Great American Orators - Böcker

This reference is the only book-length work to analyze all of the major speeches of one of the most significant politicians of the first part of the twentieth century, Robert La Follette, Sr. His speeches offer historic snapshots into the Progressive era and of the thinking of an outstanding governor of Wisconsin, U.S. senator, and social agitator. This rhetorical biography analyzes key speeches and provides texts demonstrating how Senator La Follette used melodramatic scenarios to enlist citizens in his reform crusade against the gravest danger that he saw in this country. This reference also provides texts of his most important speeches, a chronology of his major orations, and a lengthy bibliography. This unique volume is designed for students and specialists in political communication, rhetorical criticism, and American studies.This systematical analysis of Senator La Follette's public speeches is a short and highly readable history of the Progressive era, World War I and its aftermath, and the early 1920s from the perspective of a leading political figure of the times. The analysis of La Follette's rhetorical strategy illuminates his use of confrontational tactics, such as the filibuster in Congress to educate the voter and to plead for reforms that he considered essential. This reference provides the texts of five seminal orations and the most complete bibliography of speeches available to date.

In this third volume of Greenwood's Great American Orators series, Logue delineates the oratory career of Eugene Talmadge whose public speaking illustrates the use--and some would say the abuse--of a most necessary democratic institution: free speech in the political arena. Logue notes in Talmadge's speeches the seeds of today's public discourse, preoccupied as it often is with distorting issues and conduct. Talmadge based his political rise in Georgia on appeals to the experiences, values, and prejudices of his listeners; perceptions that were geographic, social, and racial. For Talmadge, campaign issues were ultimately less important than his colorful persona and seductive public oratory--a brand of politics that came to be known as Talmadgeism. This volume represents a landmark study in the genre of rhetoric by which citizens and issues are exploited primarily for personal political goals.In Part I, Logue presents critical analyses of Talmadge's political and persuasive strategies and performances, plus an assessment of people's responses to them. Part II contains authoritative speech texts representative of Talmadge's campaign oratory and post-election rhetoric defending his policies and causes. A definitive bibliography contains important primary and secondary materials that relate to both the man and his works. The chronology of speeches includes places, dates, and lists of most of the orator's known speeches and addresses. Students and scholars of the history and criticism of American public address as well as students of the American democratic process and southern politics will find Eugene Talmadge: Rhetoric and Response an important addition to both their libraries and their thinking on this vital subject.

Like no other orator in American history, Daniel Webster dominated the Federal courts, the Congress, and the public speaking circuit. In this book, Smith offers a close study of the rhetorical techniques and powers of persuasion that gave Webster a uniquely influential voice in the political, legal, and social affairs of the young republic. The volume includes the edited texts of six speeches that illustrate the range of Webster's achievements, together with a chronology of his speeches and an annotated bibliography.In his introduction, Smith examines Webster's early training and accomplishments in the field of oratory and discusses the Aristotelean principles upon which the present analysis of Webster's work is based. Smith begins with Webster's forensic speeches before the Supreme Court and in the famous Knapp-White murder trial. He next considers Webster's gift for ceremonial speaking, by analyzing examples of his eulogies, dedication addresses, and other commemorative speeches. Two chapters focus on his deliberative speech-making, with special emphasis on analysis of the audience Webster spoke to, the Webster-Hayne debate, and Webster's speeches endorsing the Compromise of 1850. Among the edited works presented are Webster's presentations in McCulloch v. Maryland, a milestone in American constitutional precedent; in the Knapp-White murder case; his Eulogy to Adams and Jefferson; Webster's second reply to Hayne; and his Seventh of March Address. The author stresses that Webster's importance goes beyond his considerable impact on constitutional thought and the political life of the nation. His speeches are unequaled as models of effective and literate public address, and his arguments, values, style, and use of evidence have much to tell us about American consciousness during the antebellum era. Written by a noted speechwriter and scholar specializing in rhetoric and First Amendment issues, this book is an appropriate choice for speech communication classes or studies in speech communication, American public address, and rhetorical criticism, as well as antebellum U.S. history classes.

