greatest speech writers

The 5 Best Speechwriters of All Time

The best speechwriters of all time are Sarah Hurwitz, Ted Sorensen, Sir Ronald Millar, Josef Berger and Jon Favreau. These speechwriters have not only inspired aspiring speechwriters, but have also inspired nations and citizens across the globe with their rhetoric and command of language.

Sarah Hurwitz

Image: Thor Brødreskift / Nordiske Mediedager

With beginnings as an intern in the speechwriting office of Al Gore after graduating from Harvard, Hurwitz subsequently became Hillary Clinton’s lead speechwriter on her 2008 presidential campaign. Hurwitz also worked as a speechwriter for John Kerry during this time. When Hillary Clinton conceded, Hurwitz became a senior speechwriter for both Barack and Michelle Obama, eventually becoming Michelle Obama’s lead speechwriter.

Ted Sorensen

Image: L-R: Pierre Salinger, Bill Moyers, Ted Sorensen, Jack Valenti, President Lyndon B. Johnson

Chief legislative aide to John F. Kennedy at just twenty-four years of age after graduating first in his class University of Nebraska College of Law, Sorensen wrote much of the first draft of Kennedy’s biography of notable Americans: Profiles in Courage.

Momentously, Sorensen drafted Kennedy’s inaugural address (though Sorensen credits Kennedy himself with the line “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”), Kennedy’s correspondence with Nikita Khrushchev and Kennedy’s address during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Perhaps most famously, Sorensen was the primary author of Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech.

Sir Ronald Millar

A Cambridge graduate who served during World War II, Millar was also an actor, scriptwriter, playwright and dramatist who lived in Hollywood and wrote for Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

Millar worked upon return to England as a speechwriter for three British Prime Ministers: one of these being Margaret Thatcher.

Millar has been credited with some of Thatcher’s most famous lines, like “The lady’s not for turning” and “Where there is discord, let us bring harmony”, the second of which Thatcher delivered shortly after being elected.

Josef Berger

A reporter, short story and children’s author, Berger worked for a time as a speechwriter to Attorney General Francis Biddle before working as lead speechwriter for the Democratic National Convention, preparing speeches for the likes of Harry Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Berger then was offered the opportunity to write for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Rather unfortunately, Roosevelt died the day before he was due to deliver this speech, but Berger’s speech went on to be published, widely read and popularized.

Jon Favreau

One of the most famous speechwriters of recent times, Favreau (same name as, but not the well-known actor or filmmaker) began working for Barack Obama during his time as a senator and became known for writing the speeches largely responsible for Obama’s successful presidential election campaign.

Favreau met Obama backstage at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (while Favreau was working for John Kerry, first preparing research material for Kerry and then as a speechwriter), where Obama delivered the keynote address which contributed to his fame.

Favreau famously told Obama to rewrite his speech so that Kerry could use one of Obama’s lines.

Favreau became known for his love of writing speeches at Starbucks, prior to being offered the role of Director of Speechwriting at the White House .

Sarah Hurwitz, Ted Sorensen, Sir Ronald Millar, Josef Berger and Jon Favreau are amongst the best speechwriters, each extremely gifted speechwriters responsible for developing some of the most quotable lines in human history. Many of these speechwriters come from legal and screenwriting or film related backgrounds and also performed extremely well at school, but they have also come from different socio-economic backgrounds and a commitment to different political creeds: proving that anyone can become a speechwriter at the highest levels with commitment, determination and through an effort to work with the right people.

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Four Famous Speechwriters

Toastmasters International has celebrated the art of public speaking since its inception, developing educational programs to grow transferable skills in communication and leadership. At Toastmasters clubs, members don’t just learn how to speak; they also learn how to write. And like any type of writing, speechwriting is a form of art. Today, we recognize a few great speechwriters.

Jon Favreau

The much-talked-about Jon Favreau first gained fame in 2008, when the then-27-year-old was named director of speechwriting for U.S. President Barack Obama. After a chance meeting with the future president while working on the John Kerry presidential campaign in 2004, Favreau began working for Obama the following year, when Obama was still a U.S. senator. Two years later, Favreau was on the campaign trail again, this time leading Obama’s speechwriting team. Favreau is famously credited as the primary writer for Obama’s 2009 inaugural speech.

Ronald Miller

British-born Sir Ronald Graeme Miller was a World War II veteran, a playwright writing scripts for MGM Studios in Hollywood, an actor, and a speechwriter for three British prime ministers. He is the man behind one of Margaret Thatcher’s most famous lines. In 1980, during a pivotal moment in the prime minister’s career, Thatcher addressed the Conservative Party conference, stating that she refused to perform a U-turn in the face of criticism of her liberalization of the economy. Playing on the title of Christopher Fry’s popular play “The Lady’s Not for Burning,” she said, “The lady’s not for turning.”

Graham Freudenberg

One of Australia’s most famous speechwriters, Graham Freudenberg has written over a thousand speeches for the country’s Labor Party, including those for Arthur Caldwell, Bob Hawke, Neville Wren, Bob Carr, Mark Latham and Gough Whitlam. While the speechwriter has been recognized for his large body of work, it is Whitlam’s “It’s Time” campaign speech in 1972 that remains his most famous.

Peggy Noonan

An author and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal , Peggy Noonan staked her claim to speechwriting fame as a primary writer for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Her notable speeches include Reagan’s “Boys of Pointe du Hoc” address, given on the 40 th anniversary of D-Day—the day Allied troops invaded Normandy in World War II—as well as the former president’s address after the space shuttle Challenger explosion in 1986. Later, while working for then-U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush, Noonan coined the catchphrase "a kinder, gentler nation."

A version of this article appeared in the March 2015 issue of the Toastmaster Magazine tablet app.

About the Author

The Toastmaster magazine staff is comprised of five editorial team members. Learn more about them on the Staff page .

3 Famous Speech Writers Throughout History: What They Teach You About Public Speaking

That said, some individuals are so talented at writing a speech their good speech writing makes them famous. Before we discuss these three famous writers, it’s essential to articulate what they do and why they are so crucial. Essentially, what makes a great speech writer?

Learning from these iconic individuals can help you learn tips on how to create a compelling talk. Whether you need to write wedding speeches, persuasive speeches, or simply want to know how best to capture your audience’s attention, learning from those before you can be your guide.

Bear in mind that while we discuss writers for presidents, there are many types of speechwriters. People hire a speech writer for various reasons, but every great writer shares a few commonalities.

What Is A Speech Writer?

A speech writer is an individual who conducts the necessary research process, writing, and editing, on behalf of the speaker. Individuals in both the public and private sectors often hire speech writers.

While you may associate speech writers with elected officials, such as vice presidents or presidents, you can also employ a speech writer for smaller events.

Since speech writers dedicate their lives writing speeches, employing one can help you create the best bullet points to enable your audience to listen attentively.

