2. Seneca Falls: Keynote Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

3. SOAPSTone Speaker: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Occasion: Senecca Falls Woman’s Convention Audience: Women were the majority in attendance the first day; the few men were asked to be silent Purpose: To rally the audience and prepare them for the second day Subject: Women’s treatment and their civil rights Tone: shifts throughout the speech

5. Paragraph 1 We have met here today to discuss our rights and wrongs, civil and political, and not, as some have supposed, to go into the detail of social life alone. We do not propose to petition the legislature to make our husbands just, generous, and courteous, to seat every man at the head of a cradle, and to clothe every woman in male attire.

6. Paraphrase We are here for a civil and political purpose only. We do not want to trade places with men. (refutes a counter-argument: male accusation)

7. Sub-Argument Women are held to strict standards to be “just, generous, and courteous” yet they are still denied the right to have a say on the society that imposes those standards. Implicit Argument: Saying “we don’t propose to make men just, generous and courteous…” suggests that they do not have any of these characteristics.

8. Appeals/Devices Repetition: Stanton uses the word “we” and “our” to show all women are part of the movement and must play a role in gaining rights. By using “we” Stanton includes herself as a participant in the movement. (ethos)

9. Rhetorical device Use of parallelism “ to make our husbands just, generous, and courteous, to seat every “man at the head of a cradle, and to clothe every woman…” emphasizes the silliness of the men’s accusations

10. Audience Women attending the Seneca Falls Convention Uses the word “we” and “our”

11. Purpose Explain why the women have gathered Stanton starts to build her ethos

12. Tone Stanton’s tone is gently ironic. She pokes fun at male accusations, but she is not abrasive (harsh)

13. Paragraph 2 None of these points, however important they may be considered by leading men, will be touched in this convention. As to their costume, the gentlemen need feel no fear of our imitating that, for we think it in violation of every principle of taste, beauty, and dignity; notwithstanding all the contempt cast upon our loose, flowing garments, we still admire the graceful folds, and consider our costume far more artistic than theirs. Many of the nobler sex seem to agree with us in this opinion, for the bishops, priests, judges, barristers, and lord mayors of the first nation on the globe, and the Pope of Rome, with his cardinals, too, all wear the loose flowing robes, thus tacitly acknowledging that the male attire is neither dignified nor imposing.

14. Paraphrase Men are obsessed with thinking we want to change them. Men should not fear us imitating the way they dress; we don’t want to dress like them. Men in power dress like we do.

15. Subargument Women are tasteful and dignified and should not be objectified and looked on with “contempt” Women have no need of conforming to men’s behavior for the highest classes of men mimic the garments of women (This is a subtle jab at the equality issue- a hint to her overall purpose.) She again counters male accusations that this convention is for superficial reasons.

16. Appeals and devices Ethos- Stanton concedes that men have a different point of view (what they feel important); this shows her awareness of other opinions. She uses a listing technique (bishops, priests, judges, barristers,… to emphasize that important men “agree” with women’s dress. This listing technique is also an appeal to authority- leading men (those in positions of leadership) agree with women. Sarcasm becomes a little more pointed, as she begins to openly mock male attire (continues in 3 rd paragraph).

17. Rhetorical Devices continued Allusion: “…the Pope of Rome, with his cardinal, too, all wear the loose flowing robes…” emphasizes that even men in high positions copied women’s attire Imagery: “…loose flowing garments, we still admire the graceful folds, and consider our costume far more artistic than [those of men]” portray women as more elegant than the opposing gender.

18. Appeals and Devices Juxtaposition: compares the attire of men and women since men ironically imitate those they regard as “inferior” (our loose, flowing garments, we still admire the graceful folds, and consider our costume far more artistic than theirs the male attire is neither dignified nor imposing).

19. Purpose Stanton starts her critique of what men wear. She hints that women are superior to men. (in dress) She starts to set up for addressing the issue of equality.

20. Tone Tone #2: Slightly comical, but sarcasm becomes a little more pointed, as she begins to openly mock male attire (continues in 3 rd paragraph).

21. Audience Women attending the Seneca Falls Convention Uses the word “we” and “our”

22. Paragraph 3 No, we shall not molest you in your philosophical experiments with stocks, pants, high-heeled boots, and Russian belts. Yours be the glory to discover, by personal experience, how long the kneepan can resist the terrible strapping down which you impose, in how short time the well-developed muscles of the throat can be reduced to mere threads by the constant pressure of the stock, how high the heel of a boot must be to make a short man tall, and how tight the Russian belt may be drawn and yet have wind enough left to sustain life.

23. Paragraph 3 Paraphrase We won’t bother you while you experiment on your wardrobe. You’ll find out how constricting (tight) clothes are. You short guys will try on shoes to make you look tall and you wear specific items to make you look fit.

25. Subarguments

26. Rhetorical appeals Logos: Pathos:

27. Rhetorical devices Loaded language Listing Repetition & parallelism Irony/Sarcasm

28. Audience “…we shall not molest you in your philosophical experiments with stocks, pants, high-heeled boots, and Russian belts. Yours be the glory to discover…” Stanton/women speak to men.

29. Tone Mocking

30. Organizational Purpose This 3 rd paragraph is the conclusion of Stanton’s hook, which she started in the first paragraph. She has set up and engaged her audience so that they will want to hear more.

31. THE END