We find particular aptness when considering inoculation as a persuasive strategy in the context of smallpox inoculation rhetoric: Cooper attempts to inoculate (attitudinal) against anti-inoculation (biological) rhetoric.

Josh Compton & Brian Kaylor

The early 18th century rhetoric of Boston minister William Cooper reflects inoculation theory’s two principle components—(1) threat and (2) refutational preemption—in Cooper’s pamphlet, A Reply to the Objections Made Against Taking the Small Pox in the Way of Inoculation from Principles of Conscience, Letter to a Friend in the Country. Cooper attempts to inoculate (attitudinal) against anti-inoculation (medical) rhetoric. We turn to a social scientific model to frame a rhetorical analysis of Cooper’s unique strategies, and the essay concludes with an exploration of contemporary health communication attempts to assuage fears of biological inoculations, with identified similarities with Cooper’s rhetoric. 

Compton, J., & Kaylor, B. T. (2012, April). Inoculating against small pox inoculation objections in Reverend Cooper’sLetter to a Friend in the Country [paper presentation]. Eastern Communication Association, Cambridge, MA, United States. *Winner, Top Paper Panel: Rhetoric and Public Address Division.