The Search for Self-Sovereignty: The Oratory of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

by Beth M. Waggenspack

Overview

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the founding philosophers of America's women's rights movement. The first woman's rights convention in the United States was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848; there she helped write and present the Declaration of Sentiments, a woman's bill of rights which articulated the inferior and unjust position of women in law, church, and society and called for redress. From this grew the organized demands by women in the United States for the ballot and other social change. In this fourth volume in Greenwood's series of book-length studies of great American orators, Waggenspack focuses on the rhetoric of an outstanding orator who has been hailed as one of the earliest and most outspoken advocates of women's rights issues. This needed addition to the history and criticism of American public address is based on Waggenspack's original research of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton papers and will facilitate not only the study of feminist rhetoric but will also meet the needs of those wishing to evaluate the effects of American public address and the impact of an advocate or speech upon history.

Part One, using a case study format, presents critical analyses of the orator and her speeches with the focus on rhetorical considerations of speaker and speech, purpose and effect. Part Two contains seven definitive speech texts of the commanding oratory analyzed in Part One. Of special note is the inclusion of Cady Stanton's famous The Solitude of Self, a speech appealing to the highest qualities and aspirations to people everywhere. A chronology details all of Cady Stanton's known addresses and the bibliography contains carefully annotated biographies on the orator as well as a detailed list of the contents of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers in the Library of Congress. The volume closes with notes and an index. This notable study will be a valuable research tool for students and scholars of rhetoric, public oratory, American history, and women's studies; it will also fascinate the general reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313259784
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/06/1989
Series:	Great American Orators , #4
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

BETH M. WAGGENSPACK is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She has written chapters in numerous books and jourbanal articles focusing on American public address, argumentation, and social movement rhetoric.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword
Foreword
Preface
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Introduction
From Defect of Sex to Self-Sovereignty
The Status of Women and Reform
The Struggle for Suffrage
Discontent and Reform
Woman's Self-Image
Collected Speeches
Address to the Joint Judiciary Committee, New York Legislature, 1854
Address to the New York State Legislature, 1860
"The Limitations of Sex," 1885
Speech on Marriage and Divorce, 1869,
"Co-Education," 1872
"Our Girls," 1872
"The Solitude of Self," 1892
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Waggenspack (communication studies, VPI) focuses on an orator who has been hailed as one of the earliest and most outspoken advocates of women's rights issues. Part one, using a case study format, presents critical analyses of the orator and her speeches with the focus on rhetorical considerations of speaker and speech, purpose and effect. Part two contains seven speech texts of the oratory analyzed in the first part. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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