University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1957 Rhetorical qualities in the campaign speeches of Adlai Ewing Stevenson Donald John Cameron The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Cameron, Donald John, "Rhetorical qualities in the campaign speeches of Adlai Ewing Stevenson" (1957). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 3438. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/3438 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RHETORICAL QUALITIES IN THE CAMPAIGN SPEECHES OF AD LA I EWING STEVENSON DONA ID JOHN CAMERON B, A. Montana State University, 1953 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 1957 Approved by CnairmaW Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School AUG 13 1957 Date UMI Number: EP36219 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dtss«ctation PuWishiog UMI EP36219 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ACKNOWIEDGMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Ralph Y. McGinnis, Chairman of the Montana State University Speech Department, whose many hours of assistance were invaluable in the preparation of this thesis. ii TAB IE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE PROBIEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED 1 Introduction 1 The Problem 2 Definition of Terms Used 3 Organization of the Rest of the Study ........ 5 II. SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE 7 Biographical Background ...............7 Historical Background 9 Other Studies about Stevenson 9 III. METHOD OF PROCEDURE 12 Selection of Speeches 12 Speech of Acceptance 13 Farm Policy 14 World Policy 15 The Atomic Future 15 The Role of labor 15 On Liberty of Conscience l6 Speech of Acceptance 17 Freedom, Human Welfare and Peace 17 Equality of Rights and Opportunities 18 Our Foreign Policy 18 Control of Nuclear Weapons 39 Farm Policy. 19 iii iv CHAPTER PAGE Criteria for the Analysis and justification for selection 20 Invention 21 Arrangement 32 Style • 34 IV. FINDINGS IN THE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF TVSEiyE OF ADIAI STEVENSON'S CAMPAIGN SPEECHES DURING 1952 AND 1956 51 Speech of Acceptance 51 Farm Policy 64 World Policy 81 The Atomic Future 103 The Role of labor 123 On Liberty of Conscience. 147 Speech of Acceptance 165 Freedom, Human Welfare and Peace 188 Equality of Rights and Opportunities 206 Our Foreign Policy 220 Control of Nuclear Weapons 242 Farm Policy 263 V. SUMMARY AND CONC IDSIONS 280 Summary of Invention 280 Summary of Arrangement 286 Summary of Style 286 General Summary 290 V CHAPTER PAGE Recommendations for Further Study 291 BIBLIOGRAPHY 293 APPENDIX 295 Speech of Acceptance 296 Farm Policy 300 World Policy 306 The Atomic Future 313 The Role of labor 317 On Liberty of Conscienee 324 Speech of Acceptance 329 Freedom, Human Welfare and Peace 335 Equality of Rights and Opportunities 341 Our Foreign Policy 346 Control of Nuclear Weapons 353 Farm Policy 359 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED I. INTRODUCTION Adlal Ewing Stevenson was born on February 5>1900, It may be said that he was bona to come into the public spotlight, his ancestors on both sides of the family tree having been very prominent citizens of Illinois. His grandfather, Adlai EJwing Stevenson also, was vice- president of the United States from 1893-1897, and a very prominent member of the Illinois Democratic party. Young Stevenson grew up in Bloomington, Illinois, where his father was part-owner of the local newspaper. He attended several prep schools in the East, attended Princeton University, graduating in 1922, and subsequently earned his law degree at Harvard University and Northwestern University. After serving abroad as a newspaper correspondent, he became a federal official, principally with the agriculture, state and navy departments. Between appointments to Federal posts in Washington, Stevenson worked for a law firm in Chicago, but his primaiy interest always appeared to be with public works. In 19UU President Roosevelt appointed him to serve with the United States group charged with the duty of setting up the United Nations. After fulfilling this mission, he returned to Illinois and his law practice. He became a noted public speaker and was imposed upon by many friends to run as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois in 19ii.8. Against apparently overwhelming odds and in the face of a Republican landslide in the mid-west. 2 Stevenson was elected Governor by the largest plurality in the history of Illinois politics. After serving four years as Governor, during which many reforms were successfully undertaken, he was nominated as the Demo­ cratic candidate for President of the United States. Opposed by Dwight Eisenhower, Stevenson carried only nine states and was soundly defeated at the polls on November i|., 1952. He remained the titular head of his party and four years later was again nominated to nin for the Presidency, In 1956 he carried only seven states, losing again to Eisenhower,^ Stevenson is important to the American scene because he is more than a political candidate. His carefully prepared speeches have gained unusual attention, and he has been recognized as a fluent spokesman for a great section of the American populace. His broad experience in government and world affairs, plus an obvious desire to express important issues, marks him as an American respected and listened to by members of all pol- litical parties# II. THE PROBLEM Statement of the problem. It was the purpose of this study to discover the rhetorical qualities in the speeches of Adlai Stevenson as shown by an analysis of six representative speeches from his campaign of 1952 and six representative speeches from his campaign of 1956. Importance of the study. The intrinsic worth of such a study lay, primarily, in the importance of the man being studied and the time in %oel F, Busch, Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois (New York; Farrar, Straus and Young, 1952), pp. 32-117. 3 which he lived# As the spokesman for the Democratic party during this very critical period, as well as a very influential liberal and independent group, Stevenson's influence was significant. Of further consequence, the study considered the value of these speeches as a part of the more extensive field of public address in America, Undoubtedly Stevenson has been ranked favorably among the articulate orators of the 19^0's» This study might help make his place more evident# Limitations of the study. The analysis of the speeches in this study has been restricted to the areas of Invention, Arrangement and Style. Ex­ amples of these three divisions and of the use to which they were put have been reported and recoi^ied as parts of this studyj however, the areas of Memory, Delivery, Psychology and the rest of the aspects of Stevenson's public addresses have not been included and were not mentioned in this analysis due to the complexity of any study thus prepared. The study was based upon these limitations, but it tried to consider as thoroughly as possible those general areas which were included, III. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED The terms requiring definition were euqjlained in the examination of the criteria for evaluation. However, the general term "Rhetoric" needed to be delved into further in order to make the meaning more clear and to allow the analysis to be more understandable. Rhetoric, Aristotle defined rhetoric as the science of persuasion. His classic quotation on the topic was a basis of rhetoric during the Greek period, "So let rhetoric be defined as the faculty (power) of k discovering in the particular case what are the available means of per- suasion*» Cicero, writing UOO years later, e3q)anded on this definition, using the term "oratory" as synonymous with "rhetoric." Oratory is the result of a whole number of things, in any one of which to succeed is a great achievement. • To begin with, a know­ ledge of very many things must be grasped, without which oratory is but an ®apty and ridiculous swirl of verbiagei and the distinctive style has to be formed. • and all the mental motions with which the human has been endowed are to be intimately understood#3 Cicero was more concerned with the style and delivery of the speech, reflect­ ing the feeling of his fellow-citizens. Vihately, writing in 19th century Britain, returned fundamentally to the ideas of Aristotle, disagreeing with the Roman concepts of rhetoric. ...the knowledge of the subjects on which the Orator is to speak, constitutes no part of the art of Rhetoric, though it is essential to its successful employment. We propose in the present article to adopt a middle course between these two extreme points. considering Rhetoric (in conformity with our original plan, and with the very just and philosophical view of Aristotle) as an off-shoot f3?om Logic,^ A modem definition was given by Webster's Dictionary# "The art of ex­ pressive speech or of discourse, esp.