Major Speeches Research Articles

Harry s Truman's 1948 election: The inadvertent broadcast campaign

By the last month of the 1948 campaign, Harry S Truman had come into his stride as a speechmaker. Although acknowledged as effective on radio, Truman's financially plagued campaign included only a few national broadcasts of major speeches. The importance of broadcasting to campaign workers was clear, but strategies for using the broadcast media to reach voters were minimal. In spite of capitalizing on the candidate's incumbency to obtain press coverage, arrangements for broadcast coverage were left strictly to local people. Unlike earlier and later presidential campaigns, the use of broadcasting was an inadvertent aspect of the 1948 campaign.

Cuba's International Relations, The Anatomy of a Nationalistic Foreign Policy. By H. Michael Erisman. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985. Pp. xv + 203. $34.00, cloth; $13.95, paper.)

From its inception, Fidel Castro's revolution has exerted an impact on the international scene far out of proportion to Cuba's modest size and limited resources. This phenomenon became more pronounced in the mid-1970s as Havana's foreign policies took on truly global parameters that involved the dispatch of large combat forces to Angola and Ethiopia, the initiation of ambitious military and developmental aid programs for Third World nations, and the assumption of leadership of the Nonaligned Movement. Today Cuba remains a significant actor on the world scene, giving top priority to Caribbean and Central American affairs. Critics, especially in the United States, have insisted that Cuban globalism is not a nationalist expression, that Cuba is but a surrogate for the Soviet Union. Such charges, however, ignore or seriously underestimate the role that nationalism has always played in the Cuban Revolution. This book explores the nature and development of Castro's foreign relations in general and Cuban globalism in particular, with primary attention devoted to nationalism's influence on Havana's policies toward the United States, the Soviet Union, and especially the developing (mostly nonaligned) African, Asian, and Latin countries of the Third World. To give the reader an in-depth Cuban perspective on crucial international issues, excerpts from Castro's major speeches and press interviews are included. Erisman concludes that the nationalistic dimension of Havana's foreign policies has definitely not been fully appreciated, and this omission obscures the complexity and true essence of Cuban globalism.

The Politics of Presidential Speechmaking, 1949-1980

The study provides an empirical analysis of the determinants and consequences of presidential speechmaking, defined as the occurrence of a major, nationally broadcast and televised address. Major speeches delivered by Presidents Truman through Carter are examined during the period 1949-1980. Using a probit analysis, a prediction is made of the likelihood of a major speech occurring within a month, based on the effects of public attitudes, national conditions, and events. The results indicate that changes in public approval ratings and the presence of visible national events increase the likelihood that a president will deliver a speech. Conversely, worsening economic conditions (inflation and unemployment) as well as expanding military situations decrease speechmaking efforts. The findings also demonstrate that a president's popularity increases significantly with the delivery of a major address.

