Rhetoric Society Quarterly Mar 2003

Appealing to the “intelligent worker”: Rhetorical reconstitution and the influence of firsthand experience in the rhetoric of Leonora O'Reilly

Mary E. Triece University of Akron

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the rhetoric of labor activist Leonora O'Reilly for the ways she reconstituted her audience through a second persona of “intelligent workers.”; By balancing concrete contextualization with abstract visions of a future democracy, O'Reilly established identification with her audience of young, uneducated, poor women while simultaneously encouraging them to become a group of outspoken agents capable of transforming their oppressive circumstances. This article also explores the ways firsthand experiences influenced the process of reconstitution. To recognize the influences of extra‐verbal phenomena does not downplay rhetoric's role in the creation of an audience but rather calls attention to the dialectical relationship between language and an extra‐discursive reality and encourages scholars to examine a number of factors which can precipitate, impede, or otherwise shape the process of reconstitution.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2003-03-01
DOI
10.1080/02773940309391251
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Burt (2026)
    “I am a fool, or at least I have been fooled”: Invitational Shame and the Rheto…
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Kessler (2016)
    Wearing an Ostomy Pouch and Becoming an Ostomate: A Kairological Approach to We…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly

References (47) · 1 in this index

  1. Baker Paula (1994)
    Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History
  2. 10.1080/00335637009382992
     ↗
  3. Buhle Mari Jo (1981)
    Women and American Socialism, 1870–1920
  4. 10.1080/00335637309383155
     ↗
  5. Campbell Karlyn Kohrs (1978)
    Form and Genre: Shaping Rhetorical Action
Show all 47 →
  1. 10.1080/00335638709383799
     ↗
  2. Cott Nancy F. (1987)
    The Grounding of Modern Feminism
  3. 10.2307/3177768
     ↗
  4. Eisenstein Sarah (1983)
    Give Us Bread But Give Us Roses: Working Women's Consciousness in the United States, 1890…
  5. Engels Frederick (1978)
    The Marx‐Engels Reader
  6. Foner Philip S. (1979)
    Women and the American Labor Movement: From Colonial Times To the Eve of World War I
  7. Hammerback John C. (1994)
    10.1080/10417949409372937
    Southern Communication Journal  ↗
  8. 10.2307/3518960
     ↗
  9. 10.1080/03637759809376441
     ↗
  10. 10.2307/3518958
     ↗
  11. 10.1080/03637759209376247
     ↗
  12. Kraditor Aileen S. (1965)
    The Ideas of the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1890–1920
  13. Matthaei Julie A. (1982)
    An Economic History of Women in America: Women's Work, the Sexual Division of Labor, and …
  14. 10.1080/01463379409369926
     ↗
  15. Mattingly (2002)
    Telling evidence: Rethinking what counts in rhetoric
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  16. 10.1080/00335637509383289
     ↗
  17. Newman Pauline (1911)
    The Progressive Woman
    National Women's Trade Union League Papers
  18. _____ (1901)
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  19. _____ (1911)
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  20. _____ (1911)
    The American Suffragette
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  21. _____. 1911. “Mexican Meeting”. 1911. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. Leonora O…
  22. _____ (1911)
    The Woman Voter
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  23. _____ (1912)
    “Murder is Murder”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  24. _____ (1913)
    “What the State Owes Its Women”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  25. _____ (1914)
    “Wage Earners and the Ballot”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  26. _____ (1915)
    Life and Labor
  27. _____ (1917)
    “Why an Industrial Section For Votes For Women”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  28. _____
    “Coercion of Trade Unions”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  29. _____
    “Improved Condition of Working Women”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  30. _____
    “Labor Movement and the Ballot”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  31. _____
    “Loyalty Among Working Women”
    Leonora O'Reilly Papers
  32. _____
    “Sweating System”
    Leonora O’ Reilly Papers
  33. Payne, Elizabeth Anne. 1984.Reform, Labor, and Feminism: Margaret Dreier Robins and the Women's Trade Union C…
  34. (1908)
    “Report of Interstate Conference of the National Women's
    Trade Union League. National Women's Trade Union League Papers
  35. 10.1080/00335638809383836
     ↗
  36. Steghagen Emma (1913)
    Life and Labor
  37. Tax Meredith (1980)
    The Rising of the Women: Feminist Solidarity and Class Conflict, 1880–1917
  38. Triece Mary E. (2001)
    Protest and Popular Culture: Women in the U.S. Labor Movement, 1884–1917
  39. Walton Dorothy (1919)
    Life and Labor
  40. 10.2307/2711179
     ↗
  41. Williams Raymond (1977)
    Marxism and Literature
  42. 10.1080/00335639509384108
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 7 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    The rhetorical dimension of the justification for the absence of direct military support for Ukraine in Joe Biden’s statements ↗
    Marta Kobylska
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism editorial matter
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    Canon to Code: Rhetorical Rulemaking for Generative AI Content Audits and Governance ↗
    Miriam F. Williams
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism assessment technical communication artificial intelligence
  3. Computers and Composition Mar 2026
    Wicked modes in UX: Pedagogical considerations for data détournement ↗
    Morgan Banville; Leah Heilig; Madison Jones
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy multimodality artificial intelligence
  4. Computers and Composition Mar 2026
    Shifting rhetorical agency in multimodal UX composition with AI: Sharing rhetorical authority with technologies ↗
    Nupoor Ranade; Daniel L. Hocutt
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy technical communication multimodality
  5. Poroi Feb 2026
    Using Stasis Theory as a Heuristic for Examining Epistemological Dilemmas in a Post-Truth Landscape ↗
    Bruce Bowles
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument