Reinventing the master's tools: Nineteenth‐century African‐American literary societies of Philadelphia and rhetorical education

Abstract

Antebellum African‐American literary societies in Philadelphia promoted rhetorical education and gave members the opportunity to craft powerful arguments. This study investigates the presence of the Anglo‐American rhetorical tradition—particularly eighteenth‐century Scots principles of Blair, Smith, and Campbell—in six representative speeches delivered at literary society meetings. Our analysis focuses on two major issues: 1) the influence of traditional principles of nineteenth‐century university rhetorical education on theory and practice in these societies; and 2) the ways in which traditional principles were infused with new purposes; deployed for radical ends; and appropriated, reshaped, and reinvented in ways that transform and redefine nineteenth‐century rhetorical practice.