Rhetoric and Reform in the Progressive Era

by Hogan, J. Michael

• ISBN13: 9780870136375
• ISBN10: 0870136372
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Michigan State Univ Pr

Summary

The Progressive Era witnessed a rhetorical renaissance that changed how Americans talked about politics and society. Marking a clean break from the rhetoric of the Gilded Age, the discourse of progressivism represented a new common language of political and social analysis that was reform-oriented, moralistic, and optimistic about the future. Progressives shared a strong faith in public opinion, and they revitalized the public sphere through a variety of initiatives to encourage public discussion and empower the citizenry. Whatever their differences, Progressives believed that a democratic public, properly educated and deliberating freely, represented the best hope for America in the modern age. Rhetoric and Reform in the Progressive Erapresents twelve major studies of the discourse of progressivism, ranging from fresh interpretations of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, to new studies of the ;working class eloquence ; of Eugene Debs, the debate between W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, and the peace advocacy of Jane Addams. Other studies in this volume explore the rhetorical origins of the conservation movement and professional journalism, chart the progress of the woman suffrage crusade, and show how Progressive social thinkers planted the seeds of the Ku Klux Klan's resurgence in the 1920s. Taken together, these essays display the remarkable diversity and vitality of the Progressive rhetorical renaissance. They show how robust democratic speech became a distinguishing characteristic of the Progressive Era.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Rhetoric and Reform in the Progressive Era	ix
J. Michael Hogan
The Second Oratorical Renaissance	1	(48)
Robert Alexander Kraig
Preaching Morality in Modern America: Theodore Roosevelt's Rhetorical Progressivism	49	(36)
Leroy G. Dorsey
Science, Public Policy, and the ``Spirit of the People'': The Rhetoric of Progressive Conservation	85	(28)
Christine Oravec
The Progressive Reform of Journalism: The Rise of Professionalism in the Press	113	(32)
Douglas Birkhead
Justice Holmes's Rhetoric and the Progressive Path of the Law	145	(40)
James Arnt Aune
William Jennings Bryan: The Jeffersonian Liberal as Progressive	185	(44)
Malcom O. Sillars
Eugene Debs and American Class	229	(40)
James Darsey
W.E.B. Du Bois, Double-Consciousness, and Pan-Africanism in the Progressive Era	269	(42)
Robert E. Terrill
Eric King Watts
Rhetoric and Race in the Progressive Era: Imperialism, Reform, and the Ku Klux Klan	311	(28)
Brian R. McGee
Woman Suffrage in the Progressive Era: A Coming of Age	339	(48)
Jennifer L. Borda
From Hull House to The Hague: Jane Addams's Rhetoric of Pacificism, 1898-1917''	387	(40)
Carl R. Burgchardt
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Progressivism, and Feminism, 1890-1935	427	(44)
Judith A. Allen
Conclusion: Memories and Legacies of the Progressive Era	471	(14)
J. Michael Hogan
Bibliography	485	(10)
About the Authors	495	(2)
Index	497