Eloquence Is Power: Oratory and Performance in Early America

Oratory emerged as the first major form of verbal art in early America because, as John Quincy Adams observed in 1805, "eloquence was POWER." In this book, Sandra Gustafson examines the multiple traditions of sacred, diplomatic, and political speech that flourished in British America and the early republic from colonization through 1800. She demonstrates that, in the American crucible of cultures, contact and conflict among Europeans, native Americans, and Africans gave particular significance and complexity to the uses of the spoken word.

Gustafson develops what she calls the performance semiotic of speech and text as a tool for comprehending the rich traditions of early American oratory. Embodied in the delivery of speeches, she argues, were complex projections of power and authenticity that were rooted in or challenged text-based claims of authority. Examining oratorical performances as varied as treaty negotiations between native and British Americans, the eloquence of evangelical women during the Great Awakening, and the founding fathers' debates over the Constitution, Gustafson explores how orators employed the shifting symbolism of speech and text to imbue their voices with power.

Author: Sandra M. Gustafson
Publisher: Omohundro Institute and University of North C
Published: 08/28/2000
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.71d
ISBN: 9780807848883

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2001 pg. 1074

About the Author
Sandra M. Gustafson is associate professor of English at the University of Notre Dame.