Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Frances G. Crowley

Critical Essay by Frances G. Crowley

SOURCE: Crowley, Frances G. “Sarmiento, the Publicist.” In Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, pp. 106-28. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1972.

In the following essay, Crowley argues that early examples of social and political promotional strategies exist in Sarmiento's works.

Sarmiento was a born publicist, aided by those two essentials dear to Hyppolite Taine, the historical moment and the opportunity. It is ironic that his exile in Chile proved to be of immense value for his later development, for his adoptive country was at the time culturally better equipped than his own to partake of his personal and political drama. Its presidential candidate Montt was to become a close personal friend of our author, a solid backer and teacher, eminently endowed with the art of gentle persuasion. When Sarmiento arrived in Chile, he was rough from years of battling and raw feuding. Friends like Montt and some of his fellow journalists taught...
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