The Columbian Orator: The Textbook That Shaped Lincoln and Douglass
2025-04-10
Published in 1797, *The Columbian Orator* profoundly impacted two giants of American history: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Compiled by Caleb Bingham, this rhetoric textbook featured selections ranging from ancient Greece to the British Parliament, its random arrangement designed to captivate students. It aided Douglass's rise as a powerful orator after escaping slavery and shaped Lincoln's early speaking style, becoming a staple in early American education. Once blacklisted in the South for its radical views on equality, *The Columbian Orator* continues to influence generations, remaining a classic for scholars and orators alike.
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rhetoric