Fred Newton Scott promoted a drive for social efficiency by promoting a democratic rhetoric that responded to the progressive agenda of John Dewey. John Dewey was a highly influential figure in Scott’s life. Dewey believed in a progressive style of education that was a holistic experience. Both men attended the same college and they spent much time discussing and debating the current theory of rhetoric. Scott based most of his work on social rhetoric on the progressive ideals John Dewey advocated. Their close ties are demonstrated by the flattering and highly complimentary biographical pieces each wrote on the other. Fred Newton Scott encouraged a Platonic concept of writing. He stressed that writing is a social act that may be used as a method of seeking the truth. “Although he advocates the Aristotelian concept of adapting the message to the audience, he does not simply view meaning as external to the writing process; instead he believes that meaning is created through the interaction between interlocutor and the audience. Scott shares Plato’s concern for the welfare of the community and the belief that good discourse is that which by disseminating truth creates a healthy public opinion and thus effects, in Plato’s words, ‘a training and improvement in the souls of the citizens.’” Scott also illustrated the importance of the audience within the system. “He was also often described as a ‘Socratic’ teacher, using a question-and-discovery method of teaching to inspire his students to learn material on their own rather than repeating information given by the teacher.” Scott did not follow the current traditional theory of rhetoric as it left out the importance of the audience. Instead, he advanced the view that by considering the audience, the author is reminded of the social nature of studying composition. Progressivism, as applied to individuals, refers to a group of social reformers active around the beginning of the 20th century. Included in their ranks were educators, like John Dewey, social welfare workers, like Jane Addams, and journalists, like Lincoln Steffens. Their core belief is that the survival of the nation was dependent on the achievement of a virtuous democracy. Scott also felt it was important that Americans unite under a common ideology. “The most prominent characteristic of this ideology was engagement with a set of political and civil ideals stemming from the legacy of republicanism: commitment to the public good and the health of the nation; a belief in liberty so that all could be free to participate in public affairs; the creation of community, so that all would share an equal existence among others sharing and participating in the same commitments.”