Speech writers cover a variety of events and write for well-known and lesser-known individuals. In order to define what makes a great speech writer, let’s cover three major speech writers throughout history.

Alexander Hamilton: A Detail Not Included In His Musical

Whether you know Alexander Hamilton from your high school history class or the musical named after him, Hamilton was a friend of George Washington. So when the first president of the United States decided to step down from office and wanted to give a farewell address, Hamilton was involved.

Although Washington originally asked James Madison to write his address , eventually, the task was turned over to Hamilton. Hamilton created his draft with full creative liberties but also incorporated Madison’s. Amendments were made, and the speech underwent many changes.

Alexander Hamilton is famous in many ways. However, following his death and Washington’s, controversy broke out concerning who wrote Washington’s Farewell Address. However, Hamilton’s wife publicly stated that :

“A short time previous to General Washington’s retiring from the Presidency…Hamilton suggested to him the idea of delivering a farewell address…with which idea General Washington was well pleased… Mr. Hamilton did so, and the address was written.”

Even President George Washington needed a speech writer at the end of his two terms. Hamilton was his go-to, and his speech has been remembered for decades. Never underestimate the power of a great speech or the tedious edits that make it so.

Judson Welliver: The First Presidential Speech Writer

While Alexander Hamilton is partially known for writing the famous Farewell Address, Judson Welliver is known as the first presidential speech writer . Until Warren G. Harding, there was no official speech writer for presidents.

However, Welliver was present for Harding, and when he took office, Welliver’s help transitioned into writing speeches. When Calvin Coolidge entered office he also used Welliver’s writing tips. Consequently, speech writers as a whole never left the White House.

Welliver was widely known as a newspaperman before his transition into speech writing for presidents. Before Welliever’s time, speech writers were not a standard commodity for presidents.

Judson Welliver helped where he was equipped to. Using his talent where needed, he created an entirely new position within the government. The name Judson Welliver should not go without notice.

Richard N. Goodwin: Capturing History With A Pen

Richard N. Goodwin married Dorris Kearns Goodwin. He did not know that just as he captured history through famous speeches, his wife would capture his career as well. In fact, he is a standout example of what makes a great speech writer.

Goodwin was considered a staff celebrity when President Lyndon B. Johnson recruited him to become his speech writer. Goodwin is credited with writing some of the President’s most well-known speeches.

He only served for two years on President Johnson’s staff. Regardless, one of these speeches is the 1965 famous address to Congress, in which the president called for voting rights legislation .

Although his political career was brief, Goodwin left an indelible mark as a speech writer. What is said lasts for decades, not just on the page but in the minds and hearts of those who hear them. Working as a speech writer isn’t simply a job but a way to embody the struggles and successes of others. Speech writing allows you to become a voice for history.

How Do You Become A Speech Writer?

Becoming a speech writer largely depends on what type of speeches you want to write. Regardless of who you one day work for, an elected government official, maid of honor, or even need to write your own speech, self-educating is important.

Take the necessary time to study the above names as well as lesser-known individuals. Pay attention to the small dedtails that made these names great:

Alexander Hamilton edited his speech over and over
Judson Welliver filled a need with his talent
Richard N. Goodwin became a voice for history

Additionally, add in study of the art of communication, debate, and even body language. Once you have a general understanding of how to write a great speech, you can do the following:

Volunteer at events that encompass your field of interest
Practice writing speeches
Watch memorable speeches

What Makes A Great Speech Writer?

A great speech writer knows how to write an effective speech by implementing the following:

Creating a quality speech structure
Knowing when to repeat keywords and phrases
Presenting the core idea in a concise manner

The execution of a speech is left up to the speaker. A great speech writer trusts the speaker to voice their final draft with great tone, appropriate eye contact, and timely pauses.

The more speeches you write, the better you will understand how to write in another person’s voice. Speech writing is a type of ghostwriting. It’s crucial to draft your speech in the voice of the one presenting it.

It takes time and effort to draft a speech that:

Fits the occasion
Is the correct length
Matches the tone of the speaker
Is written to the right audience

But what if you don’t only want to become a great speech writer? Instead, you want to also ensure the speech is delivered exactly the way you hope it to be?

You Are Your Own Speech Writer: How To Start Excelling Today

When you realize you have the power to become your own speech writer, your options are limitless. Now you know examples of famous speech writers throughout history. You learned what makes a great one, and that you can be your own. Follow these few steps:

You can create an environment that enables you to not just write a great speech, but deliver a great speech.
Hone in on your uniqueness
Perfect your presentation skills
Write your memorable speech

Many individuals spent time crafting and giving speeches that changed their life forever . When you write a memorable speech and deliver it with excellence, you have potential to succeed in astounding ways.

The great news is, if you are interested in public speaking, you can be your own speech writer. Build a group of qualified individuals around you. Learn exactly what goes into a speech that your audience will remember and practice your delivery.

Before you know it you could step on stage and present the talk you always wanted to share. Remember: When you realize you have the power to become your own speech writer, your options are limitless.

Introductory Note: To George Washington

In Praise of Judson Welliver

MasterClass

Richard Goodwin: The Speechwriter Who Named The “Great Society”

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10 famous speeches in history that continue to stand the test of time

A great speech is something that combines persuasive writing, a comfort with public speaking , and a meaningful message to create an impression greater than the sum of its parts. There’s no one set of rules to govern the ideal speech, and plenty of people struggle with them even with teams of experts to help them out — just see the majority of speeches given by politicians. But once in a while, a truly great speaker and a truly great speech come together to create something that stands out and withstands the test of time, carrying meaning with it through generations even to those who weren’t yet born when it was given.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Demosthenes, queen elizabeth i, george washington, abraham lincoln, chief joseph, winston churchill, john f. kennedy, barack obama, more famous speeches to inspire you.

Great speeches are more than just rhetorical flourish or impressive performance — they’re also calls to action, able to persuade and embolden the listener. These speeches can be inspiring, informative, and instructive, whether you’re interested in learning more about history or working on a speech of your own .

We’ve rounded up 10 of history’s greatest speeches, including excerpts so you can learn about how the power of a great speech can last for years.

1963 ‘I Have a Dream’ speech

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘s I Have a Dream speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, is one of the finest pieces of oratory in human history. It blended masterful, rich language with the oratorical technique of repetition and it was utterly fearless.

King would be dead by an assassin’s bullet less than five years after delivering his most famous speech. His words were no mere rhetoric; they were an affirmation of the value of human life and the expression of a cause for which he would give his own.

“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’ … “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

341 BCE ‘Third Philippic’

Though you may not have heard of the Athenian orator Demosthenes, consider the fact that one of history’s most famed speakers of all time, Cicero, cited his ancient forebear 300 years later. Demosthenes’ Third Philippic , so-called because it was the third speech he gave devoted to convincing his fellow Athenians to take up arms against the encroaching forces of Phillip of Macedon, literally led men to war. At the end of his speech, delivered in 341 BCE, the Athenian Assembly moved at once against their rival, spurred on by lines damning the past inaction of his fellow citizens:

“You are in your present plight because you do not do any part of your duty, small or great; for of course, if you were doing all that you should do, and were still in this evil case, you could not even hope for any improvement. As it is, Philip has conquered your indolence and your indifference; but he has not conquered Athens. You have not been vanquished, you have never even stirred.

