Shirley Chislom Critical Anaylis Essay

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Alanna Foster Professor Stevenson English 131 08 November, 2010 Famous Speech that Helped Secure Women Rights Shirley Chisholm; May 21, 1969 In “Equal Rights for Women,” Shirley Chisholm addressed the United States House of Representatives, on May 21, 1969. Shirley Chisholm sought to secure equality for women by building a positive case for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Chisholm introduced, “a proposal that has been before every Congress for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law of the land -- the equal rights amendment” (1).This speech highlights Chisholm's skills as a policy debater as she carefully builds a positive case for change, refutes opposing arguments, and disputes how both women and men are harmed by laws promoting gender discrimination. In addressing the United States House of Representative, Chisholm attack the courts appeal to traditions by their faulty logic. Chisholm relied on her experience and talent to persuade a positive case for the (ERA). Chisholm stated, “Prejudice against blacks [was] becoming unacceptable although it will take years to eliminate it” (1). Chisholm felt, “Prejudice against women [was] still acceptable” (1). Chisholm had a strong (logical appeal) because through her personal experience, “[In] political world [she] [was] far oftener discriminated against because [she] [was] a woman than because [she] [was] black” (1). In stating the above, Chisholm hoped to prove that in today’s society inequality is still present, that prejudice due to race was more important to overcome than equal treatment to women in America. As if it was not hard enough to be a woman and black, women also dealt with what Chisholm mentioned Americas idea that, “The unspoken assumption [was] that women are different” (1). Chisholm felt that America’s idea of women was pure
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