Rhetoric Society Quarterly Jun 2000

Playing to the press in Mckinley's front porch campaign: The early weeks of a nineteenth‐century pseudo‐event

William D. Harpine University of Akron

Abstract

Abstract In the summer of 1896 William McKinley, Republican candidate for President, remained at home while his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, conducted a vigorous railroad campaign. Nonetheless, McKinley was not idle as he campaigned effectively from his home in Canton, Ohio. This analysis of McKinley ‘s summer campaign speeches establishes, first, that McKinley ‘s Front Porch campaign, even in its earliest weeks, consisted of a series of artificial events staged for the media, and, second, that this feature of the campaign shaped what McKinley said and how he said it, as McKinley created the impression of identification between the voters and himself.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2000-06-01
DOI
10.1080/02773940009391183
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory
Export
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Harpine (2004)
    “We want yer, McKinley”: Epbdeictic rhetoric in songs from the 1896 presidentia…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly

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