Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucrecia Mott in the Declaration of Sentiments make a direct case for extending rights to women by alluding to an important written work in American history, the US Declaration of Independence.  The fact that the words used are taken right out from the original makes it easier to understand and relate to their grievances.  At the sound of the familiar introduction, the audience will easily recall the fight for independence from British rule.  Once the audience hears the first alterations, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal;…” the piece takes on a new light.  Now, men must consider if these rights also apply to women.  As the declaration goes on, the men are established as the oppressors.  This strikes a deep chord, considering how recently the United States has gained its sovereignty – plus no one wants to be compared to a tyrant.  The writers deliberately put men on the spot and make them consider whether they have in fact committed the injuries laid out.  As much as the declaration is used to protest fair treatment, Stanton and Mott also want men to be introspective and understand these wrongdoings.

Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” address makes use of an array of stylistic and rhetorical techniques.  In the video rendition, James Earl Jones fires four consecutive rhetorical questions.  Two impactful ones include“ What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?”  The blatant answers to the questions ‘nothing‘ and a resounding ‘no’, is intended to make the audience uncomfortable at the state of affairs and to raise urgency for the abolitionist movement.  The fact that Douglass also alludes to the Declaration of Independence, also brings to the surface that abolishing slavery doesn’t cut it – demanding the same rights be granted to free men and women.  Near the end, Douglass also uses hyperbole “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake” to stress that “scorching irony” and not “convincing argument” is needed to rouse the nation into action.

Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is unique in that it offers a detailed account of the atrocities faced as a slave woman.  Jacobs’ first person narrative does a spectacular job of appealing to abolitionist women since her experiences in family, motherhood, and power struggle between Dr. Flint are all relatable.  Although she makes no allusions to the Declaration of Independence, Jacobs addresses issues occurring during her lifetime including figures like Nat Turner and the Fugitive Slave Law.  By doing so, she makes the more “fictional” aspects of her life more realistic.  In chapter 29, Jacobs seems to discredit her own work when she writes “I hardly expect that the reader will credit me…”(122) which I feel does a slight disservice even though she follows up with “But it is a fact”.  She seems to do this again in page 91 “Some will call it a dream…” By taking away these superstitious scenes and firmly asserting these events readers of her time may have found it less fictional.