The Practical Origins of the Rhetorical Presidency

Bimes, Terri

doi:10.1080/08913810701766124

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Terri Bimes (2007: 246) defines the Jacksonian model of US leadership as that in which ‘the president claims to be the best spokesperson for the national will – an instrument of public opinion’. To this extent, Jacksonianism can be understood as a strand of conventional populism: there are obvious parallels to be drawn between the two presidents’ suspicions of Washington elites, as well as Trump’s ‘permanent campaign’ style of governing and Jackson’s eagerness to connect with the American people, for example through a then unusual tour of the country in 1833 (Bimes, 2007: 248). However, the Jacksonian tradition also remains a uniquely American, militaristic, and individualistic variant of populism.…”

Section: Trump’s Jacksonian Populism and The White (Male) Working Classmentioning

confidence: 99%

The discursive hegemony of Trump’s Jacksonian populism: Race, class, and gender in constructions and contestations of US national identity, 2016–2018

Holland

Fermor

2020

Politics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contributing to burgeoning studies of populism, this article conceptualises and contextualises Trump’s language as ‘Jacksonian populism’. We explore how this style of populist discourse influenced political debates before and after Trump’s election. Ours is the first article to analyse opposition and media responses to Trump’s construction of ‘real America’ as that of a Jacksonian, White, and male working class. To do so, the article analyses 1165 texts, from the government, opposition, newspapers, television coverage, and social media. In addition to locating Trump’s reification of a mythologised White working class within a broader Jacksonian tradition, we find that the Democratic opposition and mainstream media initially reproduced this construction, furthering Trump’s cause. Even where discursive challenges were subsequently developed, they often served to reproduce a distinct – and hitherto unspoken for – White (male) working-class America. In short, early resistance actively reinforced Trump’s discursive hegemony, which centred on reclaiming the primacy of working, White America in the national identity.

show abstract

Section: Trump’s Jacksonian Populism and The White (Male) Working Classmentioning

confidence: 99%

The discursive hegemony of Trump’s Jacksonian populism: Race, class, and gender in constructions and contestations of US national identity, 2016–2018

Holland

Fermor

2020

Politics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This new historical evidence does, however, support the idea that Jefferson, like many other nineteenth‐century presidents, was following a different norm. This norm, one well‐discussed by scholars, was that presidents should not, at least overtly, be involved in the legislative process (e.g., Ackerman 2005; Bimes 2008; Ellis 2018; Laracey 2002; Skowronek 1997). By removing himself from the ceremony and instead having his clerk read the message to Congress, Jefferson was acting in a way that seemed more consistent with the deferential model of the presidency that many of the Founders envisioned.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Jefferson Delivered His First Annual Message in Writing: New Historical Evidence

Laracey¹

2021

Pres Stud Q

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When he delivered his first annual message in 1801, Thomas Jefferson departed from prior presidential practice and delivered the message to Congress in writing rather than as a speech. Scholars have differed over the meaning and significance of his action. This article examines new historical evidence on the question. The evidence is a commentary in Jefferson's presidential newspaper that explained the reasons for his action; a letter Jefferson wrote explaining his action; and commentaries on the action from Federalist Party opposition newspapers.

show abstract

“…Assessing the overall content of Adams's replies, Terri Bimes concludes that “these addresses made explicit policy and partisan claims” (2007, 250). An earlier scholar, Manning Dauer, uses terms such as “belligerent” and “virulence” to describe Adams's bombastic prowar statements and attacks on the patriotism and courage of his opponents.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rhetorical Presidency Today: How Does It Stand Up?

Laracey

2009

Pres Stud Q

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Jeffrey Tulis based his book “The Rhetorical Presidency” on the empirical assertion that pre‐twentieth‐century presidents avoided communicating with the public on policy matters and instead directed their policy‐oriented communications to Congress, in writing. Subsequent scholarship, however, has demonstrated that many of these presidents actually did communicate extensively with the American people on policy matters, rather than going through Congress. Some gave speeches or wrote public letters, while others utilized the façade of a presidential newspaper that featured commentaries widely understood to reflect the president's views. Presidential communications behavior during this era was much more variable, and far less influenced by one constitutional norm, than Tulis portrays in “The Rhetorical Presidency.” The variability is due to presidents attempting to accommodate conflicting views of their appropriate role in the constitutional order.

show abstract

The Practical Origins of the Rhetorical Presidency

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

The discursive hegemony of Trump’s Jacksonian populism: Race, class, and gender in constructions and contestations of US national identity, 2016–2018

The discursive hegemony of Trump’s Jacksonian populism: Race, class, and gender in constructions and contestations of US national identity, 2016–2018

Why Jefferson Delivered His First Annual Message in Writing: New Historical Evidence

The Rhetorical Presidency Today: How Does It Stand Up?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About