Synopses & Reviews
When Ronald Reagan invoked "a shining city on a hill" or George H. W. Bush "a thousand points of light," their words were engraved on the public's consciousness as signatures to their personal beliefs and a catalysts for political action. Such iconic phrases in presidential speeches are often the creation of presidential speechwriters, who are entrusted with framing a message consistent with each administration's broad goals and reflecting each president's personality and rhetorical skills.
This book takes a closer look at presidential speeches over the course of six administrations. Editors Michael Nelson and Russell Riley have brought together an outstanding team of academics and professional writers-including nine former speechwriters who worked for every president from Nixon to Clinton-to examine how the politics and crafting of presidential rhetoric serve the various roles of the presidency. They consider four types of speeches: convention acceptance speeches, inaugural addresses, state of the union addresses, and crisis and other landmark speeches that often rise out of unpredictable circumstances. Together, these scholars and writers enable readers to sort out the idiosyncratic from the institutional while gaining insider perspectives on the operating style and rhetorical manner of each of the six presidents.
The book is rich in character sketches-such as Jimmy Carter's attempt to tie his understanding of original sin to the practice of American politics—and brimming with insights into the internal dynamics of the White House, including tales of internecine bloodletting under Ronald Reagan. Most significant, these discussions help us better understand the contemporary presidency by revealing the enduring and evolving features of the institution, underscoring how the operating style and rhetorical manner of each president shapes the speechwriting process in the service of his broader policymaking goals.
These essays show not only how speechmaking has become a major presidential activity but also how speechwriters have become important political actors in their own right. They offer students and observers of the political scene a rare opportunity to consider the crafting of those utterances before weighing their effects.
Review
“Fender’s anatomy of the monumental in American public speech, fascinating in itself, creates a new area of literary critical attention. This is a book to read and, with the mind’s ear, listen to.”
Synopsis
Looks at presidential speeches over the course of six administrations. An outstanding team of scholars and professional writers—including nine former speechwriters who worked for every president from Nixon to Clinton—examines how the politics and crafting of presidential rhetoric serve the various roles of the presidency.
Synopsis
The land of the free and home of the brave, America is also the country in which this truth is supposedly self-evident: that we are all equal. It may not seem so at first, but there is a startling gap between these two visions of America, one more evident in today’s fiercely partisan politics that pit free enterprise against social justice. In this fascinating look at America’s most memorable speeches—which have become monuments in national memory—Stephen Fender explores the ways American speechcraft has kept alive a dream of equality and cooperation in the face of economic forces that have favored competition and the pursuit to get ahead.
Beginning with the early American settlers and the two contrasting visions they set out—one competitive, the other cooperative—Fender traces the development of the latter through a series of dramatic addresses. He examines the inaugural speeches of early presidents such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, moving to Abraham Lincoln’s arguments—at once logical and passionate—for maintaining the Union, and then on to the twentieth century’s great orators, such as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. He also looks at the notion of the “great American speech” in popular culture, exploring both the usual places—such as movie courtroom scenes—where it pops up, as well as its unexpected ubiquity in adventure films, thrillers, or any story where equality and justice come under threat.
Through his exploration of great speeches, Fender paints the picture of two simultaneous and free-standing visions of American identity, offering a sophisticated look at American ideological history.
About the Author
Stephen Fender was born in San Francisco and is an Honorary Professor of English at University College London. His previous books include 50 Facts that Should Change the USA and Nature, Class and New Deal Literature.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
1. Speeches, Speechwriting, and the American Presidency, Michael Nelson
2. The Acceptance Address: Presidential Speechwriting, 1932-2008, Martin J. Medhurst
3. Speechwriters on the Acceptance Address, Patrick Anderson, Kenneth Khachigian, Raymond Price
4. The Inaugural Address: Ceremony of Transitions, Charles O. Jones
5. Speechwriters on the Inaugural Address, Patrick Anderson, Don Baer, Raymond Price
6. The State of the Union Address: Process, Politics, and Promotion, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas
7. Speechwriters on the State of the Union Address, J. Terry Edmonds, Lee Huebner, Clark Judge
8. The Crisis Speech and Other Landmark Addresses: Managing Speechwriting and Decision Making, Andrew Rudalevige
9. Speechwriters on the Crisis Speech and Other Landmark Addresses, Kenneth Khachigian, Peter Robinson, Walter Shapiro
10. Crafting the Rhetorical Presidency, Sidney M. Milkis
Contributors
Index