CAS475:

Lesson 02: Calamity Howlers and Muckrakers: The American Tradition of Popular Speech

Lesson 02 Overview (1 of 4)
Lesson 02 Overview

Part I: Historical Studies in Persuasion and Demagoguery

Lesson 2: The American Tradition of Popular Speech

Lesson Overview

Today we meet two of the towering figures in early twentieth century American politics, William Jennings Bryan and Theodore Roosevelt (TR). Both were successful politicians and effective speakers. At the time, Bryan was actually the more renowned orator, known for a rabble-rousing populist style that earned him the nickname “The Great Commoner.” Yet TR, in the long run, had a bigger impact on American politics and culture. As president, TR transformed the White House into the “bully pulpit” and he used that bully pulpit to champion a variety of causes, from the conservation of natural resources to the building of the Panama Canal. Today, both Bryan and TR are remembered for a handful of famous speeches, including the two we read for this week’s lesson. Both Bryan and TR were key figures in a fascinating and turbulent time in U.S. history—a time that historian Richard Hofstadter has labeled the “Age of Reform.”

Objectives

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

Lesson Readings & Activities

Please begin by reading the Lesson Commentary. By the end of this lesson, make sure you have also completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 02 Course Schedule.

Calamity Howlers (2 of 4)
Calamity Howlers

Calamity Howlers

The end of the nineteenth century was a time of rapid social change, industrialization, urbanization, and economic challenges. Out of that time, political and social chaos rose one of the most studied yet still misunderstood social movements in U.S. history: the so-called populist movement of the 1890s. Fighting for the rights of farmers and other rural folk in the Midwest and South, the most radical of the populists earned the label "Calamity Howlers" because of their apocalyptic speeches warning of the imminent collapse of the American political and economic system. Frenzied, vituperative, and conspiratorial in tone, the Calamity Howlers' unrelenting criticism of the rich and powerful created a new style of popular speech in America that was subsequently domesticated and brought into the political mainstream by the likes of William Jennings Bryan. While hardly as radical as the Calamity Howlers, Bryan appropriated many of their themes in a famous speech to the Democratic National Convention in 1896, "Cross of Gold." Championing the "common man" and excoriating the Republicans as the party of the rich, the "Cross of Gold" secured for Bryan both his party's presidential nomination and a lasting reputation as a great orator. More importantly, the speech inaugurated a tradition of populist speech that echoed down throughout the twentieth century and is still with us today. Employed by politicians and social movements on both the left and the right, populist appeals are evident in a number of the speeches we will read this semester, including speeches by Huey Long, Joseph McCarthy, and even Ronald Reagan.

Bryan’s speech, "Against Imperialism," was a bit more restrained than some of his other campaign speeches. Still, it bears many of the trademarks of his populist style: faith in the common folk, an emphasis on moral concerns, and a tendency to reduce issues to a simple choice between "good" and "evil." As our essay by Gardner suggests, Bryan also illustrates how both the imperialists and the anti-imperialists in that day subscribed to the same mythic narrative—the "narrative of American exceptionalism." Both imperialists and anti–imperialists also claimed to be the true defenders of "progressive" principles: Christian values, and the ideals of America's founders. Bryan lost the debate over imperialism, as Gardner notes, but his arguments still “resonate today” with those who oppose U.S. foreign interventions. 

Muckraking (3 of 4)
Muckraking

Muckraking

A second rhetorical tradition we consider this week is a bit harder to define: the tradition of muckraking, or the rhetoric of the exposé. Originally a narrative style of investigative journalism, muckraking is often credited with inspiring the Progressive movement of the early twentieth century. This movement clearly was a reaction to the muckrakers' exposés of corruption and greed in government, business, and even some churches, and it had a profound and lasting impact on American politics and culture. Progressive reformers passed new legislation regulating elections, interstate commerce, and even meat-packing plants, and they expanded educational opportunities, passed new labor laws, and instituted consumer protections. In retrospect, we tend to think of the Progressive era as a time of enlightened political and social reform, and as a result muckraking also has largely positive connotations today, conjuring up images of the crusading investigative reporter exposing the "truth." Yet progressivism also had a dark side, as self-proclaimed "progressives" also pushed for tougher Jim Crow laws, sterilization of the disabled and mentally ill, and imperialist adventures abroad—all in the name of social "progress."

In "The Man with the Muckrake," Theodore Roosevelt voiced his concern that the overzealous and sensationalistic reporting of some of the muckrakers actually might hurt the cause of progressive reform. In that speech, as our essay by Amy Heyse suggests, Roosevelt tried to strike a balance between celebrating muckrakers and defending their First Amendment rights on the one hand, and insisting that their exposés be fair and "absolutely truthful," on the other. In the process, TR articulated a social philosophy emphasizing the principles of balance, moderation, order, and stability–a philosophy that he also applied to the problem of greed and excessive wealth among businessmen and industrialists. In tones that Heyse describes as "sermonic," TR took his case against irresponsible muckrakers and greedy capitalists directly to the American people, denouncing those who he claimed had violated the public trust. In doing so, as Heyse explains, he pioneered the modern "rhetorical presidency"–the presidency that uses the bully pulpit to mobilize public opinion–and gave the muckrakers a taste of their own medicine. While not an example of muckraking per se, the speech exhibits some of the characteristics of the style, including the tone of moral outrage and the reduction of complex issues to simple matters of "right versus wrong" or "good versus evil." The speech clearly put the muckrakers on the defensive and may have moderated some of their subsequent critiques. 

At the end of this lesson, you will have a better understanding of these two great speakers and of two of the most common and persistent styles of popular speech in America: the emotional, rabble-rousing, "common-man" style of populism, and the narrative (story-telling) style of muckraking journalism. You also will have a better feel for one of the most fascinating periods in U.S. history and perhaps understand why many people still look to the Progressive Era for inspiration and guidance in addressing today's political and social problems. During the Progressive Era, America faced many of the challenges we still face today: rapid technological change, growing economic inequality, foreign entanglements, racial tensions, loss of community, and political disaffection. By developing more popular modes of public address and inviting ordinary citizens to participate in debates over the country's problems, speakers like William Jennings Bryan and Theodore Roosevelt inspired millions of Americans to "get involved" and to make their own voices heard.

Activities (4 of 4)
Activities

Activities

  1. Quiz 1

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    Complete Quiz 1.


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