1588 ‘Spanish Armada’ speech t o the troops at Tilbury

In 1588, English monarch Queen Elizabeth I gave one of the manliest speeches in history, even at one point, putting down her own body for being female. As the “mighty” Spanish Armada, a flotilla of some 130 ships, sailed toward Britain with plans of invasion, the queen delivered a rousing address at Tilbury, Essex, England. As it turned out, a storm and some navigational errors took care of the Spanish warships for the most part. Still, it was a bold speech that helped bolster a nation. This speech also made Queen Elizabeth famous for the armor she wore in front of her troops.

“I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm: To which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.”

1783 Resignation speech

To grasp the true power of George Washington ‘s resignation as the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military (then known as the Continental Army) on December 23, 1783, you have to go beyond the words themselves and appreciate the context. Washington was in no way obliged to resign his commission, but did so willingly and even gladly, just as he would later refuse a third term as president of the nation, establishing a precedent honored into the 1940s and thereafter enshrined in law. Despite being the most powerful man in the fledgling military and then becoming the most powerful man in the United States, the staid and humble Washington was never hungry for power for himself; he just happened to be the best man for the job(s).

Even in his last address as leader of the nation’s armed forces, Washington made it all about America, and not about himself:

“Happy in the confirmation of our Independence and Sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable Nation, I resign with satisfaction the Appointment I accepted with diffidence. A diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task, which however was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our Cause, the support of the Supreme Power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven.”

1863 ‘Gettysburg Address’

There’s a reason many people consider the Gettysburg Address to be the best speech in American history: It probably is. In just 275 words on November 19, 1863, near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, President Abraham Lincoln managed to express the following sentiments:

America is both a place and a concept, both of which are worth fighting.
Fighting is horrible, but losing is worse.
We have no intention of losing.

Ironically, one line in Lincoln’s speech proved to be laughably inaccurate. Midway through the speech, he humbly said: “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here.” In fact, the world continues to remember his brief yet very stirring address.

“In a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract …

“It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”

1877 Surrender speech

On October 5, 1877, Nez Perce tribe leader Chief Joseph delivered a short, impromptu, and wrenching speech that many see as the lamentation of the end of an era for Native Americans and the lands that were stolen from them. Overtaken by the United States Army during a desperate multi-week retreat toward Canada, Chief Joseph surrendered to General Howard with this bleak, moving message:

“I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say, ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ He who led the young men [Olikut] is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are — perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.”

1939 ‘Luckiest Man’ speech

No one wants a deadly disease named after them, but that’s what happened to baseball legend Lou Gehrig , who died at 37 after a brief battle with ALS, commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” Following a career in which the Hall of Fame player earned many of baseball’s top honors and awards, Gehrig delivered one of the most touching speeches of the 20th century, a speech in which he brought comfort to those mourning his illness even as his health fell apart.

In essence, Gehrig told people not to worry about one dying man, but instead to celebrate all life had to offer as he listed all the wonderful things that occurred in his own life. In so doing, he brought solace to many and created a model of selflessness. Gehrig delivered this short speech at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939.

“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans … “So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

1940 ‘We Shall Fight on the Beaches’ speech

Winston Churchill delivered many superlative speeches in his day, including the 1946 address that created the term “Iron Curtain” to describe the boundary of Britain’s recent ally, the Soviet Union, and a 1940 speech praising the heroism of the British Royal Air Force in which he uttered the line: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”

But it was his bold and bolstering speech delivered on June 4, 1940, to the British Parliament’s House of Commons — commonly referred to as We Shall Fight on the Beaches — that most exemplifies the famed leader. These were more than just words — these were a promise to his nation that they were all in the fight wholeheartedly together and it was a heads-up to the Axis powers that attacking the Brits had been a bad idea.

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

1961 inaugural address

Much of President John F. Kennedy ‘s pithy 1,366-word inaugural address, delivered on January 20, 1961, was well-written and meaningful, but as often happens, his speech has stood the test of time thanks to one perfect phrase. Amidst an address filled with both hope and dire warnings (“Man holds in his hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life,” the latter being a clear reference to atomic weapons), he issued a direct appeal to Americans everywhere to stand up for their country. You know the line:

“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address

When our future president – then a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois – Barack Obama delivered a 17-minute speech on the evening of July 27, 2004, at the Democratic National Convention endorsing presidential candidate John Kerry, the personal trajectory of one man and the history of an entire nation shifted dramatically. Already an up-and-coming politician gaining traction in his home state of Illinois, Obama’s keynote address that night transformed him into a national figure and paved the way for his journey to becoming the first POTUS of color. What was it about the speech that so moved the country?

Partly, it was simply the excellent writing, most of which Obama handled himself. Perhaps more so, it was the message of the speech, which spoke to the “abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation.” In short, Obama reminded us of who we were supposed to be as citizens of this nation. And for a flickering moment, many of us heard him.

“There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America. There’s not a Black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America … “We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?”

While we’ve taken an in-depth look at some of history’s most famous speeches, the list goes much further than those 10. Here are a few more great speeches that helped shape history that still have the power to inspire.

1941 – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt – Day of Infamy speech – Roosevelt’s address to Congress on December 8, 1941, came the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It’s best known for its opening line: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” The speech spurred Congress to declare war on Japan and thrust the U.S. into World War II.
1933 – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt – First Inaugural Address – Considering FDR served four terms during the end of the Great Depression and through World War II, it stands to reason that he would have some pretty famous speeches. His first inaugural address from 1933 is also remembered for one powerful line. As he discussed his plan to pull the country out of the Great Depression, he uttered this iconic line: “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is … fear itself.”
1986 – President Ronald Reagan – Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger – when Reagan addressed the country on the night of January 28, 1986, the U.S. was reeling from seeing the Space Shuttle Challenger explode, just seconds after launch, killing the crew, which included Christa McAuliffe, who was to be NASA’s first teacher in space. Reagan was to have delivered his State of the Union speech to Congress that night but canceled it in the wake of the Challenger disaster. The speech included these memorable words of condolence: “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.'”
2001 – President George W. Bush – Address to the nation after 9/11 – The morning of September 11, 2001, Bush was at a Florida elementary school to meet with children. He would have no idea that the day would end with him addressing the country after the horrific terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon. That night, Bush gave the country words of hope, saying that the attacks did nothing to damage the American spirit. “Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts,” Bush said. “The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.”

