Lincoln's Rise to Eloquence

At turns eloquent and earthy, Abraham Lincolns rhetoric played a vital role in his success as a politician and statesman. D. Leigh Henson examines Lincolns pre-presidential development as a rhetorician, the purposes and methods behind his speeches and writings, and how the works contributed to his political rise. Lincolns close study of the rhetorical process drew on sources that ranged from classical writings to foundational American documents to the speeches of Daniel Webster. As Henson shows, Lincoln applied his learning to combine arguments on historical, legal, and moral grounds with appeals to emotion and his own carefully curated credibility. Henson also explores Lincolns use of the elements of structural design to craft coherent arguments that, whatever their varying purposes, used direct and plain language to reach diverse audiences--and laid the groundwork for his rise to the White House. Insightful and revealing, Lincolns Rise to Eloquence follows Lincoln from his early career through the years-long clashes with Stephen A. Douglas to trace the future presidents evolution as a communicator and politician.