William D. Blake - “The Constitution…Should Be Read by Intelligent and

Journal article

William D. Blake
Maryland Law Review, vol. 83(1), 2023, pp. 314-30

Cite

APA Click to copy
Blake, W. D. (2023). “The Constitution…Should Be Read by Intelligent and Patriotic Men”: A Statistical Analysis of Constitutional Rhetoric. Maryland Law Review, 83(1), 314–330.

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Blake, William D. “‘The Constitution…Should Be Read by Intelligent and Patriotic Men’: A Statistical Analysis of Constitutional Rhetoric.” Maryland Law Review 83, no. 1 (2023): 314–30.

MLA Click to copy
Blake, William D. “‘The Constitution…Should Be Read by Intelligent and Patriotic Men’: A Statistical Analysis of Constitutional Rhetoric.” Maryland Law Review, vol. 83, no. 1, 2023, pp. 314–30.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{blake2023a,
  title = {“The Constitution…Should Be Read by Intelligent and Patriotic Men”: A Statistical Analysis of Constitutional Rhetoric},
  year = {2023},
  issue = {1},
  journal = {Maryland Law Review},
  pages = {314-30},
  volume = {83},
  author = {Blake, William D.}
}

In this Essay, I offer a preliminary, quantitative account of the decline of constitutional rhetoric by analyzing more than 16,000 spoken presidential communications from George Washington to Joe Biden. The analysis indicates that the decline in references to the Constitution coincides with the development of the what Jeffrey Tulis calls the “rhetorical presidency.” As further corroboration, I find strong, negative correlations between constitutional references and the frequency and simplicity of presidential speeches, as well as the growth of White House staff. The data also provide an initial insight as to what rhetorical themes fill the void: references to the economy. Finally, Republican presidents mention the Constitution at a significantly higher rate compared to Democratic chief executives.