We hope you’re feeling more inspired and determined to make your own history after perusing this list. For more historical inspiration, check out ten of our favorite Black History films , a list of fantastic history books to read , a group of iconic photographs of people who changed history , and seven amazing books documenting LGBTQ+ history — not to mention the importance of historical heroes who have been often overlooked . However you intend to change your present and future, we wish you nothing but the best of luck.

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40 famous persuasive speeches you need to hear.

Written by Kai Xin Koh

famous persuasive speeches highspark cover image

Across eras of calamity and peace in our world’s history, a great many leaders, writers, politicians, theorists, scientists, activists and other revolutionaries have unveiled powerful rousing speeches in their bids for change. In reviewing the plethora of orators across tides of social, political and economic change, we found some truly rousing speeches that brought the world to their feet or to a startling, necessary halt. We’ve chosen 40 of the most impactful speeches we managed to find from agents of change all over the world – a diversity of political campaigns, genders, positionalities and periods of history. You’re sure to find at least a few speeches in this list which will capture you with the sheer power of their words and meaning!

1. I have a dream by MLK

“I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification – one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”

Unsurprisingly, Martin Luther King’s speech comes up top as the most inspiring speech of all time, especially given the harrowing conditions of African Americans in America at the time. In the post-abolition era when slavery was outlawed constitutionally, African Americans experienced an intense period of backlash from white supremacists who supported slavery where various institutional means were sought to subordinate African American people to positions similar to that of the slavery era. This later came to be known as the times of Jim Crow and segregation, which Martin Luther King powerfully voiced his vision for a day when racial discrimination would be a mere figment, where equality would reign.

2. Tilbury Speech by Queen Elizabeth I

“My loving people, We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you on a word of a prince, they shall be duly paid. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.”

While at war with Spain, Queen Elizabeth I was most renowned for her noble speech rallying the English troops against their comparatively formidable opponent. Using brilliant rhetorical devices like metonymy, meronymy, and other potent metaphors, she voiced her deeply-held commitment as a leader to the battle against the Spanish Armada – convincing the English army to keep holding their ground and upholding the sacrifice of war for the good of their people. Eventually against all odds, she led England to victory despite their underdog status in the conflict with her confident and masterful oratory.

3. Woodrow Wilson, address to Congress (April 2, 1917)

“The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them. Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object, seeking nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all free peoples, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as belligerents without passion and ourselves observe with proud punctilio the principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fighting for. … It will be all the easier for us to conduct ourselves as belligerents in a high spirit of right and fairness because we act without animus, not in enmity toward a people or with the desire to bring any injury or disadvantage upon them, but only in armed opposition to an irresponsible government which has thrown aside all considerations of humanity and of right and is running amuck. We are, let me say again, the sincere friends of the German people, and shall desire nothing so much as the early reestablishment of intimate relations of mutual advantage between us—however hard it may be for them, for the time being, to believe that this is spoken from our hearts. We have borne with their present government through all these bitter months because of that friendship—exercising a patience and forbearance which would otherwise have been impossible. We shall, happily, still have an opportunity to prove that friendship in our daily attitude and actions toward the millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy who live among us and share our life, and we shall be proud to prove it toward all who are in fact loyal to their neighbors and to the government in the hour of test. They are, most of them, as true and loyal Americans as if they had never known any other fealty or allegiance. They will be prompt to stand with us in rebuking and restraining the few who may be of a different mind and purpose. If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with with a firm hand of stern repression; but, if it lifts its head at all, it will lift it only here and there and without countenance except from a lawless and malignant few. It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the Congress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God helping her, she can do no other.”

On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson of the USA delivered his address to Congress, calling for declaration of war against what was at the time, a belligerent and aggressive Germany in WWI. Despite his isolationism and anti-war position earlier in his tenure as president, he convinced Congress that America had a moral duty to the world to step out of their neutral observer status into an active role of world leadership and stewardship in order to liberate attacked nations from their German aggressors. The idealistic values he preached in his speech left an indelible imprint upon the American spirit and self-conception, forming the moral basis for the country’s people and aspirational visions to this very day.

4. Ain’t I A Woman by Sojourner Truth

“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman? … If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.”

Hailing from a background of slavery and oppression, Sojourner Truth was one of the most revolutionary advocates for women’s human rights in the 1800s. In spite of the New York Anti-Slavery Law of 1827, her slavemaster refused to free her. As such, she fled, became an itinerant preacher and leading figure in the anti-slavery movement. By the 1850s, she became involved in the women’s rights movement as well. At the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention held in Akron, Ohio, she delivered her illuminating, forceful speech against discrimination of women and African Americans in the post-Civil War era, entrenching her status as one of the most revolutionary abolitionists and women’s rights activists across history.

5. The Gettsyburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

“Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

President Abraham Lincoln had left the most lasting legacy upon American history for good reason, as one of the presidents with the moral courage to denounce slavery for the national atrocity it was. However, more difficult than standing up for the anti-slavery cause was the task of unifying the country post-abolition despite the looming shadows of a time when white Americans could own and subjugate slaves with impunity over the thousands of Americans who stood for liberation of African Americans from discrimination. He urged Americans to remember their common roots, heritage and the importance of “charity for all”, to ensure a “just and lasting peace” among within the country despite throes of racial division and self-determination.

6. Woman’s Rights to the Suffrage by Susan B Anthony

“For any State to make sex a qualification that must ever result in the disfranchisement of one entire half of the people is to pass a bill of attainder, or an ex post facto law, and is therefore a violation of the supreme law of the land. By it the blessings of liberty are for ever withheld from women and their female posterity. To them this government has no just powers derived from the consent of the governed. To them this government is not a democracy. It is not a republic. It is an odious aristocracy; a hateful oligarchy of sex; the most hateful aristocracy ever established on the face of the globe; an oligarchy of wealth, where the right govern the poor. An oligarchy of learning, where the educated govern the ignorant, or even an oligarchy of race, where the Saxon rules the African, might be endured; but this oligarchy of sex, which makes father, brothers, husband, sons, the oligarchs over the mother and sisters, the wife and daughters of every household–which ordains all men sovereigns, all women subjects, carries dissension, discord and rebellion into every home of the nation. Webster, Worcester and Bouvier all define a citizen to be a person in the United States, entitled to vote and hold office. The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several States is today null and void, precisely as in every one against Negroes.”

Susan B. Anthony was a pivotal leader in the women’s suffrage movement who helped to found the National Woman Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and fight for the constitutional right for women to vote. She courageously and relentlessly advocated for women’s rights, giving speeches all over the USA to convince people of women’s human rights to choice and the ballot. She is most well known for her act of righteous rebellion in 1872 when she voted in the presidential election illegally, for which she was arrested and tried unsuccessfully. She refused to pay the $100 fine in a bid to reject the demands of the American system she denounced as a ‘hateful oligarchy of sex’, sparking change with her righteous oratory and inspiring many others in the women’s suffrage movement within and beyond America.