William Jennings Bryan is probably best remembered today for two rhetorical transactions: his The Cross of Gold acceptance speech, delivered at the 1896 Democratic national convention in Chicago, and his exchanges with Clarence Darrow in the 1925 Scopes Trial in Tennessee. But, as Donald Springen illustrates in this volume, Bryan's speaking brilliance went far beyond these two noted orations, flavoring his own two presidential campaigns, his tenure as Secretary of State, and the second campaign of Woodrow Wilson. This work examines the oratory skills of William Jennings Bryan, tracing and critically analyzing his development as a speaker, and providing the texts of important addresses that spanned much of his career.The first section offers a narrative and critical history of Bryan's oratory. Separate chapters chart his background and development up to the 1896 Cross of Gold address, and the speechmaking that revolved around his presidential campaigns in 1900 and 1908. His years as Wilson's Secretary of State are carefully analyzed; in particular the strong stand he took against entering World War I. A chapter on reforms, reactionaries, and the Ku Klux Klan displays Bryan's dualistic way of thinking, while his speaking on the Chautauqua circuit shows him to be a true articulator of small-town American thinking. A final chapter on the Scopes Trial analyzes his rhetorical battle with Darrow, and Bryan's mistake in allowing himself to be cross-examined. Section two offers the texts of a number of Bryan's significant speeches, including The Cross of Gold, Lincoln as an Orator, and Democracy's Deeds and Duty. A chronology of speeches and a selected bibliography conclude the work. This study will be a useful tool for students of history, political science, and political communications, as well as anyone interested in effective and persuasive speaking. College, university, and public libraries will also consider it a valuable addition to their collections.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the founding philosophers of America's women's rights movement. The first woman's rights convention in the United States was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848; there she helped write and present the Declaration of Sentiments, a woman's bill of rights which articulated the inferior and unjust position of women in law, church, and society and called for redress. From this grew the organized demands by women in the United States for the ballot and other social change. In this fourth volume in Greenwood's series of book-length studies of great American orators, Waggenspack focuses on the rhetoric of an outstanding orator who has been hailed as one of the earliest and most outspoken advocates of women's rights issues. This needed addition to the history and criticism of American public address is based on Waggenspack's original research of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton papers and will facilitate not only the study of feminist rhetoric but will also meet the needs of those wishing to evaluate the effects of American public address and the impact of an advocate or speech upon history.Part One, using a case study format, presents critical analyses of the orator and her speeches with the focus on rhetorical considerations of speaker and speech, purpose and effect. Part Two contains seven definitive speech texts of the commanding oratory analyzed in Part One. Of special note is the inclusion of Cady Stanton's famous The Solitude of Self, a speech appealing to the highest qualities and aspirations to people everywhere. A chronology details all of Cady Stanton's known addresses and the bibliography contains carefully annotated biographies on the orator as well as a detailed list of the contents of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers in the Library of Congress. The volume closes with notes and an index. This notable study will be a valuable research tool for students and scholars of rhetoric, public oratory, American history, and women's studies; it will also fascinate the general reader.

