Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
3. CONTENTS xv
4. Figures xvii
5. Introduction 1
6. Jefferson's Pauses 4
7. The Elocutionary Revolution 28
8. Soft Compulsion 35
9. Harmonies: Homer, Fugues, and Chairs 63
10. Natural Theatricality 79
11. The Figure of Patrick Henry 94
12. Social Leveling and Stage Fright 107
13. Private Lives and Public Scrutiny 120
14. Agency and the Invention of Responsibility 140
15. Dialectical Words 150
16. Plagiarism, Authorship, and Improvement 164
17. The Oratorical Ideal, Racial Politics, and the Making of Americans 189
18. Epilogue 196
19. Appendix: The Declaration 203
20. Notes 211
21. Works Cited 239
22. Index 255