7. Vladimir Lenin’s Speech at an International Meeting in Berne, February 8, 1916

“It may sound incredible, especially to Swiss comrades, but it is nevertheless true that in Russia, also, not only bloody tsarism, not only the capitalists, but also a section of the so-called or ex-Socialists say that Russia is fighting a “war of defence,” that Russia is only fighting against German invasion. The whole world knows, however, that for decades tsarism has been oppressing more than a hundred million people belonging to other nationalities in Russia; that for decades Russia has been pursuing a predatory policy towards China, Persia, Armenia and Galicia. Neither Russia, nor Germany, nor any other Great Power has the right to claim that it is waging a “war of defence”; all the Great Powers are waging an imperialist, capitalist war, a predatory war, a war for the oppression of small and foreign nations, a war for the sake of the profits of the capitalists, who are coining golden profits amounting to billions out of the appalling sufferings of the masses, out of the blood of the proletariat. … This again shows you, comrades, that in all countries of the world real preparations are being made to rally the forces of the working class. The horrors of war and the sufferings of the people are incredible. But we must not, and we have no reason whatever, to view the future with despair. The millions of victims who will fall in the war, and as a consequence of the war, will not fall in vain. The millions who are starving, the millions who are sacrificing their lives in the trenches, are not only suffering, they are also gathering strength, are pondering over the real cause of the war, are becoming more determined and are acquiring a clearer revolutionary understanding. Rising discontent of the masses, growing ferment, strikes, demonstrations, protests against the war—all this is taking place in all countries of the world. And this is the guarantee that the European War will be followed by the proletarian revolution against capitalism”

Vladimir Lenin remains to this day one of the most lauded communist revolutionaries in the world who brought the dangers of imperialism and capitalism to light with his rousing speeches condemning capitalist structures of power which inevitably enslave people to lives of misery and class stratification. In his genuine passion for the rights of the working class, he urged fellow comrades to turn the “imperialist war” into a “civil” or class war of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. He encouraged the development of new revolutionary socialist organisations, solidarity across places in society so people could unite against their capitalist overlords, and criticised nationalism for its divisive effect on the socialist movement. In this speech especially, he lambasts “bloody Tsarism” for its oppression of millions of people of other nationalities in Russia, calling for the working class people to revolt against the Tsarist authority for the proletariat revolution to succeed and liberate them from class oppression.

8. I Have A Dream Speech by Mary Wollstonecraft

“If, I say, for I would not impress by declamation when Reason offers her sober light, if they be really capable of acting like rational creatures, let them not be treated like slaves; or, like the brutes who are dependent on the reason of man, when they associate with him; but cultivate their minds, give them the salutary, sublime curb of principle, and let them attain conscious dignity by feeling themselves only dependent on God. Teach them, in common with man, to submit to necessity, instead of giving, to render them more pleasing, a sex to morals. Further, should experience prove that they cannot attain the same degree of strength of mind, perseverance, and fortitude, let their virtues be the same in kind, though they may vainly struggle for the same degree; and the superiority of man will be equally clear, if not clearer; and truth, as it is a simple principle, which admits of no modification, would be common to both. Nay, the order of society as it is at present regulated would not be inverted, for woman would then only have the rank that reason assigned her, and arts could not be practised to bring the balance even, much less to turn it.”

In her vindication of the rights of women, Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the pioneers of the feminist movement back in 1792 who not only theorised and advocated revolutionarily, but gave speeches that voiced these challenges against a dominantly sexist society intent on classifying women as irrational less-than-human creatures to be enslaved as they were. In this landmark speech, she pronounces her ‘dream’ of a day when women would be treated as the rational, deserving humans they are, who are equal to man in strength and capability. With this speech setting an effective precedent for her call to equalize women before the law, she also went on to champion the provision of equal educational opportunities to women and girls, and persuasively argued against the patriarchal gender norms which prevented women from finding their own lot in life through their being locked into traditional institutions of marriage and motherhood against their will.

9. First Inaugural Speech by Franklin D Roosevelt

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. … More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly. … I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken Nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption. But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis — broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.”

Roosevelt’s famous inaugural speech was delivered in the midst of a period of immense tension and strain under the Great Depression, where he highlighted the need for ‘quick action’ by Congress to prepare for government expansion in his pursuit of reforms to lift the American people out of devastating poverty. In a landslide victory, he certainly consolidated the hopes and will of the American people through this compelling speech.

10. The Hypocrisy of American Slavery by Frederick Douglass

“What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy – a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour. Go search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.”

On 4 July 1852, Frederick Douglass gave this speech in Rochester, New York, highlighting the hypocrisy of celebrating freedom while slavery continues. He exposed the ‘revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy’ of slavery which had gone unabolished amidst the comparatively obscene celebration of independence and liberty with his potent speech and passion for the anti-abolition cause. After escaping from slavery, he went on to become a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York with his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. To this day, his fierce activism and devotion to exposing virulent racism for what it was has left a lasting legacy upon pro-Black social movements and the overall sociopolitical landscape of America.

11. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard ’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I’ve got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.”

With her iconic poem Still I Rise , Maya Angelou is well-known for uplifting fellow African American women through her empowering novels and poetry and her work as a civil rights activist. Every bit as lyrical on the page, her recitation of Still I Rise continues to give poetry audiences shivers all over the world, inspiring women of colour everywhere to keep the good faith in striving for equality and peace, while radically believing in and empowering themselves to be agents of change. A dramatic reading of the poem will easily showcase the self-belief, strength and punch that it packs in the last stanza on the power of resisting marginalization.

12. Their Finest Hour by Winston Churchill

“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.””

In the darkest shadows cast by war, few leaders have been able to step up to the mantle and effectively unify millions of citizens for truly sacrificial causes. Winston Churchill was the extraordinary exception – lifting 1940 Britain out of the darkness with his hopeful, convicted rhetoric to galvanise the English amidst bleak, dreary days of war and loss. Through Britain’s standalone position in WWII against the Nazis, he left his legacy by unifying the nation under shared sacrifices of the army and commemorating their courage.

13. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

“Life for both sexes – and I looked at them (through a restaurant window while waiting for my lunch to be served), shouldering their way along the pavement – is arduous, difficult, a perpetual struggle. It calls for gigantic courage and strength. More than anything, perhaps, creatures of illusion as we are, it calls for confidence in oneself. Without self-confidence we are babes in the cradle. And how can we generate this imponderable quality, which is yet so invaluable, most quickly? By thinking that other people are inferior to oneself. By feeling that one has some innate superiority – it may be wealth, or rank, a straight nose, or the portrait of a grandfather by Romney – for there is no end to the pathetic devices of the human imagination – over other people. Hence the enormous importance to a patriarch who has to conquer, who has to rule, of feeling that great numbers of people, half the human race indeed, are by nature inferior to himself. It must indeed be one of the great sources of his power….Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. Without that power probably the earth would still be swamp and jungle. The glories of all our wars would be on the remains of mutton bones and bartering flints for sheepskins or whatever simple ornament took our unsophisticated taste. Supermen and Fingers of Destiny would never have existed. The Czar and the Kaiser would never have worn their crowns or lost them. Whatever may be their use in civilised societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic action. That is why Napoleon and Mussolini both insist so emphatically upon the inferiority of women, for if they were not inferior, they would cease to enlarge. That serves to explain in part the necessity that women so often are to men. And it serves to explain how restless they are under her criticism; how impossible it is for her to say to them this book is bad, this picture is feeble, or whatever it may be, without giving far more pain and rousing far more anger than a man would do who gave the same criticism. For if she begins to tell the truth, the figure in the looking-glass shrinks; his fitness in life is diminished. How is he to go on giving judgment, civilising natives, making laws, writing books, dressing up and speechifying at banquets, unless he can see himself at breakfast and at dinner at least twice the size he really is?”

