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Florence Kelley Rhetorical Analysis

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Improving undesirable working conditions for women and eliminating child labor was an impassioned issue for female reformers during the time of industrialization in the United States. Florence Kelley, a united states social worker and reformer, opposes the appalling work environment children as young as six would toil through and relays her speech to the National Woman Suffrage Association to propel her audience to demand changes that are necessary to stop countless hours of hard-work the youth struggle to complete. Kelley adopts a fervid tone in order to convince the audience that political action is needed to adjust the laws that allows child labor to continue in many states with her use of pathos and rhetorical questions meant to stir action …show more content…

Kelley questions if the enfranchisement of women would’ve led to the Georgia Legislature refusing “at every session for the last three years to stop the work in the mills of children under twelve years of age” (lines 56-58). This rhetorical question is aimed at the men who continuously vote to allow twelve-year old’s and under to work in mills which were known for its horrendous working conditions and lack of safety. Therefore, she presumes that mothers and teachers are the ones who would repeal the law in favor for their children; The men are not standing up for the rights of the youth. She proves her purpose by establishing that men should reflect on whether they had a role in allowing child labor to fester for years and taking advantage of people who cannot speak up for themselves. Kelley continues her questioning by asking if the New Jersey Legislature would’ve stopped the “shameful repeal bill enabling girls of fourteen years to work all night” if mothers had the right to vote (lines 59-61). The author theorizes from the trends shown in the Georgia and New Jersey legislature that suffrage for would cause a major reorder of legislations that would pass. Using diction choice of “shameful” emphasizes the guilt she wants men to discern from the multiple cases illustrating the growing injustices of child labor

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