This is the first thorough and systematic interrogation of Republican Party oratory and rhetoric that examines a series of leading figures in American conservative politics. It asks: How do leading Republican Party figures communicate with and influence their audiences?; What makes a successful speech, and why do some speeches fail to resonate? Most importantly, it also investigates why orators use different styles of communication with different audiences, such as the Senate, party conventions, public meetings, and through the media. By doing so it shines important new light into conservative politics from the era of Eisenhower to the more brutal politics of Donald Trump. The book will appeal to students and scholars across the fields of US politics, contemporary US history, and rhetoric and communication studies.

Andrew S. Crines is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Liverpool, UK. He holds the 2017 PSA Richard Rose Prize, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His previous publications include: Democratic Orators from JFK to Obama (with D. S. Moon and R. Lehrman, 2016); The Political Rhetoric and Oratory of Margaret Thatcher (with T. Heppell and P. Dorey, 2016), and two volumes on oratory in Conservative and Labour Party politics respectively (with R. Hayton, 2015).

Sophia Hatzisavvidou is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Bath, UK. She is working on a project on environmental rhetoric funded by the Leverhulme Trust. She has previously taught rhetoric at Goldsmiths, University of London and she has published in academic journals such as Political Studies, Social Movements Studies, Global Discourse, as well as the monograph Appearances of Ethos in Political Thought (2016).

Introduction; Andrew S Crines and Sophia Hatzisavvidou.- 1 The Oratory of Dwight D Eisenhower; Mara Oliva.- 2 The Oratory of Barry Goldwater; Andrew Taylor.- 3 The Oratory of Richard Nixon; Peter Woodcock.- 4 The Oratory of Ronald Reagan; Matthew W. Klingbeil, John Clyde Russell, Mary E. Stuckey.- 5 The Oratory of Bob Dole; Jerry Miller.- 6 The Oratory of George H W Bush; Matthew Lakin.- 7 The Oratory of Dan Quayle; Timothy Heppell.- 8 The Oratory of Newt Gingrich; Gregory Koger.- 9 The Oratory of George W Bush; Jon Herbert.- 10 The Oratory of Condoleezza Rice; Clodagh Harrington.- 11 The Oratory of John McCain; Kenneth Fernandez.- 12 The Oratory of Sarah Palin; Sophia Hatzisavvidou.- 13 The Oratory of Donald J. Trump; Andrew S Crines and David P Dolowitz.- Conclusion; Sophia Hatzisavvidou and Andrew S Crines.