Fred Newton Scott - Social Rhetoric

Social Rhetoric

Progressivism, as applied to individuals, refers to a group of social reformers active around the beginning of the 20th century. Included in their ranks were educators, like John Dewey, social welfare workers, like Jane Addams, and journalists, like Lincoln Steffens. Their core belief is that the survival of the nation was dependent on the achievement of a virtuous democracy. Scott also felt it was important that Americans unite under a common ideology.

“The most prominent characteristic of this ideology was engagement with a set of political and civil ideals stemming from the legacy of republicanism: commitment to the public good and the health of the nation; a belief in liberty so that all could be free to participate in public affairs; the creation of community, so that all would share an equal existence among others sharing and participating in the same commitments.”

Scott viewed the educational experience as self-development within a democratic environment, and was a method of training young minds to be active participants in a democratic society. In essence, Scott viewed writing as a social act performed through a complex interaction of writer, audience, subject, and language. Due to his concern for social reform and harmony, and for the preparation for economic integration, education should be utilized for the good of all; it should be utilized to prepare citizens for democracy.

Writing should be taught within a complete rhetorical situation, a situation that was thoroughly social without denying the importance of the individual. Scott, in his work “A Substitute,” describes writing as:

“essential for building character…moral courage, self-reliance, respect for the truth in every aspect…sympathy for our fellow human beings, and an active desire to help them and co-operate with them, a love of justice and fair play, belief in democratic institutions, loyalty to our republic.”

Scott saw an intrinsic connection between the essay and the survival of the nation, and he argued that mastering the conventions associated with this form would bring with it assimilation of the values that he believed would ensure that survival. In Two Ideals of Composition Instruction, Scott argued that mastering the right sort of English was crucial for the survival of the nation.

“Language s the mode by which culture is imparted…and with mastery of the mother tongue the obligation to use this great instrument for the training and instruction of the souls of the citizens.”

Scott saw a number of factors threatening this. In his essay English Composition as a Mode of Behavior, Scott probed the causes of the errors occurring in the transmission of values reflected in the language that was necessary for the perpetuation of the culture. Scott determined that there were two main causes for the student errors that came out of the breakup of community during this period: the influence of spoken foreign languages and the breaking up of the family tradition. The three evidences he cites as the breakup of family tradition are: the Sunday newspaper, the telephone, and the automobile. In other words, Scott felt that media that was used for communication broke up the family unit.

Scott also contrasted two different styles of speech and illustrated the distinctions between them. The first he called degraded speech and he compares it to a foreign language or media language. The second is acceptable speech, which represents the family language and is more acceptable in school because it has fewer errors than degraded speech. Scott recommended two solutions to encourage the nation to form common goals and bonds. The first is to give the people and education because with this information they will feel part owner in the system and actively participate. The second is that it will encourage individual achievement and satisfaction and they will continue to focus on their own development.