Engaging George Campbell's Sympathy in the Rhetoric of Charlotte Forten and Ann Plato, African-American Women of the Antebellum North

Rhetoric Review Oct 2005

Engaging George Campbell's Sympathy in the Rhetoric of Charlotte Forten and Ann Plato, African-American Women of the Antebellum North

Silvia Xavier

Abstract

This essay examines the rhetorical practices of Charlotte Forten and Ann Plato, freeborn African-American women of the Antebellum North. I argue that their highly literate texts contribute to the history of women's rhetoric on at least two counts. They engage the major theoretical and philosophical influences of nineteenth-century rhetoric in America, in particular George Campbell's Principle of Sympathy. These women's writings also attest to the gulf between rhetoric and reality in a "democratizing" culture that fails to address the issue of race.

Journal: Rhetoric Review
Published: 2005-10-01
DOI: 10.1207/s15327981rr2404_4
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multilingual writers

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Cites in this index (2)

Katula (2003)

Quintilian on the Art of Emotional Appeal

Rhetoric Review
Donawerth (2002)

Nineteenth-Century United States Conduct Book Rhetoric by Women

Rhetoric Review

Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓

Bassard, Katherine Clay. Spiritual Interrogations: Culture, Gender, and Community in Early African American W…

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Eldred, Janet Carey, and Peter Mortensen. Imagining Rhetoric: Composing Women of the Early United States. Pit…

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Royster, Jacqueline Jones. Traces of a Stream: Literacy and Social Change Among African American Women. Pitts…

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