New Departure: The United States vs. Susan B. Anthony” Kathi Kern and Linda Levstik state,“For Anthony and hundreds of other women in the early years of Reconstruction, “taking” their freedom meant exacting their rights at the point where citizenship was “produced”: the polling booth” (Kern and Levstik 123). Voting was and is an essential part of citizenship in the United States,

The man of the household had always been the one in command of the family, and women had no choice but to obey their husband.“By the law of every state in this Union to-day, North as well as South, the married woman has no right to the custody and control of her person. The wife belongs to her husband; and if she refuses obedience to his will, he may use moderate correction” (Anthony par. 47). Women were expected to follow their husband and obey his command. If they refused to accept their place, the man could correct her. Women essentially had no control over their own will. Sexism was not a new practice and men had always had the upper hand on women. “Sexism is the first, the most ancient, the most pervasive human prejudice.With the establishment of the original patriarchy in the hunter-gatherer is the With first, society the establishment and most down ancient, through of the original the most patriarchal pervasive patriarchy religions human in the Sexism prejudice” (Mankiller par. 33). The patriarchy was handed down from the first societies in the nation. This die hard ideology was one of the ideas that many men and politicians used to defend their refusal to accept women voters. The ideology of women’s inferiority would be a challenge to break, and still has not been eradicated