In this transformational speech , Virginia Woolf pronounces her vision that ‘a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction’. She calls out the years in which women have been deprived of their own space for individual development through being chained to traditional arrangements or men’s prescriptions – demanding ‘gigantic courage’ and ‘confidence in oneself’ to brave through the onerous struggle of creating change for women’s rights. With her steadfast, stolid rhetoric and radical theorization, she paved the way for many women’s rights activists and writers to forge their own paths against patriarchal authority.

14. Inaugural Address by John F Kennedy

“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility–I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it–and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

For what is probably the most historically groundbreaking use of parallelism in speech across American history, President JFK placed the weighty task of ‘asking what one can do for their country’ onto the shoulders of each American citizen. Using an air of firmness in his rhetoric by declaring his commitment to his countrymen, he urges each American to do the same for the broader, noble ideal of freedom for all. With his crucial interrogation of a citizen’s moral duty to his nation, President JFK truly made history.

15. Atoms for Peace Speech by Dwight Eisenhower

“To pause there would be to confirm the hopeless finality of a belief that two atomic colossi are doomed malevolently to eye each other indefinitely across a trembling world. To stop there would be to accept helplessly the probability of civilization destroyed, the annihilation of the irreplaceable heritage of mankind handed down to us from generation to generation, and the condemnation of mankind to begin all over again the age-old struggle upward from savagery towards decency, and right, and justice. Surely no sane member of the human race could discover victory in such desolation. Could anyone wish his name to be coupled by history with such human degradation and destruction?Occasional pages of history do record the faces of the “great destroyers”, but the whole book of history reveals mankind’s never-ending quest for peace and mankind’s God-given capacity to build. It is with the book of history, and not with isolated pages, that the United States will ever wish to be identified. My country wants to be constructive,not destructive. It wants agreements, not wars, among nations. It wants itself to live in freedom and in the confidence that the peoples of every other nation enjoy equally the right of choosing their own way of life. So my country’s purpose is to help us to move out of the dark chamber of horrors into the light, to find a way by which the minds of men, the hopes of men, the souls of men everywhere, can move forward towards peace and happiness and well-being.”

On a possibility as frightful and tense as nuclear war, President Eisenhower managed to convey the gravity of the world’s plight in his measured and persuasive speech centred on the greater good of mankind. Using rhetorical devices such as the three-part paratactical syntax which most world leaders are fond of for ingraining their words in the minds of their audience, he centers the discourse of the atomic bomb on those affected by such a world-changing decision in ‘the minds, hopes and souls of men everywhere’ – effectively putting the vivid image of millions of people’s fates at stake in the minds of his audience. Being able to make a topic as heavy and fraught with moral conflict as this as eloquent as he did, Eisenhower definitely ranks among some of the most skilled orators to date.

16. The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action by Audre Lorde

“I was going to die, if not sooner then later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences. What are the words you do not have yet? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence? Perhaps for some of you here today, I am the face of one of your fears. Because I am a woman, because I am black, because I am myself, a black woman warrior poet doing my work, come to ask you, are you doing yours?”

Revolutionary writer, feminist and civil rights activist Audre Lorde first delivered this phenomenal speech at Lesbian and Literature panel of the Modern Language Association’s December 28, 1977 meeting, which went on to feature permanently in her writings for its sheer wisdom and truth. Her powerful writing and speech about living on the margins of society has enlightened millions of people discriminated across various intersections, confronting them with the reality that they must speak – since their ‘silence will not protect’ them from further marginalization. Through her illuminating words and oratory, she has reminded marginalized persons of the importance of their selfhood and the radical capacity for change they have in a world blighted by prejudice and division.

17. 1965 Cambridge Union Hall Speech by James Baldwin

“What is dangerous here is the turning away from – the turning away from – anything any white American says. The reason for the political hesitation, in spite of the Johnson landslide is that one has been betrayed by American politicians for so long. And I am a grown man and perhaps I can be reasoned with. I certainly hope I can be. But I don’t know, and neither does Martin Luther King, none of us know how to deal with those other people whom the white world has so long ignored, who don’t believe anything the white world says and don’t entirely believe anything I or Martin is saying. And one can’t blame them. You watch what has happened to them in less than twenty years.”

Baldwin’s invitation to the Cambridge Union Hall is best remembered for foregrounding the unflinching differences in white and African Americans’ ‘system of reality’ in everyday life. Raising uncomfortable truths about the insidious nature of racism post-civil war, he provides several nuggets of thought-provoking wisdom on the state of relations between the oppressed and their oppressors, and what is necessary to mediate such relations and destroy the exploitative thread of racist hatred. With great frankness, he admits to not having all the answers but provides hard-hitting wisdom on engagement to guide activists through confounding times nonetheless.

18. I Am Prepared to Die by Nelson Mandela

“Above all, My Lord, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs as it certainly must, it will not change that policy. This then is what the ANC is fighting. Our struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by our own suffering and our own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live. During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Apartheid is still considered one of these most devastating events of world history, and it would not have ended without the crucial effort and words of Nelson Mandela during his courageous political leadership. In this heartbreaking speech , he voices his utter devotion to the fight against institutionalised racism in African society – an ideal for which he was ‘prepared to die for’. Mandela continues to remind us today of his moral conviction in leading, wherein the world would likely to be a better place if all politicians had the same resolve and genuine commitment to human rights and the abolition of oppression as he did.

19. Critique on British Imperialism by General Aung San

“Do they form their observations by seeing the attendances at not very many cinemas and theatres of Rangoon? Do they judge this question of money circulation by paying a stray visit to a local bazaar? Do they know that cinemas and theatres are not true indicators, at least in Burma, of the people’s conditions? Do they know that there are many in this country who cannot think of going to these places by having to struggle for their bare existence from day to day? Do they know that those who nowadays patronise or frequent cinemas and theatres which exist only in Rangoon and a few big towns, belong generally to middle and upper classes and the very few of the many poor who can attend at all are doing so as a desperate form of relaxation just to make them forget their unsupportable existences for the while whatever may be the tomorrow that awaits them?”

