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Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition

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Rhetorical Perspectives on Argumentation

Part of the book series: Argumentation Library ((ARGA,volume 24))

Abstract

This essay responds to the claim that presidential rhetoric has little effect. It addresses three questions: (1) How do we understand the nature of presidential rhetoric and its effects? (2) What does presidential rhetoric do? (3) How do we know? From the perspective of the humanities, rhetoric is a complex transaction among speakers or writers, audiences, and critics. Effects are better understood as invitations to respond. A key function of presidential rhetoric is to define social reality, and this power to define is a significant presidential resource. Eight case studies explore how presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush have relied on rhetorical definition.

This essay originally was presented at a research symposium at Texas A&M University. It is reprinted here from Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34 (September 2004), 607–619.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some scholars, however, such as Campbell and Jamieson (1990) have tried to identify genres of presidential rhetoric, while others, such as Hart (1987), explore patterns at the micro-level of presidential discourse.

  2. 2.

    For a strong example of a presidential message for which the media were the target audience, see Turner (1985).

  3. 3.

    The essay was written in 2004.

  4. 4.

    But see Mohrmann (1982) for a critical view of the assumptions and procedures underlying this approach.

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  1. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    David Zarefsky

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Zarefsky, D. (2014). Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition. In: Rhetorical Perspectives on Argumentation. Argumentation Library, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05485-8_18

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