ABSTRACT
As explained in chapter 3, the study of argumentation in the tradition of speech communication began in the United States with the publication of debate textbooks in the late nineteenth century. Debating was seen as a pedagogical device, a form of practical training for careers in law, government, or politics; argumentation more generally was seen as a body of citizenship skills. Argumentation, the texts held, is critical to democratic processes; its pedagogy is a path towards enfranchising a mass public for democratic participation.
