Reading: Plato's Gorgias and Aristotle's Rhetoric, Bks. 1 & 2

Assignment: Identify Aristotle's speaker, audience, and message in Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" and "The Declaration of Independence"

Reading: Washington's First* and Second Inaugural Addresses and the Annual Messages (first and sixth) of 1790 and 1794*, pp. 3-59 in Tulis' The Rhetorical Presidency, and Cmiel's "The Best Speech of the Best Soul" (from Democratic Eloquence). (note: requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Special Readings George W. Bush, "President's Remarks at National Day of Prayer and Remembrance," September 14, 2001 (source: White House).

George W. Bush, "Remarks by the President In Photo Opportunity with the National Security Team," September 12, 2001 (source: White House).

George W. Bush, "Statement by the President in His Address to the Nation," September 11, 2001 (source: White House).

George W. Bush, "President Declares Freedom at War With Fear," September 20, 2001 (source: White House).

Reading: *[Jefferson's First, Jackson's First, Wilson's First, FDR's First and Second, Eisenhower's First, Kennedy, Reagan's First, Clinton's First, and GWBush]
Inaugural Addresses from John Adams (1797) through Buchanan (1857) and pp.61-93 in Rhetorical Presidency.

First paper due (In a close reading of one Inaugural Address explain the ethical argument and explain the match between this particular speech and this particular speaker.)

Reading: Inaugural Addresses from Grant (1869) through George W. Bush (2001).

Assignment: Listen to excerpts from Coolidge Inaugural (1925) and watch videos of FDR (1933), Eisenhower (1953), Kennedy (1961), and Reagan (1981).

Reading: Lincoln's First* and Second* Inaugurals, Gettysburg Address*, and the Annual Messages of 1861*, 1862, 1863, and 1864. Also Wills' "Oratory of the Greek Revival" (from Lincoln at Gettysburg) and "The Argument From Definition" (from The Ethics of Rhetoric). Note: You need acrobat to view these articles, and you may need to rotate the image to make it appear upright.

Special Readings

George W. Bush, "Statement by the President on Military Actions in Afghanistan," October 7, 2001 (source: White House).

George W. Bush, "Radio Address by President to Nation," October 6, 2001 (source: White House). From this link you can either read the transcript or listen to the actual address.

Reading: Annual messages of 1797, 1803, 1807, 1823*, 1825, 1829, 1844, 1845, 1860*, 1876, 1888*, 1901, 1913, 1941*, and 1943, and the State of the Union Messages of 1953, 1965, and 1968*.

Assignment: Watch videos of 1982 (transcript), 1991 (transcript), and 1994 (transcript) State of the Union Messages.

Reading: Presidential Press Conferences and FDR's Fireside Chats, and pp. 145-204 in Rhetorical Presidency

Assignment: Listen to "Chat" of March 12, 1933.

Second paper due (In this paper you will take a presidential speech of your choosing and read it in two different contexts - for a State of the Union Address, for instance, you might read the text printed in the newspaper, one in the Presidential Papers and one from the collected State of the Union Messages. Discuss how reading the same text in these differing contexts causes you to understand the text itself differently.)

Reading: Madison 1812, Polk 1846*, McKinley 1898, Wilson 1917*, FDR 1941*, Truman 1950, Eisenhower 1958, LBJ 1967, Nixon 1970, Reagan 1983, and Bush 1989 and 1991* (audio). Also Kohrs and Campbell on War Rhetoric (Deeds Done in Words)

Assignment: Listen to audio of Nixon address on Vietnam.

Special Readings

President John F. Kennedy, "Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs" May 25, 1961.

President John F. Kennedy, "Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba," October 27, 1962.

Reading: Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson on the League of Nations (1919), Truman Doctrine (1948), Truman Speech on Surrender of Germany (1945), Eisenhower Address at Tenth Anniversary of UN (1955), Kennedy on the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy's American University Speech* (1963), Kennedy at Berlin (text and audio), Nixon at the Moscow Summit (1972), Carter Remarks Before the Indian Parliament (1977), Carter at Camp David (1978).

Assignment: Listen to audio of Kennedy, Reagan*, and Bush.

Reading: Jefferson to the Mandan Nation, Jackson on Indian Affairs, Andrew Johnson on Forgiving the South, Hayes on The Reconstructed South, Harding on Rights of Black Citizens, Truman Civil Rights Speech (1948)*, Truman on Steel Industry, Eisenhower on Little Rock*, Kennedy on Civil Rights*, LBJ on Voting Rights*.

Assignment: Listen to Roosevelt, Taft, and Johnson.

Special Readings

George W. Bush, "President Speaks to the United Nations," November 10, 2001 (source: White House).

George W. Bush, "President Discusses War on Terrorism," November 8, 2001 (source: White House).

Reading: Jackson on Battle of Bunker Hill, Andrew Johnson on Washington's Birthday, Arthur at Dedication of Washington Monument, Cleveland on the Centennial of the Constitution , Teddy Roosevelt on Louisiana Purchase*, Wilson at Dedication of Lincoln's Birthplace*, Wilson on Flag Day, Harding at Burial of Unknown Soldier, Kennedy on Robert Frost, Reagan on 40th Anniversary of D-Day*, Reagan on Explosion of Challenger.

Assignment: Listen to Clinton at Convocation of Church and God, Clinton at Oklahoma City Bombing, and Reagan on Challenger Explosion.

Reading: Wilson before WWI, Eisenhower on the U2 Incident (Document #5), Kennedy on Bay of Pigs, Nixon Watergate 1*, Nixon Watergate 2*, Ford on Nixon Pardon, Carter after failed rescue attempt, Reagan Address on Iran-U.S. Relations (1987), Clinton/Lewinsky Denial* (video), Clinton Admission*. Also, read "Conversation and Self-Revelation" in Jamieson, and "The King's Two Men" in Rogan.

Assignment: Listen to Ford and Nixon.

Reading: Farewell Messages of Washington*, Washington to Congress, Washington to the Army, Adams, Jackson*, Jackson to the Army, A. Johnson, Truman*, Eisenhower*, Eisenhower to Army, LBJ, Nixon*, Nixon to White House*, Carter*, Reagan*, Reagan Final Radio Address, Clinton, and Fields from "Union of Words".

Assignment:Final writing assignment: Write on one of the following:

1. Compare a speech from a president serving before 1900 with one from a president serving after 1900. Focus on language (keeping in mind the issues raised by Cmiel's essay from the September 18th readings) and style.

2. In a speech of your choosing (but with the qualification given below) identify two or three words that you think particularly important to the speech as a whole, and explain their meaning and significance within this context.

3. Identify the echoes (be specific) either in thought or language of an early presidential address in a subsequent one. Explain the significance of this connection.

Do not write on an inaugural address for this assignment.

Final paper due: Friday, December 7, to McMillan room 151 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.