He reviled the rich for their cupidity and they found his rhetoric repulsive. Plebians believed him their champion and patricians knew he was their bete noire, remarks Halford Ryan in his eloquent foreword to this definitive survey of Clarence Darrow's development as orator and unique American myth. As a writer, lecturer, debater, and trial lawyer Darrow spoke for the have-nots and cultivated an image of mythic proportions as the underdog's advocate. Many of the more than 2,000 trials in which he was active reflected the major social and philosophical issues of the last quarter of the nineteenth and first third of the twentieth centuries in America. Read today, Darrow's speeches still ring true both as political statements and as models of persuasive pleading and pathos--reason enough to study the work of this uncommon advocate who stood perpetually opposed to the great and powerful of the earth. Richard J. Jensen has written a clearsighted volume that documents how Darrow created and then enlarged his personal myth through speeches, writings, and actions. Each chapter focuses on particular segments of that creation. Half of the book consists of authoritative texts of several of Darrow's most influential and rhetorically brilliant speeches, and a speech chronology simplifies the work of researchers.The study opens with a brief biography, an overview of Darrow's rhetoric, along with the forces that affected it, and some initial comments on the elements that make up the myth. The next chapter, Schoolmaster of the Courtroom, chronicles the origins of Darrow's image as a defender of the downtrodden and his early trials in defense of labor unions and their leaders. What is considered to be one of the most famous speeches in American legal history, that given by Darrow at the conclusion of the 1924 Leopold and Loeb trial, is the focus of Chapter Three. Chapter Four centers on the Scopes Trial, perhaps the most famous trial in recent American history, during which the dramatic confrontation with William Jennings Bryan occurred. The penultimate chapter explains the arguments Darrow used to defend the poor, radicals, Blacks, and other less fortunate members of society. Finally, Darrow's rhetoric as a writer and as an active speaker and debater on the lecture circuit is examined. Part II contains the authoritative texts of seven speeches including those given during the Leopold and Loeb Trial and the Scopes Trial, among others. The Chronology of Speeches, Bibliography, and Index close the volume. The speeches along with Jensen's intelligent, readable analysis and criticism will be an important resource for those teaching and studying Legal Rhetoric and the History of Public Address.

This reference combines a critical analysis of Ronald Reagan's style as a public speaker with a set of selected speeches and an extensive bibliography. Kurt Ritter and David Henry cover his oratory from his days in the motion picture industry and as a political candidate to his years as Governor of California and as President of the United States. This analysis of his use of mass media as a pulpit and his command of the TV medium is intended for students, teachers, and professionals in communications and in government.The volume defines Ronald Reagan's role as a political pastor, his emphasis on heroes, and his appeals to values of freedom and promise. Selected speeches illustrate points made in the analysis. A chronology of his major speeches is given, along with an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources. A full index is also provided. This book will be of great interest to students of oratory, speech communication specialists, political scientists, and others needing an overview and texts of President Reagan's speeches.

This first book-length assessment of Ike's consummate skills as a communicator shows how, contrary to popular belief, he used language effectively as a weapon to achieve well-conceived strategic ends during the Cold War. Medhurst demonstrates how Eisenhower chose his audiences and times deliberately. This reference is an invaluable text and resource for students, scholars, and professionals in rhetorical studies, mass communications, public opinion, presidential studies, and Cold War history.The critical analysis shows that, despite caricatures of Eisenhower as fuzzy, muddle-headed, and obscure in his public speeches, he pondered over just the right words and employed half-truths, was ambiguous and indirect in a tactical manner. He knew exactly what he was doing and why. Texts of speeches exemplify how he served as a strategic communicator. A selected chronology points to his most important speeches. The bibliography is the most comprehensive to date on Eisenhower as a public speaker. The study is based on extensive use of primary research materials from the Eisenhower Library.

