University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Communication Scholarship Communication 9-2011 “Above all Greek, above all Roman Fame”: Classical Rhetoric in America during the Colonial and Early National Periods James M. Farrell University of New Hampshire,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/comm_facpub Part of the Classical Literature and Philology Commons, Cultural History Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Rhetoric Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation James M. Farrell, "'Above all Greek, above all Roman fame': Classical Rhetoric in America during the Colonial and Early National Periods," International Journal of the Classical Tradition 18:3, 415-436. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Communication at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Scholarship by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. “Above all Greek, above all Roman Fame”: Classical Rhetoric in America during the Colonial and Early National Periods James M. Farrell University of New Hampshire The broad and profound influence of classical rhetoric in early America can be observed in both the academic study of that ancient discipline, and in the practical approaches to persuasion adopted by orators and writers in the colonial period, and during the early republic. Classical theoretical treatises on rhetoric enjoyed wide authority both in college curricula and in popular treatments of the art. Classical orators were imitated as models of republican virtue and oratorical style. Indeed, virtually every dimension of the political life of early America bears the imprint of a classical conception of public discourse.