Eloquence in an Electronic Age: The Transformation of Political Speechmaking

Over a hundred years ago William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous "Cross of Gold" speech at the Democratic National Convention in a voice that was heard throughout the hall without any electronic amplification. But now we live in an age of microphones and Teleprompters, and as Kathleen Hall Jamieson points out in "Eloquence in an Electronic Age," political speaking in the United States has been radically transformed. Now presidents are remembered not for great speeches but rather for memorable sound bites. In fact, John F. Kennedy's inaugural address has now effectively been transformed into a single line ("Ask not..."). Jamieson looks at successful public rhetoric from the Greeks to Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan (the paradigm for the new eloquence), but also, and equally important, the problems of less successful communicators such as Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. The historical examples and rhetorical analysis is to establish the concept of political eloquence, what it is and well and what it is not, and how our concept of it has changed (and remained the same). After all, when George H. W. Bush lost his reelection bid to Bill Clinton, you had those who distrusted Bush's ability to lead because of his problems with crafting a coherent sentence when speaking off the top of his head and those who feared Clinton's leadership because he was so convincing speaking off the cuff. Jamieson wants to know if television has changed our concept of eloquence so that audiences we are no longer receptive to eloquence in the way they were in the past, or whether it is just a convenient scapegoat for other influences. Ultimately, Jamieson argues that "the old eloquence of fire and sword has given way to an intimate disclosive art bent on conciliation, not conquest." The things taught to Cicero and Churchill that allowed them to be so eloquent are no longer taught in schools. Meanwhile, we have learned that images on television of civil rights protestors being attacked by guard dogs and fire hose or American soldiers dying in Vietnam are more potent than any words spoken by elected officials. In the final analysis, Jamieson explains not only what "Eloquence in an Electronic Age" is, but also the whys and wherefores. This is a valuable book for anyone studying contemporary political rhetoric.

More than a decade after its publication, this book remains a excellent read on how the rise of first radio, then television, as preferred channels of political speech-making went hand-in-hand with changes in speaking style. Unlike many discussions of the impact of television, Dr. Jamieson's approach is far less interested in condemning the rise of the visual than in exploring what kinds of strategies work with television. It's a pity there isn't a later edition that brings the history of political speaking into the internet age.