If Edward Everett is remembered at all today, it is as the orator who gave the other speech at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863. Ironically, Everett's oration, which was given wide coverage in contemporary newspapers, was recognized as both epideictic and argumentative. Everett defended the Union cause, whereas Lincoln's speech was strictly ceremonial. A second irony that attends Everett's oratorical career is that his countrymen believed him to be one of the great orators of the time, the undisputed master of ceremonial address. In this first new study of Edward Everett's oratory, author Ronald Reid addresses the historical and oratorical paradoxes that have influenced perceptions of Everett's career. Reid reconstitutes the role of epideictic rhetoric in the United States from the end of the Revolutionary War to the eve of the Civil War and reinstates Everett in the pantheon of great American orators. He demonstrates why Everett fell into virtual obscurity and treats the reader to a penetrating analysis of the role of public persuasion in the United States during a critical period in its history. In Edward Everett: Unionist Orator Reid effectively restores Everett to his rightful rostrum in the unfolding national drama from the 1820s to the 1860s, providing a sweeping story of America's golden age of oratory in the process.The book opens with a discussion of the influence of Everett's eighteenth-century heritage on his desire to save the Union at all costs. The author shows how the seeds of Everett's Unionism were starting to sprout in his literary and theological speeches and writings, and how he developed the rhetorical methods that he would use throughout his career. Next, Reid deals with Everett's oratory during his years of service, first as a congressman and then as governor of Massachusetts. Here he discusses Everett's increasing concern about the divisiveness of the partisan and sectional causes he espoused. Chapters three and four deal with Everett's modification of his earlier Unionist strategies in an effort to deal with increasing sectionalism and preserve the United States. In conclusion, Reid reviews Everett's oratory, speculating about the role of epideictic oratory in general in maintaining, or failing to maintain, social unity. Sample speeches complete the work, which include a partial text of one of Everett's congressional speeches, a 4th of July oration, his Character of Washington, and a partial text of Everett's Gettysburg address.

Although much has been written about Abraham Lincoln, there has been little rhetorical analysis of how this public man communicated with his listeners. Yet by studying his rhetoric closely, we can gain real insights into Lincoln as an orator, debater, jester, lawyer, statesman, leader, and president. This critical appraisal of his public speaking is linked to transcripts of some major speeches and to a chronology, bibliography, and an index. This useful one-volume reference is intended for students, scholars, and experts in communications and rhetoric, political science, and American studies and history.Lois J. Einhorn presents a rhetorical analysis of Abraham Lincoln's speaking, defining his view toward public speaking, characteristics of his rhetoric, his use of humor, and the development of his various addresses while president. Texts of nine selected speeches are printed exactly. A short chronology of speeches, a selected bibliography of Lincoln as a speaker, and a general index complete this important new reference work.

Best known for his Liberty or Death address, the oratorical essence of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry, Virginia patriot, statesman, and foremost orator of the Revolutionary period, is scrutinized in this eighth volume in the Greenwood Press Great American Orators series. Taken as a whole the volumes chronicle the role of public discourse in the United States and fill the void that has existed in American public address. In Patrick Henry, The Orator, David A. McCants develops fresh perspectives on an illustrious orator who excelled in two of the classical genres of rhetoric--the forensic and the deliberative. McCants gives a creative and compelling interpretation of the rhetorical efficacy of Henry's Liberty or Death speech, making a strong prima facie case for his evangelical explication. Rhetorical topics such as delivery, modes of proof, style, organization, effect, and more are examined within the context of the historical exigencies that motivated Henry and shaped his responses. The culture and politics of eighteenth-century Virginia as well as biographical factors that shaped Henry's development are explored in depth. Also included are six important speech texts with critical materials that provide students and scholars of the history and criticism of American public address a more comprehensive basis for understanding Henry's rhetorical reputation.Patrick Henry's development as a popular orator is traced in Part I, which presents critical analyses of the orator and his speeches during his Protest and National periods and in legal venues. In these chapters McCants focuses on the rhetorical considerations of speaker and speech, purpose and effect. Part II contains texts of the important addresses discussed in the preceding critical analyses. These collected speeches and speech reports include The Parsons' Cause Case, the conclusion of the Caesar-Brutus speech in the Stamp Act Debate of May 1765, the Liberty or Death speech, two speeches from the Ratifying Convention Debate, and Patrick Henry's defense in the British Debts Case. A chronology of major speeches lists all of Henry's known addresses as well as the places and dates of the speeches and attests to the scope of rhetoric in the United States. The bibliography contains carefully described historical collections and gathers together primary and secondary sources that bear on the speaker and the oratory. An index closes the volume. Students and scholars of rhetoric, public oratory, and American history will find this notable study an invaluable research tool.