Under British colonial rule, one of the most legendary nationalist leaders emerged from the ranks of the thousands of Burmese to boldly lead them towards independence, out of the exploitation and control under the British. General Aung San’s speech criticising British social, political and economic control of Burma continues to be scathing, articulate, and relevant – especially given his necessary goal of uniting the Burmese natives against their common oppressor. He successfully galvanised his people against the British, taking endless risks through nationalist speeches and demonstrations which gradually bore fruit in Burma’s independence.

20. Nobel Lecture by Mother Teresa

“I believe that we are not real social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of the people, but we are really contemplatives in the heart of the world. For we are touching the Body Of Christ 24 hours. We have 24 hours in this presence, and so you and I. You too try to bring that presence of God in your family, for the family that prays together stays together. And I think that we in our family don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy to bring peace–just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world. There is so much suffering, so much hatred, so much misery, and we with our prayer, with our sacrifice are beginning at home. Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do. It is to God Almighty–how much we do it does not matter, because He is infinite, but how much love we put in that action. How much we do to Him in the person that we are serving.”

In contemporary culture, most people understand Mother Teresa to be the epitome of compassion and kindness. However, if one were to look closer at her speeches from the past, one would discover not merely her altruistic contributions, but her keen heart for social justice and the downtrodden. She wisely and gracefully remarks that ‘love begins at home’ from the individual actions of each person within their private lives, which accumulate into a life of goodness and charity. For this, her speeches served not just consolatory value or momentary relevance, as they still inform the present on how we can live lives worth living.

21. June 9 Speech to Martial Law Units by Deng Xiaoping

“This army still maintains the traditions of our old Red Army. What they crossed this time was in the true sense of the expression a political barrier, a threshold of life and death. This was not easy. This shows that the People’s Army is truly a great wall of iron and steel of the party and state. This shows that no matter how heavy our losses, the army, under the leadership of the party, will always remain the defender of the country, the defender of socialism, and the defender of the public interest. They are a most lovable people. At the same time, we should never forget how cruel our enemies are. We should have not one bit of forgiveness for them. The fact that this incident broke out as it did is very worthy of our pondering. It prompts us cool-headedly to consider the past and the future. Perhaps this bad thing will enable us to go ahead with reform and the open policy at a steadier and better — even a faster — pace, more speedily correct our mistakes, and better develop our strong points.”

Mere days before the 4 June 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising, Chinese Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping sat with six party elders (senior officials) and the three remaining members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the paramount decision-making body in China’s government. The meeting was organised to discuss the best course of action for restoring social and political order to China, given the sweeping economic reforms that had taken place in the past decade that inevitably resulted in some social resistance from the populace. Deng then gave this astute and well-regarded speech, outlining the political complexities in shutting down student protests given the context of reforms encouraging economic liberalization already taking place, as aligned with the students’ desires. It may not be the most rousing or inflammatory of speeches, but it was certainly persuasive in voicing the importance of taking a strong stand for the economic reforms Deng was implementing to benefit Chinese citizens in the long run. Today, China is an economic superpower, far from its war-torn developing country status before Deng’s leadership – thanks to his foresight in ensuring political stability would allow China to enjoy the fruits of the massive changes they adapted to.

22. Freedom or Death by Emmeline Pankhurst

“You won your freedom in America when you had the revolution, by bloodshed, by sacrificing human life. You won the civil war by the sacrifice of human life when you decided to emancipate the negro. You have left it to women in your land, the men of all civilised countries have left it to women, to work out their own salvation. That is the way in which we women of England are doing. Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; we won’t do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death. Now whether you approve of us or whether you do not, you must see that we have brought the question of women’s suffrage into a position where it is of first rate importance, where it can be ignored no longer. Even the most hardened politician will hesitate to take upon himself directly the responsibility of sacrificing the lives of women of undoubted honour, of undoubted earnestness of purpose. That is the political situation as I lay it before you today.”

In 1913 after Suffragette Emily Davison stepped in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby and suffered fatal injuries, Emmeline Pankhurst delivered her speech to Connecticut as a call to action for people to support the suffragette movement. Her fortitude in delivering such a sobering speech on the state of women’s rights is worth remembering for its invaluable impact and contributions to the rights we enjoy in today’s world.

23. Quit India by Mahatma Gandhi

“We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery. Every true Congressman or woman will join the struggle with an inflexible determination not to remain alive to see the country in bondage and slavery. Let that be your pledge. Keep jails out of your consideration. If the Government keep me free, I will not put on the Government the strain of maintaining a large number of prisoners at a time, when it is in trouble. Let every man and woman live every moment of his or her life hereafter in the consciousness that he or she eats or lives for achieving freedom and will die, if need be, to attain that goal. Take a pledge, with God and your own conscience as witness, that you will no longer rest till freedom is achieved and will be prepared to lay down your lives in the attempt to achieve it. He who loses his life will gain it; he who will seek to save it shall lose it. Freedom is not for the coward or the faint-hearted.”

Naturally, the revolutionary activist Gandhi had to appear in this list for his impassioned anti-colonial speeches which rallied Indians towards independence. Famous for leading non-violent demonstrations, his speeches were a key element in gathering Indians of all backgrounds together for the common cause of eliminating their colonial masters. His speeches were resolute, eloquent, and courageous, inspiring the hope and admiration of many not just within India, but around the world.

24. 1974 National Book Award Speech by Adrienne Rich, Alice Walker, Audre Lorde

“The statement I am going to read was prepared by three of the women nominated for the National Book Award for poetry, with the agreement that it would be read by whichever of us, if any, was chosen.We, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and Alice Walker, together accept this award in the name of all the women whose voices have gone and still go unheard in a patriarchal world, and in the name of those who, like us, have been tolerated as token women in this culture, often at great cost and in great pain. We believe that we can enrich ourselves more in supporting and giving to each other than by competing against each other; and that poetry—if it is poetry—exists in a realm beyond ranking and comparison. We symbolically join together here in refusing the terms of patriarchal competition and declaring that we will share this prize among us, to be used as best we can for women. We appreciate the good faith of the judges for this award, but none of us could accept this money for herself, nor could she let go unquestioned the terms on which poets are given or denied honor and livelihood in this world, especially when they are women. We dedicate this occasion to the struggle for self-determination of all women, of every color, identification, or derived class: the poet, the housewife, the lesbian, the mathematician, the mother, the dishwasher, the pregnant teen-ager, the teacher, the grandmother, the prostitute, the philosopher, the waitress, the women who will understand what we are doing here and those who will not understand yet; the silent women whose voices have been denied us, the articulate women who have given us strength to do our work.”

Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, and Alice Walker wrote this joint speech to be delivered by Adrienne Rich at the 1974 National Book Awards, based on their suspicions that the first few African American lesbian women to be nominated for the awards would be snubbed in favour of a white woman nominee. Their suspicions were confirmed, and Adrienne Rich delivered this socially significant speech in solidarity with her fellow nominees, upholding the voices of the ‘silent women whose voices have been denied’.

