Analysis Of The Declaration Of Independance, Ain 't I A Woman, And Letters From Birmingham Jail

The fight against sexism is not a new fight. Women have been fighting for equal rights, as well as fighting for their lives, culture, and values to be just as important as men's. On August 18, 1920, women were granted the right to vote; but this was only the beginning. From then to now, the role of women in society has significantly changed due to women standing up for their rights at protests and rallies, as well as on social media. While “The Good Wife’s Guide” focused on the promotion of the traditional gender role of women and defined appropriate emotions for women, “The Revolt of ‘Mother,’” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, represents the start of the resistance of the traditional gender role of women that we see in society today.

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

Have you ever wondered about the The letter from the birmingham jail? It was important because it impact and caused a movement in the civil war. This essay is exactly about the Letter From The Birmingham jail and question you may ask is Why did he write the Birmingham letter and when did he write it and what was its purpose? Why is the letter so important? The final question is to who did he send the letter to? If you want to find out more about The Birmingham letter this is your paper.

Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. are two American men who were key leaders during very controversial periods in U.S. history, and they were instrumental in movements that forever changed American society. Although their generations, cultures, backgrounds, and motives were quite different, their cause was relatively the same. It was a cause that stood against injustice, oppression, and sought the freedom of all men. Their beliefs and struggles were evident in their writings. Two of the most famous writings in particular are "Declaration of Independence" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Both writings are very effective and successful in reaching out to their intended audience. However, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is more

Ain't I a Woman?" ,the name given to a speech, delivered extemporaneously, by Sojourner Truth, (1797–1883),she gave this speech to the Women’s Convention of 1851, she speaks on the inequalities that women and blacks faced at that time in America. she uses rhetorical strategies in order to achieve a successful and powerful delivery of her message.Sojourner uses personal experiences to get an emotional response from her audience, connecting with them as both women and mothers.Sojourner Truth uses Anaphora,Logos,Ethos and Rhetorical question in order to rebut opposing arguments for gender equality.

Given these points connecting similarities and differences between the Declaration of Independence and the Letter from Birmingham Jail, this brings me into my main point about how the roles reversed. There was a role reversal as time went on in American history. Originally, it was the white population of America that was being oppressed but 340 years later, African Americans were the ones being oppressed by the white people for reasons that were far worse than those of which white people were being oppressed for originally. African Americans had to face unjust laws depriving them of their inalienable rights, they faced violence (lynching, burning, shootings) and exclusion from public goods and services. Furthermore, we still see common issues

According to Sojourner Truth, women are just as equal to men and they should have just as many rights and privileges as any man. She draws a picture of her equality to men by professing her strength and hard-working efforts. Right away, Truth’s first goal is to establish a sense of identity and relationship with her audience. She describes events where she has faced discrimination as a black woman to trigger an emotional response. Truth juxtaposes the ideal way man says women should be treated with her own personal reality saying, “Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me the best place!” By pointing out the existence of hypocrisy, Truth invites the audience to realize possible injustices in their own lives, which should encourage them to want change and seek to take action against discriminators. Sojourner plays on the emotions of her audience to their attention and their willingness for change by shedding light on her own vulnerable experiences to which they can relate. With the successful use of rhetorical devices, persuasive techniques and Biblical allusions, Truth effectively persuades the audience that there is a difference in the treatment of women, especially in comparison to women of color.

"Letters from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King and "Keynote Address at the First Woman's Rights Convention" by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

Life, liberty, freedom, equality, opportunity, and so many other words have been used to describe the United States of America. Every American child grows up with the words “the land of the free” pounded into their heads, and every morning schools declare America as a place of “liberty and justice for all.” Such inflated rhetoric presents America with large shoes to fill. Thus, America’s shortcomings should not be surprising. Langston Hughes and Upton Sinclair were two 20th Century writers, who saw past this idealistic talk and saw the jungle that the United States really was. Langston Hughes wrote in his poem “Let America be America Again”, “Let America be America again. –Let it be the dream it used to be. –Let it be the pioneer on the plain –Seeking a home where himself is free. –(America was never America to me) (1).” He highlights not only the experience of African Americans during the 1930s, but identifies with other oppressed groups including immigrants writing, “I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—And finding only the same old stupid plan –Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” Likewise, Upton Sinclair conveyed his repulsion to immigrant oppression during the Industrial Revolution in his book The Jungle, emphasizing the gullibility behind trusting the grandiloquence of the American dream.