This critical analysis identifies the different rhetorical strategies and techniques that Emerson used first as a traditional New England preacher and then as he became a widely renowned public lecturer. Ten texts illustrating his different kinds of speeches on a wide array of subjects, such as prayer, manners, eloquence, the American scholar, the genuine man, and the fugitive slave law, accompany the analysis. A speech chronology and bibliography pointing to important primary and secondary materials further enrich this Great American Orators reference tool for students, scholars, and professionals in rhetoric, history, and American studies.

With the publication of this book, the Reverend Anna Howard Shaw assumes her rightful place in the pantheon of great American orators. Beginning with a brief introduction and a biographical sketch, the book traces Shaw's career and work as a public lecturer. Because of its significance in her later life, Shaw's training and brief tenure as a pastor and the sermons she delivered at suffrage meetings are also considered. The impact of her work as a paid lecturer for temperance and other causes--which led directly to her commitment to work full time for suffrage--her suffrage campaigns, and her work with Susan B. Anthony as a public advocate for suffrage are also scrutinized. Her speeches and appearances before legislative committees are an integral part of the analysis of her role as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Finally, Shaw's public speaking efforts after she resigned as president, including her work for the war effort and the League of Nations, are also analyzed. The second half of the volume includes the full text of speeches referenced.A collaborative effort, this book is the product of two distinguished scholars in communication. Authors Wil Linkugel and Martha Solomon bring to their analysis of Shaw's oratory a consistency of style and a concentration of substance that belies its joint authorship. Combining sensitivity to the moral, political, and sexist exigencies that Shaw faced with a close criticism of the reverend's civil rhetoric, they detail why Shaw was esteemed by her countrymen. The authors' efforts are a significant addition to the very limited material available on important women orators and will be appreciated by scholars of rhetoric and communication, women's history, and American history.

For approximately four decades, from shortly before the Civil War until his death in 1887, the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher dominated the pulpit and the public platform. Halford Ryan argues that although the ministry was Beecher's career, public speaking was his calling. Combining important orations with a critical analysis of Beecher's rhetoric, this book examines all facets of the Reverend's speaking and preaching. Particularly, it demonstrates that Beecher was unusually skilled in the art of refutative rhetoric, that is, he often paid more attention to rebutting the claims of his opponents than he did to building his own arguments.Of special note is the fact that Ryan's analysis is grounded in original research conducted in the Beecher Family Papers. These primary sources, described fully in the endmatter, are the core materials for the critical chapters, the chronology of speeches and sermons, and the bibliography. Ryan's thesis that Beecher was aware of the importance of delivering his speeches and paid special attention to the presentation of his orations is supported by these resources. The book also contains a bibliography of works by and about Henry Ward Beecher, texts of his important speeches and sermons, and a Chronology of Sermons and Speeches that is keyed to Beecher's various publications. This study provides a penetrating analysis of Beecher's impact on issues of sacred and secular interest during a critical period in American history. It should be read by both historians and those interested in rhetoric and communications.

Friedenberg brings to this study of Theodore Roosevelt a thorough grounding in the criticism of American public address. Basing his findings on his own detailed reading of Roosevelt's speeches and supplementing it with his own research in the primary collections of Roosevelt's manuscripts, Robert V. Friedenberg reveals the depth of Roosevelt's fascinating rhetorical career. Friedenberg's astute analysis of Roosevelt's use of classic rhetorical method shows how dependent the president was on the style of the classical masters as well as American predecessors such as Washington and Lincoln.This book demonstrates and analyzes the persuasive and expressive public speaking of the first great orator of this century, Theodore Roosevelt. Following a foreword by Halford R. Ryan and a preface by Friedenberg, the book provides critical analysis of Roosevelt's rhetoric of militant decency. After an overview, Friedenberg applies his analysis, which is followed by the application of militant decency rhetoric to foreign policy, responsible citizenship, and progressive reform. A series of Roosevelt's collected speeches forms the second part of the volume and provides concrete examples of Roosevelt's rhetorical style. A speech chronology and a bibliography close the work. As we Americans look to the twenty-first century, we might do well to look for guidance and inspiration in the writings and speeches of the man who led us into the twentieth century, Theodore Roosevelt.

