All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches

ISBN: 0593595122

Author: Rhodes, Ben

Condition: New

What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? This sweeping history of the United States told through fifteen speeches relives the battle over American identity, from a New York Times bestselling author and one of President Barack Obamas former speechwriters.At a time of moral and political drift, Ben Rhodes reminds us what American greatness actually sounds like, and what it means.-Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland ElegiesFor 250 years, we have debated what it means to be American. This question shaped the compromises in our Constitution and the arguments weve been having ever since-spawning abolitionism, secession, and civil war; populism, mass migration, and global leadership; movements for reform and the backlashes to them. In All We Say, Ben Rhodes tells the story of fifteen speeches-some iconic, others long forgotten-which have both shaped and reflected the argument Americans have been having from our founding to the intense divisions of our time.Through riveting and beautifully rendered accounts of the people, movements, and moments that produced these speeches, Rhodes traces the history of our battle over identity. The result is a singular and revealing portrait of America itself: a nation divided between two stories-one of inheritance, power, and exclusion, the other of equality, striving, and belonging. Drawing on a decade writing for Barack Obama, Rhodes also shows us how words can redirect a nation, what makes a speech enduring, and why oratory is a unique form of persuasion in American democracy.From Benjamin Franklins call for compromise at the Constitutional Convention, to Alexander Stephens case for white supremacy as the cornerstone of the Confederacy; from Martin Luther Kings dream of true equality to Donald Trumps rallying cry against democracy itself, these speeches remind us that history is a living argument. At a time when American identity-and truth-is contested, All We Say offers a fresh and powerful look at who we really are and who we could still become.