The Fortunate Heirs of Freedom: Abolition &amp; Republican Thought

Hansen, Debra Gold; McInerney, Daniel J.

doi:10.2307/3124506

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As the evidence above suggests, such themes are certainly present and feature prominently in Douglass' corpus. In this sense, the rhetoric of prophecy may be an alternative or a complement to the rhetoric of republicanism (McInerney 1994), the rhetoric of fraternity (McWilliams 1974), or the rhetoric of natural rights (Schrader 1999) that can also be found in Douglass' speeches. Even Bercovitch, who recognizes that this way of speaking is distinct from other forms of rhetoric, frames its distinction around a certain content-specifically the idea of a covenant to which the audience must rededicate themselves (2012, xix).…”

Section: Douglass' Hortatory Rhetoricmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light or Fire? Frederick Douglass and the Orator's Dilemma

Hawley

2022

American J Political Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Most scholarship on political rhetoric views it as an exercise in changing the minds of an audience. However, we see numerous examples of political speech aimed at those who already agree with the speaker, to motivate them to act on judgments they have already made. This kind of discourse is often dismissed as pandering, or the “red meat” rabble‐rousing that contributes to polarization. I draw upon Frederick Douglass to render a more complete account of this speech, which I term “hortatory rhetoric.” Douglass draws upon the prophetic tradition of Black Christian preaching to develop an alternative for when persuasion has reached its limit. This kind of speech raises a set of normative difficulties that differ from those raised by the rhetoric of persuasion, which Douglass helps us to think through. He provides a framework for understanding when it might be permissible or even desirable to abandon persuasion for exhortation.

show abstract

Section: Douglass' Hortatory Rhetoricmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light or Fire? Frederick Douglass and the Orator's Dilemma

Hawley

2022

American J Political Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Fortunate Heirs of Freedom: Abolition & Republican Thought

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

Light or Fire? Frederick Douglass and the Orator's Dilemma

Light or Fire? Frederick Douglass and the Orator's Dilemma

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About