Technologies of Freedom: On Free Speech in an Electronic Age

Most major speeches, seminars, and symposia considering the future of government and public policy underscore that rapidly changing technology is reshaping the environment, the purposes, and the tools of social action. But only rarely is clear understanding of technological changes combined with thorough knowledge of the related policy and management dynamics of government. De Sola Pool achieves that combination in Technologies of Freedom, showing how the evolving technologies of publishing, communications, and information exchange undermine traditional premises on which government regulation of monopoly and protection of First Amendment freedoms of expression have been based. The tendency of the courts, the FCC, and government administrators at all levels to approach problems of communications within a framework of outmoded precedents and fixed ideas poses, according to de Sola Pool, a real threat to open, pluralistic and free expression essential to democracy. Government policy has been rooted in the distinction between common carriers of communication (telephone companies and the postal service) with little or no impact on the content of the messages carried, and generators of messages that both produce and distribute ideas and information (print media publishers and radio and television broadcasters). The former are considered monopolies to be regulated; the latter are considered subject to protections of the First Amendment, with special shields around the print media. From the early days of radio, broadcasters were licensed on the theory that available frequencies were scarce (spectrum shortage). The result in broadcasting is uneasy compromise: a system in which political officials meddle, though with reluctance, in the activities of individual stations, and do in fact decide what type of broadcasting the American public wants and shall receive (p. 140). But one fact that the courts and the regulators have not caught up with is that is no longer a scarce resource. The modes that are available for electronic communication have expanded in several ways, including use of new frequencies, disks and tapes, coaxial cables and optical fibers, and satellite broadcasting directly to homes. The fundamental decentralizing effects of these developments are being offset, however, by the regulatory system reflecting vested interests of broadcasters and franchise holders who do not want more competition. For example, broadcasters successfully opposed a proposal before the in 1980 to increase the number of radio stations by reducing bandwidth. Policy issues relating to cable communications are clearly set forth in Chapter 7. Initial approaches to cable television assumed that it was a common carrier, a local monopoly to be regulated. The increasing production of program content by cable companies eliminates the distinction between broadcaster and common carrier. De Sola Pool argues cogently that the FCC has no authority whatever to regulate what may be carried on cable systems and cannot have such authority under the Constitution.... There is nothing about spectrum technology that today mandates bureaucratic control of what is transmitted by cable. There need be no scarcity of capacity or access (p. 166). It is now technically possible to provide unlimited broadcasting to buildings through cable, reserving the airwaves for uses unsuitable for linkage by cable-communications with remote, low density settlements and moving vehicles, radio astronomy and radar, for example. the next decade, telephone systems could provide competing methods for delivering broadband services through integrated digital using optical fibers. The court ordered break-up of AT&T may slow this development. the meantime, the danger is that the market in these ideas will be narrowed by cable franchise holders and regulation. The existing structure of licenses is not being adapted to these possibilities, and both regulation and local government franchising policies have been inappropriate and inconsistent. The printed word has retained its special status under the First Amendment: freedom from licensing, from prior restraint, from taxation and from regulation. Whether this will remain true when electronic publishing dominates the field is a serious question. The American Newspaper Publishers Association lobbied, first into a Senate bill and then into the federal court consent decree, a provision forbidding AT&T from entering into media businesses (for example, from providing electronic yellow pages and classified ads) for seven years after the corporate breakup. In the name of pluralism, the press persuaded the government to designate who may and may not publish (p. 208). De Sola Pool describes this as an ominous infringement of the First Amendment. The policy and legal debates surrounding the case clearly demonstrate confusion about the basic characteristics of expression, whether conveyed by print or by digital electronics. The development of computer and telephone line networks and electronic publishing, like the developments in broadcasting and cable transmission, are fundamentally decentralizing, making expression and communications more competitive and more plural, despite tendencies for cor-

Bismarck. The Major Speeches

Bismarck. The Major Speeches

A Black Scholar Debate: The Jordan-Carter Exchange

In October 1977 THE BLACK SCHOLAR published the major speeches given at the National Urban League Annual Conference, by Vernon Jordan Jr., “A Question of Commitment: The Black Urban Crisis and the Carter Administration,” President Carter, “A Message to the Black Community: The Present Administration and its Domestic Achievements and Goals,” and Patricia R. Harris, “A New Look at Hud.” To stimulate debate and analysis, we are printing here responses to the issues posed by these leaders from the black community, with emphasis on Carter's first year of Presidency.

Career Patterns and Attitudes of Military-Political Elites in Brazil: Similarity and Continuity, 1964-1975

In this paper a narrow but intensive elite study is made which attempts to: (1) examine the types of individuals recruited into the Brazilian executive; (2) make a theoretical elaboration of the goals and expectations of the Brazilian executive; and (3) explore the linkage between and develop testable propositions dealing with socio-professional backgrounds and political attitudes of the post-1964 Brazilian executive. The study is organized around two basic sets of data-indicators of socio-professional background for the Presidents and their cabinets from 1964 to 1975; and an analysis of a sample of the major speeches made by the various Presidents of Brazil during that time frame. The data are analyzed and lead to three general conclusions. First, there is a weak linkage between social background and career development and specialization. At the same time, there is probably at least a weak linkage between career development and specialization and political attitudes. Moreover, there is probably a significant relationship between political attitudes and behavior. Second, individuals recruited into the Brazilian executive tend to strongly adhere to the managerial modernizer model; and, if individuals with these socio-professional background characteristics, in fact, define a modernizing regime - the Brazilian executive is so organized. Third and last, the Brazilian executive has consistently articulated a set of goals and expectations that revolve around the major theme of development and national well-being. The definitions and resultant political philosophy are relatively simple and straightforward. First, development and well-being mean economic modernization and the propulsion of Brazil into major world power status. Second, the military is the only entity in Brazil that has the right to educate and/or provide the personnel to define, create, and enforce what the armed forces consider the proper political, economic, and social policies and programs. It appears to us that what we have suggested above conforms to the present realities of power and society in Brazil.

A Black Scholar Debate: The Jordan-Carter Exchange

In October 1977 THE BLACK SCHOLAR published the major speeches given at the National Urban League Annual Conference, by Vernon Jordan Jr., “A Question of Commitment: The Black Urban Crisis and the Carter Administration,” President Carter, “A Message to the Black Community: The Present Administration and its Domestic Achievements and Goals,” and Patricia R. Harris, “A New Look at Hud.” To stimulate debate and analysis, we are printing here responses to the issues posed by these leaders from the black community. Additional responses will be published in a forthcoming issue.