For centuries women had had to bow to men they were taught never to speak unless called upon or spoken to. That their sole purpose in life was to be a homemaker; a servant to the men in their lives fathers, brothers, sons. As time progressed women began to fight for their right to receive equal rights, education and vote. But that wasn’t enough in the year 2013 women still made eighty cents to every man’s dollar but that all changed one day. Women who were sick of being oppressed had risen up against the male chauvinism within society of the united states.The first measure was to take all men out of all positions of decision-making power immediately, and of any kind of social, professional position whatsoever. The men of society were

For more than a century, women from all over have deliberately confronted and engaged in numerous protests to destroy all restrictions, control and violations in regards to many prejudices made against their gender. Yet, it was not until the mid 1800’s that powerful women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott passionately fought and publically spoke for the rights that women deserved as American citizens. Essentially, the movement for women’s full entitlement reached out to an enormous audience with the Seneca Falls convention in New York and inspired the creation of a written stand on political requests by Stanton and other activists, named and remembered as The Declaration of Sentiments. At

Of all the issues that were in the middle of reformation mid 1800’s, antislavery, education, intemperance, prison reform, and world peace, women’s rights was the most radical idea proposed. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a rally held by Elizabeth Cady Stanton with the common goal to eventually achieve equal rights among all citizens. Frederick Douglass, who became an acclaimed activist in the African American Equal Rights movement, accompanied the movement. Moreover, The Declaration of Sentiments was a document that reflected the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, reiterating the sentiment from the Bible that “all men [and women] are created equal.” Concurrent to the publication of this document, for the first time, women insisted that they were men’s equals in every way. The Declaration of Sentiments was pivotal in Women’s history, although it was not given credit until the late 20th century. However, immediately after the Declaration of Sentiments was published, women and activist groups were inspired to take action towards rights for all underprivileged American citizens. The convention took place in a small town in upstate New York, which was home to four of the five people who organized the gathering. (DuBois, 1999, p. 45) This was the first time female equality was discussed in a public place. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was one of the most important events in women’s rights history.

In 1848 a group of women met at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York and began to formulate a demand for the enfranchisement of American women (Women’s Suffrage, 2011). Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, stating that “a man should not withhold a woman's rights, take her property or refuse to allow her to vote” (Kelly, 2011, para.3 ). The convention participants spent two days arguing and refining the content of the Declaration of Sentiments, then voted on its contents; the document received support from about one third of the delegates in attendance. The Seneca Falls Convention was not a resounding success, but it “represented an important first step in the evolving campaign for women’s rights” (Tindall & Shi, 2010, p.374, para.1).

Privilege equates to power over others, often leading the powerless to suffer from inequity. Feeling confined in their situations, both author Mary Wollstonecraft and abolitionist Sojourner Truth confront their perceptions of inequity through a critique of sexism towards women. Marry Wollstonecraft’s 1792 essay, “The Vindication of the Rights of Women”, focuses on equality between men and women; a defiant tone outlining society’s tendency to hinder its own advancement by limiting women to singular roles. In activist Sojourner Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman” from 1851, Truth mirrors Wollstonecraft’s assertions, candidly explicating opposition to the ways society has shaped its ideals concerning women. Despite the expanse of time between the

(Goldfield, 338) Since the cult of domesticity was making women inferior to men, women decided to do as the slaves did and fight for their own freedom. The women’s rights movement began in the mid-1800s. Female and male abolitionist found it necessary that women should be able to have the same rights as men. Just because biologically they are different, it does not mean they do not deserve the same rights. Women were denied the right to vote, property and a right to an education or job. (Goldfield, 338) At first the women’s movement was slow. Many women were afraid to speak out in fear of being shunned by their community. This was a brand new scary task that Women for the first time were going to deal with. A women speaking out against the norms of society was seen as a terrible thing to do. When you have many women speaking out for the same thing a change must be done. When the first national convention for women’s rights was called in Seneca Falls, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were able to successfully use the Declaration of Independence as a model for their own Declaration of Sentiments. (Goldfield, 339) In their Declaration they branded that “male patriarchy as the source of women’s oppression” (Goldfield, 339) Stanton and Mott called for full women’s rights and to become independent citizens. Although the fight for women’s rights was always an important issue, most abolitionists deemed it less important