Jeannette Rankin’s Democratic Errand to Washington

Paul Stob Vanderbilt University

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this essay, I argue that Jeannette Rankin’s 1917 address at Carnegie Hall recast a religious rhetorical form—the Puritan errand—for the democratic needs of the early twentieth century. Rankin’s “democratic errand” positioned the American West as a place that nurtured the truths of democracy and could help purge the nation of its political sins.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2017-01-02
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2017.1272351
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References (17) · 1 in this index

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