Author Description

The pursuit of E pluribus unum - "from many, one"--The motto on which the United States was founded, has continually posed one of the greatest challenges our presidents have faced throughout history. How does the presidency foster a spirit of unity among all Americans despite so many divergent interests and backgrounds? In this singular study, accomplished storyteller and professor of English Wayne Fields examines this rhetorical tug-of-war through the historical lens of presidential speechmaking. Beginning with George Washington's inaugural and continuing to the present day, Fields traces the vital role of our presidents in fulfilling the constitutional imperative of a "more perfect union." Following the calendar of presidential life, he examines individual speeches from the announcement of candidacy and the acceptance of nomination to the State of the Union address, the call for war or peace, and the farewell address, recounting with a wealth of historical detail the events surrounding each formal and informal speech. Through these orations, Fields provides a fascinating depiction of our presidents as individuals struggling to assert their principles, exercise leadership, and unite diverse Americans while simultaneously contending with the prejudices and circumstances of their time. But an even greater account emerges, one that resonates just as strongly in the issues of our own time: it is the story of a nation and a people constantly recreating themselves to try to build a shared identity within a country of endless change.