Florence Kelley Ap Language

During the time Florence Kelley was advocating for changes, child labor was a popular unrestricted practice. The kids were working making textiles and other items in horrible working conditions. Many states had children working more than 12 hours a day and night shifts while they were not allowed to go to school. Florence Kelley was a United States social worker and a reformer. She fought ferociously for improvements in child labor and conditions for working women. At this convention for the National American Woman Suffrage Association she wants to reach out the women focused on suffrage towards other issues. Kelley used rhetorical strategies to help convince her audience to help her fight against child labor. The use of repetition, imagery, and rhetorical question help get her point of eradicating child labor across to the audience.

Kelley uses appeals to logos throughout her speech in order to sway her audience. For example, in the first sentence of the speech, she states, “two million children under the age of sixteen years” are earning their living. The alarming statistics are a shock to the audience that appeals to their emotions. The sheer number of children having to work sets the audience up to realizing the importance in taking action against the issue. Furthermore, Kelley declares girls of age seven “may work eleven hours” throughout the night. The audience's heartstrings are pulled, as children of such

Throughout history, individuals have fought for more justifiable working conditions. Florence Kelley, a social worker and reformer, fought to gain more adequate working conditions for the children of the United States. At this time nearly twenty percent of American workers were under the age of sixteen. Kelley delivered a speech in Philadelphia on July 22, 1905, during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, that strived for more fair-minded hours, rather than the long, unhealthy, and tedious shifts thats children were put through overnight. Kelley utilizes both appeals to logic and appeals to emotion, in order to rally up her audience in joining her to fight for more rational, more healthy, and more just hours.

Having appealed to the women on a personal level, Kelley incorporates the brutal state laws to logically advance her credibility. She first presents that in North and South Carolina and Georgia they “place no restriction” on how long children “work at night.” Kelley reveals the unpleasant truth that some states allow kids to work nonstop so that troubled mothers will stand up and help fight to improve state legislation. She then goes on to recognize that New Jersey’s

In 1905, in the United States, some children as young as six years old are working in factories and women aren’t allowed to vote. Florence Kelley is a fiery and inspiring child labor activist and also a suffragette. On July 22, 1905, in Philadelphia, she gives a speech to the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to try to rally them to assist her in her main cause which is fixing the child labor system. In her speech where she doesn’t hold back, Kelley lets the audience know why the child labor system is atrocious and why they should get involved. She also tells them the steps that they should take to try to right these wrongs, in convincing their husbands to vote for child labor

The speaker begins her speech with introducing the topic of child labor by stating powerful facts that support her case and using poignant diction to create sympathy; these devices work together to bring attention to the problem of children being overworked from very young ages, and attempt to win the audiences allegiance to her cause. Kelley refers to a census regarding the different groups of people making up the “wage earning class,” and saying that “no contingent so doubles from census period to census period…as does the contingent of girls between twelve and twenty years of age.” The rate of young girls working, earning a living, increases faster than any other group of people. The reference to a census, tells the audience that, not only has the speaker done research on her topic using credible sources, it indicates she is serious about it. Utilizing the census’ data, the speaker does well. In addition to using fact, the speaker also uses diction to reveal that she would like to make a

Initially Kelley conveys her message about the corrupt child labor laws by criticizing the practices of the states in a way that incites change by using examples and rhetorical devices. She begins by providing specific evidence of child labor statistics to add to her credibility. Explaining that “two million children under the age of sixteen” are working just to survive, alludes to the

Since she was a woman during that time period, she didn't have a voice or the constitutional right to vote yet. So the only way she felt she could help the children was to speak to those who could help them: the men. An example of her talking to the men was, “If the mothers and the teachers in Georgia could vote, would the Georgia Legislature have refused at every session for the last three years to stop the work in the mills of children under twelve years of age?” and “Would the New Jersey Legislature have passed that shameful repeal bill enabling girls of fourteen years to work all night, if the mothers in New Jersey were enfranchised?” In these quotes she was saying that if women had a political voice, would the Georgia and the New Jersey Legislatures had refused or passed those bills? The answer would be no, because only the men could have done something about that. She also said, “We can enlist the Working Men on behalf of our enfranchisement just in proportion as we strive with them to free the children.” and “We should enlist the workingmen voters, with us, in this task of freeing the children from toil!” In these statements, she was targeting the women in the audience saying that they need to convince the men to help out the children because they had a voice and they didn't.

