Description
Book SynopsisEdward Everett (1794-1865) was America's first Ph.D., a United States Congressman, Governor of Massachusetts, Ambassador to England, President of Harvard University, Secretary of State, a United States Senator, and a Vice-Presidential candidate. In the midst of this distinguished career, he was also a famous and profound orator, delivering hundreds of orations across the nation, and at least five of the most important speeches in American history. In this book, Everett's training as an orator and his career on the public stage are reviewed in the context of his times, often referred to as the Golden Age of American oratory. Through analyses of a number of his most illustrious orations such as the Phi Beta Kappa Society oration in 1824; his 4th of July oration at Worcester, Massachusetts; his eulogy to John Quincy Adams in 1848; his speech that saved Mount Vernon, The Character of Washington, delivered 137 times from 1856-1860; and his Gettysburg Oration, delivered just prior to Lincol
Trade Review«Thanks to Richard A. Katula’s superb book, an altogether fitting and proper consequence of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday observance will be the rediscovery of the man who gave the other speech at the dedication of Gettysburg’s national cemetery. Edward Everett – statesman, educator, and orator – thus emerges in the twenty-first century as the nineteenth century knew him to be, an important figure in American history. And with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War fast approaching, his star should long continue to rise.» (Howard Coffin, distinguished historian of the 19th century, Civil War author and preservationist)
«Richard A. Katula brilliantly discusses the other orator at Gettysburg. Edward Everett, as the author makes abundantly clear, was a statesman in his own right. His service as an administrator, ambassador, and orator of the day added luster to nineteenth century American democracy. Anyone interested in the middle period of our history should read this book.» (Frank J. Williams, Founding Chair of the Lincoln Forum, former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court)
