Debating societies [ Clubs & Societies / Associational culture ]
… and they were open to the general public. Their success is probably due to the public’s taste for public speaking and oratory; and to the managers’ savvy choice of topics appealing to various intellectual appetites. They promised ‘popular … leading MPs in coffeehouses and in the press. 11 People flocked to debating societies because they wanted to hear good oratory, and to hear discussions of current political oratory in the Commons. Debating societies also discussed the status of eloquence itself, broaching issues like the links …
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