Intertwining discourse: an examination of suffrage and antisuffrage rhetoric

Throughout the progression of history and human life, individuals have used rhetoric to convey emotions, dictate meaning, persuade others, and better lives, empowering ideas, individuals, communities, nations, and the entire world. In stark contrast, women have consistently experienced extreme oppression that has hindered their right to speak. The expansion and reconstruction of the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century parallels the fact that “women were reconstructing their lives in these years as well” (DuBois and Dumenil 325). These years created an era for women defined by female assertion, unparalleled accomplishment, and an untouched discourse that segued into the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 that allowed women voting rights. Two distinct yet oddly similar discourses arose during this time: one suffrage and one antisuffrage. Even though the 19th century is an era defined by innovation, the proliferation of suffrage literature during the Industrial Era leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment brought about a flood of antisuffrage rhetoric. The aim of this paper is to dissect, analyze, and contrast suffrage rhetoric with consequential and antisuffrage rhetoric and discourse that arose during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries