florence kelley speech rhetorical analysis essay

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Rhetorical Analysis Speech

October 6, 2014 Jocelyn Marie Eget Leave a Comment

From 1848 to 1920, the Woman Suffrage Movement nearly took America hostage. During this time, women spoke boldly on topics with respect to their inability to exercise the right to vote. Women protested and petitioned to gain their rights. One woman in particular gave a speech that did not necessarily demand her right to vote. However, she explained to her audience what consequences would occur if women were not granted their rights. Florence Kelley, an American social and political reformer, avidly fought for both woman suffrage and child labor laws. On July 22, 1905, Kelley gave a speech before the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia which regarded both aspects. The speech facilitated a call for action to reform child labor law. Kelley explains how children nationwide under sixteen years of age work long hours during the night and how these work conditions are not appropriate for children. She defends women’s right to vote by stating that if women had the right to vote, there would be laws to prevent excessive child labor. Because women can’t vote, she asks women to help her convince men to help women gain their right to vote so that they may work together to end child labor.  It was not merely the position she stood which made her speech so inspirational. It was the rhetorical devices and strategies which Kelley employed that caught the attention of her audience. With the use of ethos, logos, pathos, and repetition, Kelley establishes an effective argument to advocate a reform of child labor laws.

To begin, Kelley displays ethos by providing factual information in her speech that contributes to her credibility.  The speech opens with, “We have, in this country, two million children under the age of sixteen years” (Kelley, 1905, para. 1). By using this statistic, Kelley alludes to the extent of the problem of child labor and how vast the number of children it affects is. Because an actual number is used instead of a more vague term, the audience may gather a sense of reliability and believe that she is knowledgeable about her topic. This becomes more evident as Kelley continues her speech and discusses child labor laws in particular states. She provides the examples of Alabama, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey. Kelley reveals that “In Alabama the law provides that child under sixteen years of age shall not work in a cotton mill at night longer than eight hours” (Kelley, 1905, para. 4). This contrasts with North and South Carolina and Georgia which “place no restriction upon the work of children at night” (Kelley, 1905, para. 4) and with New Jersey, where “boys and girls, after their 14 th birthday, enjoy the pitiful privilege of working all night long” (Kelley, 1905, para. 6) Kelley displays her knowledge of the laws and makes it evident that she has done her research and seems to be a credible source to the audience. Strengthening her credibility helps Kelley to convey her message by verifying that her argument is reinforced by evidence, facts, and knowledge.

In addition to ethos, Kelley’s speech also has evidence of logos. The rhetorical questions, “If the mothers and the teachers in Georgia could vote, would the Georgia Legislature have refused at every session for the last three years to stop the work in the mills of children under twelve years of age?” (Kelley, 1905, para. 8) and “Would the New Jersey Legislature have passed that shameful repeal bill enabling girls of fourteen years to work all night, if the mothers in New Jersey were enfranchised?” (Kelley, 1905, para. 9) imply the use of logic by the audience to generate an answer to her questions. They are worded more like a word problem in mathematics with an “if, then” concept which proposes that logic rather than opinion should be used to answer to these questions, similar to a mathematics problem. Kelley questions the logic of her audience with these questions. She uses the logic suggested by the questions to emphasize how giving women the right to vote can help end child labor. Another example of logos is displayed by the question “What can we do to free our consciences?” (Kelley, 1905, para. 11) Kelley answers this question with her own logic: “We can enlist the workingmen on behalf of our enfranchisement just in proportion as we strive with them to free the children” (Kelley, 1905, para. 11) Her logic is that in order to reach a common goal, ending child labor, they must reach a compromise by working together to grant women the right to vote. The solution sounds fairly simple by how Kelley frames it, which makes the audience see the logic in it. By creating a solution that seems possible and does not seem to have any negative consequences, the audience is attracted to what seems within reach.

Next, Kelley uses pathos to evoke the emotions of pity, sympathy, and guilt to persuade her audience. Extensive details, such as “several thousand little girls will be working in textile mills, all the night through, in the deafening noise of spindles and the looms spinning and weaving cotton and wool, silks and ribbons for us to buy” (Kelley, 1905, para. 3) illustrate the harsh conditions that the children work in. By painting this picture for her audience, Kelley clarifies how poorly the children are forced to live due to the lack of laws. Another example is her description of the little girl, who “on her thirteenth birthday, could start away from her home at half past five in the afternoon, carrying her pail of midnight luncheon” (Kelley, 1905, para. 7). With these details, Kelley implies the innocence of children and suggests that little girls should not be carrying their midnight luncheon because they must work through the night. The emphasis on the innocence of children portrays the pity and sympathy that the audience should feel. Kelley also goes into detail about what exactly the children do at work: “The children make our shoes in the shoe factories; they knit our stockings, our knitted underwear…They carry bundles of garments from the factories to the tenements, little beasts of burden, robbed of the school life that they may work for us” (Kelley, 1905, para. 9) Listing all the work that the children do for adults evokes a feeling of guilt that the audience shares. The guilt persuades the audience to make a change and rid themselves of the guilt they feel by allowing the children to work so harshly.

Finally, Kelley utilizes repetition as an element of pathos in order to underline the responsibility of humanity in the United States towards the issue of child labor laws. Throughout her speech, Kelley repeats the phrase, “While we sleep” (Kelley, 1905, para. 3). This adds to the emotion of guilt she wishes to impose upon her audience. The guilt is a result of the idea that while the children are working sleepless nights, the adults are able to at home with the rest of their families and sleeping soundly as though there is not a problem. However, Kelley implies that the adults should not be sleeping soundly while their children are working under such brutal conditions and that they need to wake up and face the issue of child labor. Next, Kelley emphasizes the word “we” through repetition: “We do not wish this. We prefer to have our work done by men and women. But we are almost powerless” (Kelley, 1905, para. 10). She also reiterates the word “our” when describing the work that children do in the factories. Kelley states, “The children make our shoes in the shoes factories; they knit our stockings, our knitted underwear in the knitting factories. They spin and weave out cotton underwear in the cotton mills. Children braid straw for our hats, they spin and weave the silk and velvet wherewith we trim our hats” (Kelley, 1905, para. 9). Through the repetition of “we” and “our”, Kelley insinuates that all that do not act against child labor, even though they do not promote it, are responsible for it. These words speak further than merely her audience of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. “We” and “our” refer to the greater humanity of America. This broadens her message to not only those who were there to listen to her speech. Her message is a call to action to all of America.

In conclusion, Florence Kelley presented a well-rounded argument to her audience, the National American Woman Suffrage Association and all other American men and women. She persuaded her audience that child labor at the time was poorly regulated and a reform in child labor laws was necessary. With this goal in mind, she also conveyed her message that granting women the right to vote would be a heavy influence on ending child labor. By using the appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as the use of repetition, Florence Kelley grabbed the hearts and attention of her audience and effectively communicated her message. Thankfully, her voice and many other Woman Suffrage activists’ voices were heard and there have been great changes in child labor laws and equality regarding the right to vote has been established.

Kelley, F. (1905, July 22). Speaks Out on Child Labor and Woman Suffrage. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/childlabor-womansuffrage/

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