Political Rhetoric in Theory and Practice

Political Rhetoric in Theory and Practice is an introduction to the art of rhetoric or persuasive speaking. A collection of primary sources it combines classic statements of the theory of political rhetoric (Aristotle Isocrates Demosthenes Cicero) with a rich array of political speeches from Socrates to Martin Luther King Jr. Pericles to Richard Nixon Sojourner Truth to Phyllis Schlafly. These speeches exemplify not only the three principal kinds of rhetoric judicial deliberative and epideictic but also the principal rhetorical proofs. Grouped thematically the speeches boast a diversity of speakers subject matters and themes. At a time when the practice of democracy and democratic deliberation are much in question this book seeks to encourage the serious study of rhetoric by making available important examples of it in both its noblest and its most scurrilous forms.