The Destructive Male - Essay Example

The Destructive Male The destructive male was a speech delivered by Elizabeth Cady Stanton on July 19 1868 in Washington D.C. at the convention for women suffrage. The purpose of the speech was to show women and the world that women often are viewed as the weaker sex because of the traits that define them as women. She claims that governments ran by men are representative of social disorganization and civil religious. She discusses the clear meaning of manhood suffrage so as not to confuse the reader about what is happening.

Staunton supports this view by stating later, in the speech, that the reason for the government being so skewed and unfair is due to the fact that men are a half complete being, possessing only half ideas on every subject (Stanton 1). She says this because she wants everyone to think of a world in, which man and woman both decide on what is best for the country. She goes on to give a list of the things that women had to perform for to maintain a foothold in public society. She also utilizes the device exemplum to give examples of why are considered the greater sex, such as conquest and acquisition.

According to her, males have just succeeded in creating destruction and women need to be present in decision making in order to balance things out (Stanton 1). Even while not disqualifying men’s ability, she argues her facts to them look like bloodthirsty and hopeless animals that need women in order to balance out their forces of destruction. Her rhetorical devices like comparing women to mere romancers, in front of a women’s convention, put her point across perfectly. In the speech, Stanton utilized the Toulmin method of argument (Browne & Robert 213).

She makes her claim, which states her belief and the point that she wished to get across, that is that domination by men was unacceptable. She goes on to give reasons for this such as the fact that men only possessed half of the ideas needed to solve pertinent issues in society and government. She then gives her warrant, by stating that men are responsible for the social chaos and disorganization prevalent in the world. Work Cited Stanton E. “The Destructive Male.” 1868. Browne, Blaine T and Robert C Cottrell.

Lives and times : individuals and issues in American history. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010.