Oratory

Oratory, also called rhetoric, skill in persuasive speaking, originating in Greece c.460 B.C. Demosthenes, who charged Philip II of Macedonia with menacing Greek independence, was the most famous Greek orator. Aristotle contributed written style to organize a speaker's approach, incorporating ethical, pathetic, and logical means to persuade successfully. Martin Luther and John Calvin were powerful orators on behalf of Protestantism. Daniel Webster and Abraham Lincoln in the 19th century, and Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King in the 20th were most effective U.S. orators.