How did Mark Twain develop his remarkable oral style of writing which was so carefully crafted? And what can we learn about nineteenth-century America from the public speeches of this humorist and teacher who charmed his country and exported his notions of Americanism around the world? This is the very first book-length critical analysis to deal exclusively with Twain's oratory. Another reference volume in the Great American Orators Series, it is designed for students, teachers, and professionals in the fields of speech communication and American studies.The volume, bringing Mark Twain again to the center stage, opens with an assessment of Twain as a great American orator and then appraises his rhetoric, lectures, occasional speeches, and summarizes his impact on his listeners. Professor Vallin shows how he used humor, varying styles of satire to attack Victorian hegemony and to exalt the common man, and how he emerged as the Representative American. He used vernacular expressions to bridge different sections of the country and spoke hundreds of times to thousands of listeners on a wide variety of topics, giving both simple talks and well-planned addresses. Sixteen selected speeches exemplify his eloquent and varied styles as a communicator. The volume also provides a chronology, a bibliographical essay that is a definitive one on Mark Twain as a public speaker, and a general index.

This is the first study of the reform oratory of the silver-tongued temperance leader, Frances Willard. It provides a critical analysis of the speaking style of this influential late nineteenth century suffragette, prohibitionist, and leader of women. This work also provides texts of representative speeches, a chronology of important speeches, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources.The critical analysis points first to Frances Willard's belief in evolutionary Christianity and the equal treatment of women as the basis for her oratory. The study then examines how women's broadening concerns for reform were justified as a response to women's needs to protect their homes. Her campaigns for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the woman question and her speeches calling for changes on behalf of labor and to overcome poverty also figure prominently in the analysis. The eloquent speaking style which conveyed her passionate interest in these issues is then exemplified by the texts of six speeches made between 1874 and 1897. As part of Greenwood's Great American Orators Series, this study is intended for students and professionals in rhetoric and communications, women's studies, and history focusing on American reform movements.

In analyzing Jonathan Edwards preaching in eighteenth-century colonial America, the authors demonstrate how his rhetoric distinguished between conversion and persuasion. The authors delineate the basic tenets of Puritan theology, place Edwards' noted sermons within an historical framework, and show how his psycho-spiritual ideas have had lasting impact on American literary, religious, and intellectual history. This reference provides a critical analysis, speech texts, chronology, and bibliography. Students and teachers of rhetoric, American history, literature, philosophy, and religion will find this in-depth study of an enigmatic great American orator pertinent for various uses.The reference defines Edwards' doctrinal stance on key religious issues of the times, describes his methods of preaching and efforts to convert sinners into saints, and assesses his influence in the eighteenth century and later. The volume covers his life, his youth and education, his revival and role in the Great Awakening of religion in America, his church's rejection and his exile. This scholarly study relates his ideas to complex theological roots in European thought, to Christian and Enlightenment discourses, and it points to the enormous effect that he has had on thinking until the twentieth century. Texts of key sermons dealing with central concepts such as divine light, sinners, and true grace are provided.

This first book-length critical analysis of Kennedy's public address defines how he aroused Americans to rise to the opportunities and challenges that he defined for them. This rigorously researched study offers an in-depth analysis of the development of President Kennedy as a public speaker and a balanced view of his civil rights, foreign policy, presidential, and other types of speeches. Eight speech texts accompany the analysis. This reference and teaching tool also offers a selected chronology of major speeches along with a bibliography of important primary and secondary sources. Designed for students, teachers, and professionals in the fields of rhetoric, political communication, presidential studies, and American history.

