Cri cal Reading and Re ec ng Assignment: First and Second Wave Feminism

Instruc ons: Read the documents for this assignment. Write your answers to the following ques ons
right on this document, replacing the text I have below each ques on, but keeping the ques on itself.
Save the le as Feminism Jill Smith, with your name replacing Jill Smith’s. Turn it in via the assignment
tool in Canvas.

1. Who is the primary audience for each of the three documents? (Three one-sentence answers are
su cient)
The Declara on of Sen ments was wri en by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucre a Mo . They spoke
to a conference in Seneca Falls.
Susan B. Anthony Addresses Judge Ward Hunt in The United States of America vs. Susan B. Anthony
(June 19, 1873). She spoke directly to Judge Ward Hunt, while she was being prosecuted for
a emp ng to vote.
"The Right to One's Body" (1920) by Margaret Sanger. Margaret Sanger started a publica on, which
promoted the right to women’s birth control. Her audience was anyone interested in women’s bodily
rights.

2. For one of the documents, explain and illustrate how the nature of the primary audience shaped the
form and language the author(s) used? (One paragraph)
Susan B. Anthony addressed Judge Ward Hunt directly in retalia on to the nes she was given for
vo ng in the 1872 Presiden al Elec on. The se ng is in a courtroom, and immediately you get a
sense that Ms. Anthony is speaking to Judge Ward, as if he is a emp ng to discipline her on behalf of
all men. She is cu ng edge and emits stoicism. As the judge a empts to quiet her while she is voicing
her opposi on to the nes, she gains more and more momentum as if using his own power against
him, when all he can spu er is “the court can’t allow this…”. Susan B Anthony takes advantage of the
unfair and unjust posi on she is in, by disobeying the Judges orders to stay quiet, along with
promo ng women’s rights with a bright, and well spoken speech.

3. What is the thesis or main point in each of the three documents? (Three one-sentence answers are
su cient)
The Declara on of Sen ments thesis is Men Suppress Women Rights, and it is wrong.

Susan B. Anthony Addresses Judge Ward Hunt in The United States of America vs. Susan B. Anthony
(June 19, 1873). Susan B Anthony is being unjustly ned for vo ng in a presiden al elec on, and men
are the cause of the unjust.

"The Right to One's Body" (1920) by Margaret Sanger promoted the right to women’s birth control,
because women bear the massive responsibility of having “Children that are unwanted.”

4. What is the strongest evidence/reasoning used in the three documents? Why is it strong? (One
paragraph per document)
The Declara on of Sen ments points out so many faults as to why women rights are suppressed, it is
unfair to deem just one the strongest evidence/reasoning. One that stood out to me is the fact that
women and mens morals are di erent codes created by men. When you can physically see women
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 taking on children and families as single mothers, that would not meet up to “code” to standards of
society (that men falsely created) is horrible and manipula ve, especially when it is women that are
nurturing mothers.

When Susan B Anthony addresses Judge Ward, the strongest piece of reasoning was when she
announced the $10,000 debt that created by wri ng a paper that directly challenges a manmade
society. It is a lot of debt, and she did earn it over 4 years, but she also earned it while protes ng
women’s suppression. The fact that she wore the debt like a badge of honor, especially when the
Judge ned her $100 more, shows how a silly ne is not going to stop her or the movement. The ne
back res on the judge even more, when she doesn’t pay a single dime of it.

Margaret Sangers strongest reasoning in her document is when she refers to the irony of having
unrestricted choice of mates, yet s ll having the posi on of being “enslaved through her reproduc ve
powers.” It is the most serious and ma er of fact statement in the whole document, given the fact that
there are mul ple, yet equally important, things to consider when a woman is to have a child. Is the
father going to be dependable? Is he in the picture? She cannot walk away from a pregnancy, a man
can. She will be forced in adhering to a pregnancy, whether or not it is welcomed.

5. What struck you as par cularly powerful or illustra ve turns of phrase in all three documents? Why
were they powerful or illustra ve? (One paragraph per document)
The declara on of sen ments started singular, and more precise when showing how women rights
were being violated. From start to end the declara on it goes in and out of physical suppression, to
emo onal suppression, and at the end of the declara on it states how women are morally suppressed.
It isn’t even about women doing a “womanly thing” its about the fact that women cannot lead a life
that they want to live, while in the shadow of men, because of the demeaning atmosphere that was
created around how men should be, and how women should be.

As Susan B Anthony con nues to defy the judges breathless demands, she turns her statements from
acknowledging what she does not have the right to do, to demonstra ng a women’s compara ve
analysis to any terrible or good, or powerful man. She broadens her speech to a general audience not
only by singling out men of ill manner compared to any women, but also by comparing the male
lawyer who is strongly represen ng her to any women. When she deems all men, including the bad, as
above women, or not peer-like, she exposes the hypocrisy. Those men who are worse than these good
women have more rights.

Margaret Sangers talks about what an ideal society regarding pregnancies would include, and she
brings men along this ride with her. If a woman has a baby, because she does not have access to birth
control, both men and women will s ll feel the repercussions. She does acknowledge that as much as
the “good” men can try to emphasize, its s ll no match for being permanently burdened with the
op on of having no birth control.

6. Analyze the primary rhetorical appeal (Ethos, Logos, Pathos, or Kairos) of one of the documents.
Explain, and illustrate with quotes from the text. (One or two strong paragraphs)
Margaret Sangers u lized Pathos and Logos in order to emo onally connect to her audience, while
u lizing evidence of a woman’s rights to her body. “Look at it from any standpoint you will, suggest
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 any solu on you will, conven onal or unconven onal, sanc oned by law or in de ance of law, woman
is in the same posi on, fundamentally, un l she is able to determine for herself whether she will be a
mother and to x the number of her o spring.” She uses basic logic and evidence on an in mate level
to persuade her audience as if they are hearing a story about a singular woman, when she is in fact
insinua ng all women.

7. Re ect on the suite of documents for this assignment. That is, examine your own thinking as you
consider them all together. Did they challenge your assump ons or expand your understanding? Has
your thinking been stretched by encountering these texts? How do the texts connect to other things
you’ve read, to the broader world, or to your own situa on? How would you describe the documents’
impact in a way that would excite other people to experience them as well? How do they relate to our
contemporary situa on? Write about any or all of those things (or about other cogni ve reac ons you
had)—and for Goodness sake don’t be afraid to be vulnerable or to elaborate! (Three strong paragraphs)

I honestly had no idea that any of these wri ngs or situa ons existed. I had always heard the
name Susan B Anthony, but I did not know the other 3 women, who obviously had a very strong
connec on to women’s rights. As Roe v Wade is literally being challenged today, it is necessary to take
into considera on what women went through then, and what they go through now. I try so hard as a
man, to empathize, and feel for these women, but when they use words like “enslaved…” or “ denial
of sacred rights to life…” I just can’t really fathom what they feel.

Hopefully I can o er some of these readings to my friends and family who have mixed feelings
on abor on, because I really can’t o er any type of emo onal background or experience like these
women can. I emphasize abor on right now, because I do believe it is a fundamental right that is very
vulnerable, and is unfair to women that don’t have access to any sort of reproduc ve treatment.

These women are champions of human rights. And it gave me a lot more informa on than I
was an cipa ng. A lot of things ive been taught in this class I don’t really remember learning in k-12.
Now I will remember how hardcore Susan B Anthony was.



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