Policy Speech in the Nineteenth Century Rhetorical Presidency: The Case of Zachary Taylor's 1849 Tour

Abstract

Jeffrey Tulis's The Rhetorical Presidency (1987) is among the most influential accounts of the historical development of the American presidency. According to Tulis, the nineteenth‐century presidency embodied the founders' proscriptions against the rhetorical presidency in several ways. Chief among these were that “unofficial” speeches were generally few in number and limited to vague, innocuous utterances that avoided specific policies or partisan debates. In this article we test Tulis's portrayal of the nineteenth‐century “Old Way” by focusing on the presidential tour taken by Zachary Taylor in the summer of 1849. Taylor's speeches on tour, according to Tulis, were limited to the purpose of acknowledging greetings and expressing thanks for a town's welcome. Taylor's speaking tour was thus an archetype of the “laconic” style characteristic of the nineteenth‐century Old Way. Our research indicates that Tulis's characterization of Taylor's tour is mistaken. We find that not only did Taylor discuss public policy throughout his tour but that the issue positions he staked out were harnessed to a strategic partisan agenda. These findings raise larger questions about the accuracy of Tulis's portrayal of a nineteenth‐century Old Way governed by settled norms or an agreed upon rhetorical doctrine. Our research suggests instead that mid‐nineteenth‐century presidents were buffeted by competing expectations. On the one hand were the expectations and constraints that stemmed from the founders' plan for a president above party, and on the other hand were the expectations and demands that stemmed from the president's role as a party leader. Taylor's speeches reveal a president trying to navigate between these colliding expectations.

Presidential Influence in an Era of Congressional Dominance

“…In Constitutional Government Wilson (1908) articulated a new vision of the American political order that placed the president squarely at the center, and Lowi (1986, vii) described the realization of this vision as the founding of a "Second Republic." However, a range of scholars have questioned the merits of such a bifurcacted periodization, arguing instead that many elements of the modern presidency appeared far earlier in history than generally acknowledged (Adler 2013;Cohen 2012;Ellis and Walker 2007;Galvin and Shogan 2004;Klinghard 2005;Korzi 2004;Laracey 2002;Young 2011) and calling for a reconceptualization of the links between the historical and contemporary presidency (Skowronek 1993;. However, a range of scholars have questioned the merits of such a bifurcacted periodization, arguing instead that many elements of the modern presidency appeared far earlier in history than generally acknowledged (Adler 2013;Cohen 2012;Ellis and Walker 2007;Galvin and Shogan 2004;Klinghard 2005;Korzi 2004;Laracey 2002;Young 2011) and calling for a reconceptualization of the links between the historical and contemporary presidency (Skowronek 1993;.…”

The Rhetorical Presidency Today: How Does It Stand Up?

“…Presidents who got involved publicly in policy and partisan issues were accused of not acting as the dignified leaders of the entire nation (Ellis 2008, 82). Thus, presidents found themselves “navigating between conflicting expectations about how they should behave and speak in public” (Ellis and Walker 2007, 268; see also Ellis 2008, 8‐9, 70‐71, 242‐45).…”

“…In their analysis of Taylor's tour, Richard J. Ellis and Alexis Walker conclude that the characterization in The Rhetorical Presidency of Taylor's speeches as not having addressed policy issues was “wrong.” They also criticize Tulis's “selective reading” of biographies of Taylor that disregarded discussions of Taylor's policy‐oriented speechmaking (Ellis and Walker 2007, 261‐62). Ellis describes the more than two dozen speeches that Taylor gave on a tour through Pennsylvania in 1849 in this way:…”

“…Monroe made several tours of the country while president, and at many stops along the way, he was greeted by, and replied to, citizen welcoming committees. According to Ellis and Walker, “the documentary record of Monroe's tour[s] shows conclusively that neither the president nor the welcoming committees shied away from talking about public policy” (2007, 266; see also Ellis 2008, 35‐38). Ellis and Walker also determined that Monroe made many more speeches—perhaps 400 if Monroe himself is to be believed—than the 40 Tulis identifies in The Rhetorical Presidency (Ellis and Walker 2007, 266 n. 46; Ellis 2008, 251 n. 7, 255 n. 49) 7…”

Reassessing the Assumptions behind the Evolution of Popular Presidential Communication

“…While many authors have challenged Tulis, the debate continues, in part because of the lack of systematic analysis over time (but see Bimes ). Many challenges have focused on individual presidents and their rhetorical behavior (Arnold ; Ellis ; Ellis and Walker ; Medhurst ; Saldin ). Elvin T. Lim's The Anti‐Intellectual Presidency () stands out for providing systematic, quantitative support for Tulis' conclusion that Wilson was an inflection point in the development of SPPC.…”