The Voice of Black America: Major Speeches by Negroes in the United States, 1797-1971

The Voice of Black America: Major Speeches by Negroes in the United States, 1797-1971

Marginal Farms – A Micro Development Opportunity

Practically all major speeches on the agenda of farm policy issues have listed the problems of non-commercial farmers as a major item. Operators of non-commercial, or marginal, farms are a very heterogeneous group. They include: (1) operators of medium sized, undercapitalized farms, (2) farm operators who work part-time off-farm to supplement farm income, (3) operators of small, inefficient farms who, because of age, education or handicap, have limited prospects of becoming fully self-supporting either in farming or non-farm occupations, and (4) rural residents who own farms which provide some income; the owner works full-time off-farm.Farmers in this group generally gross less than $10,000 from agricultural production. This is normally considered inadequate for providing an acceptable level of living.

Key Concepts from Discussion Groups Responding to Major Speeches at the Pacific Regional Convention

Key Concepts from Discussion Groups Responding to Major Speeches at the Pacific Regional Convention

From Academic Darkness

In the halcyon days of the MLA, when I was young and my revered master, John Manly, was still in his prime, it was our custom to highlight the program for the annual meeting with two major speeches: a smoke-talk at the big dinner we used to have, and a presidential address. The difference in name reflects a difference in form and matter: the smoke-talk was expected to be in lighter vein; the presidential address, in heavier vein (if I may say so). It was the aim of the smoke-talker above all to be amusing; witty if possible but funny at least. And his success was measured by the number of times he made his audience laugh. The smoke-talk was nearly always well attended, for hope springs eternal in the academic breast. There were those, I admit, natural cynics or members disillusioned by repeated disappointment, who came to the dinner but slipped out after eating their dessert and drinking their coffee, but we could always think they were fleeing the foulness of the tobacco-laden air rather than the prospective boredom of the two speeches (for the smoke-talker had to be introduced and the introducer might speak as long as the speaker). But most of us stuck it out, tobacco smoke and all, and more often than not we went away well content. The most satisfying evening of this kind that I can remember was one at Harvard back in the twenties, when George Kittredge was the smoke-talker and Charles Grandgent introduced him. My mouth waters for more when I think of that pair of speeches. It is a pity that we had to give up the smoke-talk and the dinner that went with it, but there are too many of us nowadays to sit down to a meal together in one room, and so much goes on at our meetings that a whole evening devoted to corporate, communal pleasure (or what passes for pleasure) has become more than we have any right to expect.

A new campaign plan

National Municipal ReviewVolume 45, Issue 11 p. 530-531 Article A new campaign plan† George H. Gallup, George H. Gallup Dr. Gallup, founder and director of the American Institute of Public Opinion, is the retiring president of the National Municipal League. This article is his presidential address before the League's National Conference on Government, Memphis, Tennessee, November 12, 1956.Search for more papers by this author George H. Gallup, George H. Gallup Dr. Gallup, founder and director of the American Institute of Public Opinion, is the retiring president of the National Municipal League. This article is his presidential address before the League's National Conference on Government, Memphis, Tennessee, November 12, 1956.Search for more papers by this author First published: December 1956 https://doi.org/10.1002/ncr.4110451104 † Gallup proposes to limit presidential candidates to six major speeches to end our “quadrennial madness.” AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume45, Issue11December 1956Pages 530-531 RelatedInformation

Book reviews

BABIES NEED FATHERS, TOO, by Rhoda Kellogg. New York: Comet Press, 1953. 256 pp. $3.50 DIAGNOSTIC MANUAL IN SPEECH CORRECTION, A Professional Training Workbook, by Wendell Johnson, Frederic L. Darley, and Duane C. Spriestersbach. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1952. viii + 221 pp. SHAKESPEAREAN STAGE PRODUCTION: THEN AND NOW, by Cecile de Banke. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Company, Inc., 1953. xviii + 342 pp. $6.00 THE AGE OF DANGER: MAJOR SPEECHES ON AMERICAN PROBLEMS, edited by Harold F. Harding. New York: Random House, 1952. xiv + 561 pp. $2.45 RADIO ENGLISH, by Florence Felten French, William B. Levenson, and Vera Cober Rockwell. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Company, Inc., Cober Rockwell. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Company, Inc., 1952. xiii + 368 pp. BROADCASTING PROJECTS: RADIO AND TELEVISION, a Manual for students, by Henry L. Ewbank and Sherman P. Lawton. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1953. v + 152 pp.

Flesch readability analysis of the major pre-election speeches of Eisenhower and Stevenson.

Flesch readability analysis of the major pre-election speeches of Eisenhower and Stevenson.