She also speaks of the importance of education in this speech. She believes that women need to be properly educated, because women need not be dependent on no one but themselves. It is in the course of this discussion that Stanton acknowledges that not all women prefer independence, some prefer “to lean, to be protected and supported”. She says that regardless of what the woman desires, she must know how to and be able to support herself, because truly all people are alone in this world. Stanton also used the political implications of self-sovereignty to counter-act the claim that men, could use their ability to vote and make laws, to act on the behalf of women. According to Stanton beliefs, no one could represent anyone else but themselves.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneer in the modern quest for women’s rights. She is one of the few women whose impact on the shaping of America has been generally acknowledged, and rightfully so. Her social vision was to liberate society from false perceptions, outdated customs, unjust laws and false religious doctrines. Through analysis of three of Stanton’s speeches all these visions became quite clear. Unfortunately, Stanton did not live long enough to see her ultimate goal attained, the end to women’s suffrage, it is cleat to me that it was the rhetoric of Stanton’s speeches that advanced the movement to where it is today.
Bibliography
Banner, Lois W. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, A Radical for Women’s Rights. Boston: Little, Brown and Company,
1980.
DuBois, Ellen, ed. Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Susan B. Anthony:
Correspondence, Writings, Speeches. NY: Schocken
Books, 1981.
Foss, Sonja. Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and
Practice. Illinois: Waveland Press, 1989.
Gurko, Miriam. The Ladies of Seneca Falls: The Birth of
The Women’s Rights Movement. NY: MacMillan Publishing
Company, 1974.
Wood, Julia. Gendered Lives. NY: Wadsworth Publishing
Company, 1999.