The Solitude of Self by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

As president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked closely with other leaders to argue for women's rights. The speech, "Solitude of Self" was delivered before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington on January 18, 1982 along with other testimonies from Susan B. Anthony. It was originally written for the NAWSA convention as Stanton's farewell speech as she gave up her position as president, but she was forced to skip the convention to attend the unexpected, last minute hearings of the House to testify. It is believed that she still delivered the speech to the convention, only at a later time.

The speech is very appropriate for the House audience. Stanton begins by addressing the chairman and the gentlemen of the committee and states that since she "has been speaking before them for the last twenty years and has gone over all the arguments in favor of a sixteenth amendment, it is not necessary to repeat them again." This opening is direct and matter-of-fact and is a good technique for setting the tone of the speech. She is basically saying, "You already know what I'm here for; now let's get down to business." This tactic is very particular to the audience because had she been speaking to a regular public, it may have been necessary to go into the arguments the Association had thus far presented. In this case, the men had already heard them and doing so would have been superfluous. As for the members of the NAWSA, whom the speech was originally written to address for their convention, it is also very appropriate. For them, it again, does not go through all the arguments for women's' rights that they all know so wee, but instead simply describes what each woman deserves. It is persuasive in a subtle way, for it is not really intended to initiate one certain action, but it is more of a subtle persuasive tool to get the crowd motivated and dedicated to their beliefs and rights.