Harry Truman is famous for his plain speaking, and his presidential rhetoric is evaluated in this reference in terms of his most important speeches relating to the Cold War, the Korean War, and themes that helped him win a remarkable election victory in 1948. This in-depth analysis of his major presidential speeches, collection of his most important addresses, chronology of speeches during his presidency, and bibliography will give students, scholars, and professionals in communications and mass media, political science, and American history new insights into this interesting president and important period in American history.Professor Ryan examines Presidents Truman's speeches and addresses from 1945 to 1953, closely showing how his Truman Doctrine speech and Inaugural Address sounded the leit motifs of Manichaean, SuperNation rhetoric that innervated the Cold War. His rhetoric on the Korean War burdened his presidency because it held to an early military definition of the war. His exchanges with General Douglas MacArthur were oblique rather than frontal attacks, which presented further problems. His whistle-stop election campaign against Thomas E. Dewey and his valedictory address are used also to assess his rhetorical themes and expression and their effectiveness. The chronology and bibliography are framed also to help researchers dealing with materials in a presidential library.

This is the first book-length study of Helen Keller's public speaking. It contains rhetorical analysis about how a person who was sightless but seen, deaf but heard learned to communicate, and how she gave public speeches for nearly 80 years inspiring others with her vision for a better tomorrow. The analysis, texts of various speeches on a broad range of subjects, a chronology of her speeches, and bibliography will be helpful to students and teachers of speech and all those interested in Helen Keller.

As Americans moved from farms and small towns to large cities, they tended to lose a hallmark of their earlier life: comparatively direct participation in the discourse of pragmatic affairs. The ubiquitous radio, which became a primary medium of communication during the Great Depression, tended to make Americans listeners more than speakers about important issues. Nevertheless, as the economic catastrophe of the time evoked desires in people to express their hopes and fears for the future, Americans nevertheless tended to be reticent. They instead bestowed leadership on speakers who articulated those hopes and fears on their behalf—particularly orators who effectively utilized radio. Possessed with the ability to deliver speeches exceptionally well and to phrase ideas so eloquently as to be admired by listeners, Father Charles E. Coughlin emerged as that surrogate spokesperson for many Americans. Moreover, because the medium of radio endowed his discourse with a credibility enhanced by his own ethos, he emerged as a persuader who fulfilled the mass media role known as opinion leadership. He also capitalized on the inherent advantages of orality as a significant factor that influenced how people responded to the myriad messages of the vast communication mosaic in which Americans lived at the onset of the electronic age. Father Coughlin exemplifies that speaker who achieves the role of an opinion leader in contemporary society.

From I Shall Return to Old Soldiers Never Die, General MacArthur's phraseology invariably captured an audience's attention. The MacArthur persona may be familiar to many Americans more because of his oratory than because of his military deeds. Covering both his martial and his political oratory, this book provides a balanced, full-length study of MacArthur's oratorical accomplishments and their impact. Part I is a critical analysis of MacArthur and his speeches, while Part II contains the texts of the addresses discussed.In their analysis, the authors avoid extremes of praise or blame. The highlight of the book is its account of MacArthur's rhetoric persuading Army and Navy chiefs to undertake the Inchon landing, arguably his finest hour. When MacArthur challenged Truman, taking policy differences to Congress, his rhetoric enabled more than one congressman to see deity in the general. Duffy and Carpenter analyze well the measured cadences of that speech as well as the platitudes of the keynote speech at the 1952 Republican National Convention. If 'Old Soldiers Never Die' polished his halo, the convention address tarnished it. This book captures both the brilliant flashes and the arrogant stupidities of the man. (Quoted from the foreword by Robert P. Newman)

The selected speeches of Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine made throughout her 32 year career in the U.S. Congress are critically analyzed in this rhetorical study. The inquiry focuses on the factors of her political persona that garnered her the support of her constituents and the respect of her colleagues. The chapters are each titled with a segment of her political identity—an American, a Republican, and a women. Thus this work will be of interest to students and scholars of U.S. politics, communications, and women's studies. In addition, this popular political figure should be of interest to readers who want to learn more about the first female U.S. Senator.

