Date of Award
Spring 6-10-2020
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Christine Chaney
First Advisor/Committee Member
Rebecca Hughes
Second Advisor/Committee Member
Elizabeth Baigent
Keywords
free trade, oratory, political culture, United Kingdom, Edwardian, feminism
Abstract
Dorothy M. Hunter (1881-1977) rose to prominence during the 1906 United Kingdom general election as a markedly “girlish” yet widely respected free trade orator. While men on the Edwardian public political platform typically built a reputation for oratorical prowess through theatrical displays of “heroic” masculinity, Hunter established her authority as a speaker through two very different (and apparently contradictory) strategies. Her performance of “charming” middle-class femininity helped demonstrate her right to speak on free trade as a “women’s question,” extending women’s traditional authority over matters of domestic consumption to include questions of political economy. Trusting in the power of education and the logic of free trade, Hunter also developed a reputation for “manly” rationalism that set her apart from the sensationalist mainstream of political oratory; her fellow Liberals often credited her lucid explanations of basic economic theory with converting many to the free trade cause. The juxtaposition of “manly” rationalism and “charming” femininity in Hunter’s oratory created a compelling spectacle that won Hunter attention and respect in the crowded, tumultuous world of Edwardian public politics.
Recommended Citation
Campbell, Erinn Elizabeth, "“The Speechmaking of a Girl-Orator”: Reason, Gender, and Authority in Dorothy Hunter’s Free Trade Oratory" (2020). Honors Projects. 143.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/143
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Included in
Economic History Commons, European History Commons, History of Gender Commons, Political Economy Commons, Political History Commons, Rhetoric Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Scholars Honors Program.