For social reform, the Women’s Trade Union League was on the foremost authority, organizing protests and working against prostitution, white slavery, and other social problems that many women faced (15). For political and labor reform, Frances Perkins was on the vanguard of political protests and building regulations. Not only did she get the attention of Tammany Hall, and helped push it to become more progressive, and pass the fifty-four hour law, which took 20 hours off a worker’s week, but she eventually became the first female cabinet member and pushed for Charles Murphy to endorse voting (218). After the Triangle Factory Fire, “she quickly mastered the details of the sprinkler systems, fireproof stairways, fire drills, and more. She knew, in an intellectual way, that New York Factories were extremely vulnerable” which was invaluable in pushing for more building regulations (195). As for economic opportunity, the overall strikes of the women who had been protesting eventually got the attention of the government, and a minimum wage was established in the early 1930’s. Clara Lemlich was one of the leaders of these strikes for pay raises and better factory conditions, and despite being beaten, she led many strikes and became one of the foremost figure in the labor reform movement. She was, “a new sort of

In the speech, Kelley introduces the issue in a credible manner, which allows the audience to support her argument. For example, the introductory of the various state policies lets the audience acknowledge her credibility by introducing these topics. This emphasizes ethos in her message of child labor prevention such as,” They vary from age six to seven years…in Georgia…eight, nine,ten…coal breakers of

Florence Kelley was a United States social worker and reformer who fought successfully for child labor laws and improved conditions for working women. Throughout her speech to the Philadelphia Convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, she stresses the importance of changing the working conditions that are in place for children. By using child labor as her baseline, Kelley is able to talk about her main point, which is her suggestion for women’s rights with the help of repetition, strong word choice, and opposition.

One of the most effective reform techniques is to “investigate, educate, legislate, enforce” (Fee/Brown, 2). This straightforward manner of rectification was summarized and utilized by Florence Kelley during the Progressive Era in the United States. During a period where women lacked suffrage, and most didn’t have steady jobs, Kelley was the head of the National Consumer’s League and had a resume that boasted affiliation with various other esteemed organizations (Verba, 1). She epitomized independence and confidence through both her civil activism and in her personal life. Florence Kelley’s resolve, willpower, and determination set a precedent that is still followed today- nearly 90 years after her death. She was truly a trailblazer of the

On July 22nd 1905, Florence Kelley-a social worker-was speaking at the National American Woman Suffrage Association in hopes of gaining support for restriction on child labor and better conditions for working women. In the angry and passionate speech, Florence Kelley utilizes rhetorical appeals, repetition, and rhetorical questions in order to assert the problems with child labor to the adults and officials of America.

Florence Kelley uses devices, such as appeal to emotion, and repetition while expressing her views to the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Kelley’s use of rhetorical devices conveys her message about child labor to her audience.

She sarcastically claims throughout her essay that some states do better than others in the area of child labor. However the reader knows that Kelly believes all forms of child labor are evil and must be undone. Although she calls them more enlightened states, she considers all of them to be foolish. As the speech continues, Kelly asks the audience rhetorical questions dealing with women's rights to vote as she asks “If the mothers and the teachers in Georgia could vote, would the Georgia Legislature have refused...to stop the work in the mills of children under twelve years of age”. and “Would the New Jersey Legislature have passed that shameful repeal bill enabling girls of fourteen years to work all night“ These questions cause the reader to imagine what could be, rather than what is. The most important question that is asked of the reader is “what can we do to free our consciences”. Not only does this question appeal to the readers emotions, it also motivates the reader to think of what can be done to help these children out of their unfortunate