This work is an in-depth analysis of the full breadth of Sojourner Truth's public discourse that places it in its proper historical context and explores the use of humor and narratives as primary rhetorical strategies used by this illiterate ex-slave to create a powerful public persona. The book provides a comprehensive survey of the life of Sojourner Truth, and includes a unique and authoritative compilation of primary rhetorical documents, such as speeches, songs, and public letters.This is the only major work to date that analyzes the breadth of Sojourner Truth's public discourse. The volume includes a complete and authoritative compilation of her extant rhetoric, including several versions of the same speech, reports of her speaking appearances, public letters published by Truth in newspapers, and songs written and performed by her as part of her public lectures. Three chapters address the rhetorical dimensions of Truth's public persona. First, an historical survey contextualizes her life and speaking from slave to reformer, placing into perspective the variety of experiences that comprised her background. Second, an analysis of Truth's use of humor focuses upon how she employed the strategies of superiority and incongruity in her refutation of opponents and the establishment of her own credibility. Third, a critique of Truth's use of narratives in her discourse reveals how both her speeches and songs rely upon three fundamental stories for their persuasive impact: her slave life and religious conversion, her use of the black jeremiad to portray race differences, and her tales of woman's strength and moral conviction. The volume concludes with a consideration of Truth's status as a folk legend and how she wished to be remembered.

Frederick Douglass, once a slave, was one of the great 19th century American orators and the most important African American voice of his era. This book traces the development of his rhetorical skills, discusses the effect of his oratory on his contemporaries, and analyzes the specific oratorical techniques he employed.The first part is a biographical sketch of Douglass's life, dealing with his years of slavery (1818-1837), his prewar years of freedom (1837-1861), the Civil War (1861-1865), and postwar years (1865-1895). Chesebrough emphasizes the centrality of oratory to Douglass's life, even during the years in slavery. The second part looks at his oratorical techniques and concludes with three speeches from different periods. Students and scholars of communications, U.S. history, slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and African American studies will be interested in this book.

Theodore Parker, a great orator of the mid-19th century, was a Unitarian clergyman who directed much of his oratory towards ecclesiastical and social reform. Parker challenged slavery and other social ills. As a volume in the Great American Orators series, the focus is on Parker's oratory and its effect on theology and the social structures of the mid-19th century. Biographical information pertains to those aspects of Parker's life that influenced and shaped his elocution and ideas. Parker's rhetoric and rhetorical techniques are examined. Three of Parker's important speeches are included, each with an introduction that places it in its proper context.This study will appeal to students of rhetoric, theology, and mid-nineteenth-century American religious history. The book is divided into two sections. The first concentrates on Parker's life, his role as an abolitionist, social reformer, and public order. Part Two scrutinizes three of Parker's most famous discourses. The author establishes Parker's place among mid-19th-century preachers.

Phillips Brooks, author of the carol O Little Town of Bethlehem, was the rector of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Boston for 22 years and the Bishop of Massachusetts for 15 months until his death in 1893. This volume in the Great American Orators series focuses on Brooks' oratorical style and the public's response to his rhetoric. Chesebrough provides a biographical sketch of Brooks' life emphasizing the development and use of his oratorical skills and placing him within the secular and ecclesiastical contexts of his times. Attention is given to Brooks' development as a public speaker and to his manner of sermon preparation and delivery. Three of Brooks' sermons are printed in their entirety: Abraham Lincoln, The Cradle of the Lord, and Help from the Hills, preceded by introductory remarks and a brief analysis of the sermon. This examination of Brooks' rhetoric will appeal to scholars of rhetoric and of American theology and American religious history, especially Episcopal history.