Communication ETDs

Publication Date

9-27-1972

Abstract

The present study was designed to analyze the 1968 Presidential campaign speech of George Wallace, using a theoretical model based on a value analysis. Four hypotheses were developed. First, the speech of George Corley Wallace will be found to contain value appeals; second, it is hypothesized that George Wallace appealed to a fairly limited number of American values; third, one of the values that Wallace can be expected to appeal to is racism; and, fourth, George Wallace does appeal to some dominant American values, but he does not appeal to others. The purpose of this study was to answer the question: How effective was the value analysis exemplified in the Presidential campaign speech of George Corley Wallace? The components of a value-orientation model are discussed, and a Campaign-Values Model is constructed. The components of the Campaign-Values Model are the major American value orientations developed by Williams, and selected items of the Polyphasic Value Inventory developed by Roscoe. This model was used for a content analysis of the selected speech, and a numerical weight was assigned to the different references. This numerical weight indicates the positive or negative direction of the value references. Wallace's political environment and personal background are examined, as is the political climate of the 1968 campaign. All four hypotheses were positively supported. Wallace was found to be ineffective in terms of the value appeals he used. While he had at least one value referent in each of the fifteen categories, he stressed values in less than fifty percent of the value categories. The values George C. Wallace stressed were Moral Orientation, Efficiency and Practicality, Freedom, External Conformity, Nationalism-Patriotism, Democracy, and Racism. The use of the Campaign-Values Model provided a model designed to deal with a specific situational category. This model also provided greater operational specificity and slightly different results than a traditional content analysis approach does.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Communication

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Communication and Journalism

First Committee Member (Chair)

Robert Christopher Dick

Second Committee Member

Gerald Martin Goldhaber

Third Committee Member

Wayne C. Eubank

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