Florence Kelley Puzzle Paragraph

On July 22, 1905 in Philadelphia, Florence Kelley stood before the convention of the NAWSA delivered a powerful speech against child labor and for women's suffrage. Her speech is an example of one of the finest  persuasive essays. She cleverly weaved the fight for women's suffrage into her argument, stating that enfranchising women will be the only way to stop the cruelties of child labor. Children and women are often mistreated because they are viewed as weak. Laws protecting women's rights and laws abolishing child labor are often connected; for those nations having confronted these issues, few have adopted one law without the other. Kelley's rhetoric is so effective because she uses this connection to further her point: a woman's right to vote is crucial to protecting children in the workplace.

Although child labor and women's suffrage are no longer issues in the United States, Kelley's speech is still relevant today. Americans may easily overlook the fact that the stuffed pink elephants they buy for their children could very likely have been made by a child in another country. Countless nations have yet to establish laws protecting children and women. For instance, in India where child labor still exists, there are high rates of rape and horrible treatment of women. So long this inequality and cruelty remain, there is still much to learn from Kelley's piece. It is important for women to feel empowered to take back what is rightfully theirs and their children's. They cannot be meek and hide at home, praying for some divine intervention whether it be Jesus or Allah, but instead they must continue to fight with the will to win.

Hopefully one day in the future, when this is far behind us everyone will look back at the times when women and children were mistreated and find it as unbelievable as tales that begin with "Once upon a time..." It is only then can Kelley's piece have its true happily ever after.