25. Speech to 20th Congress of the CPSU by Nikita Khruschev

“Considering the question of the cult of an individual, we must first of all show everyone what harm this caused to the interests of our Party. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin had always stressed the Party’s role and significance in the direction of the socialist government of workers and peasants; he saw in this the chief precondition for a successful building of socialism in our country. Pointing to the great responsibility of the Bolshevik Party, as ruling Party of the Soviet state, Lenin called for the most meticulous observance of all norms of Party life; he called for the realization of the principles of collegiality in the direction of the Party and the state. Collegiality of leadership flows from the very nature of our Party, a Party built on the principles of democratic centralism. “This means,” said Lenin, “that all Party matters are accomplished by all Party members – directly or through representatives – who, without any exceptions, are subject to the same rules; in addition, all administrative members, all directing collegia, all holders of Party positions are elective, they must account for their activities and are recallable.””

This speech is possibly the most famed Russian speech for its status as a ‘secret’ speech delivered only to the CPSU at the time, which was eventually revealed to the public. Given the unchallenged political legacy and cult of personality which Stalin left in the Soviet Union, Nikita Khruschev’s speech condemning the authoritarian means Stalin had resorted to to consolidate power as un-socialist was an important mark in Russian history.

26. The Struggle for Human Rights by Eleanor Roosevelt

“It is my belief, and I am sure it is also yours, that the struggle for democracy and freedom is a critical struggle, for their preservation is essential to the great objective of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. Among free men the end cannot justify the means. We know the patterns of totalitarianism — the single political party, the control of schools, press, radio, the arts, the sciences, and the church to support autocratic authority; these are the age-old patterns against which men have struggled for three thousand years. These are the signs of reaction, retreat, and retrogression. The United Nations must hold fast to the heritage of freedom won by the struggle of its people; it must help us to pass it on to generations to come. The development of the ideal of freedom and its translation into the everyday life of the people in great areas of the earth is the product of the efforts of many peoples. It is the fruit of a long tradition of vigorous thinking and courageous action. No one race and on one people can claim to have done all the work to achieve greater dignity for human beings and great freedom to develop human personality. In each generation and in each country there must be a continuation of the struggle and new steps forward must be taken since this is preeminently a field in which to stand still is to retreat.”

Eleanor Roosevelt has been among the most well-loved First Ladies for good reason – her eloquence and gravitas in delivering every speech convinced everyone of her suitability for the oval office. In this determined and articulate speech , she outlines the fundamental values that form the bedrock of democracy, urging the rest of the world to uphold human rights regardless of national ideology and interests.

27. The Ballot or The Bullet by Malcolm X

“And in this manner, the organizations will increase in number and in quantity and in quality, and by August, it is then our intention to have a black nationalist convention which will consist of delegates from all over the country who are interested in the political, economic and social philosophy of black nationalism. After these delegates convene, we will hold a seminar; we will hold discussions; we will listen to everyone. We want to hear new ideas and new solutions and new answers. And at that time, if we see fit then to form a black nationalist party, we’ll form a black nationalist party. If it’s necessary to form a black nationalist army, we’ll form a black nationalist army. It’ll be the ballot or the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death.”

Inarguably, the revolutionary impact Malcolm X’s fearless oratory had was substantial in his time as a radical anti-racist civil rights activist. His speeches’ emancipatory potential put forth his ‘theory of rhetorical action’ where he urges Black Americans to employ both the ballot and the bullet, strategically without being dependent on the other should the conditions of oppression change. A crucial leader in the fight for civil rights, he opened the eyes of thousands of Black Americans, politicising and convincing them of the necessity of fighting for their democratic rights against white supremacists.

28. Living the Revolution by Gloria Steinem

“The challenge to all of us, and to you men and women who are graduating today, is to live a revolution, not to die for one. There has been too much killing, and the weapons are now far too terrible. This revolution has to change consciousness, to upset the injustice of our current hierarchy by refusing to honor it, and to live a life that enforces a new social justice. Because the truth is none of us can be liberated if other groups are not.”

In an unexpected commencement speech delivered at Vassar College in 1970, Gloria Steinem boldly makes a call to action on behalf of marginalized groups in need of liberation to newly graduated students. She proclaimed it the year of Women’s Liberation and forcefully highlighted the need for a social revolution to ‘upset the injustice of the current hierarchy’ in favour of human rights – echoing the hard-hitting motto on social justice, ‘until all of us are free, none of us are free’.

29. The Last Words of Harvey Milk by Harvey Milk

“I cannot prevent some people from feeling angry and frustrated and mad in response to my death, but I hope they will take the frustration and madness and instead of demonstrating or anything of that type, I would hope that they would take the power and I would hope that five, ten, one hundred, a thousand would rise. I would like to see every gay lawyer, every gay architect come out, stand up and let the world know. That would do more to end prejudice overnight than anybody could imagine. I urge them to do that, urge them to come out. Only that way will we start to achieve our rights. … All I ask is for the movement to continue, and if a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door…”

As the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, Harvey Milk’s entire political candidature was in itself a radical statement against the homophobic status quo at the time. Given the dangerous times he was in as an openly gay man, he anticipated that he would be assassinated eventually in his political career. As such, these are some of his last words which show the utter devotion he had to campaigning against homophobia while representing the American people, voicing his heartbreaking wish for the bullet that would eventually kill him to ‘destroy every closet door’.

30. Black Power Address at UC Berkeley by Stokely Carmichael

“Now we are now engaged in a psychological struggle in this country, and that is whether or not black people will have the right to use the words they want to use without white people giving their sanction to it; and that we maintain, whether they like it or not, we gonna use the word “Black Power” — and let them address themselves to that; but that we are not going to wait for white people to sanction Black Power. We’re tired waiting; every time black people move in this country, they’re forced to defend their position before they move. It’s time that the people who are supposed to be defending their position do that. That’s white people. They ought to start defending themselves as to why they have oppressed and exploited us.”

A forceful and impressive orator, Stokely Carmichael was among those at the forefront of the civil rights movement, who was a vigorous socialist organizer as well. He led the Black Power movement wherein he gave this urgent, influential speech that propelled Black Americans forward in their fight for constitutional rights in the 1960s.

31. Speech on Vietnam by Lyndon Johnson

“The true peace-keepers are those men who stand out there on the DMZ at this very hour, taking the worst that the enemy can give. The true peace-keepers are the soldiers who are breaking the terrorist’s grip around the villages of Vietnam—the civilians who are bringing medical care and food and education to people who have already suffered a generation of war. And so I report to you that we are going to continue to press forward. Two things we must do. Two things we shall do. First, we must not mislead the enemy. Let him not think that debate and dissent will produce wavering and withdrawal. For I can assure you they won’t. Let him not think that protests will produce surrender. Because they won’t. Let him not think that he will wait us out. For he won’t. Second, we will provide all that our brave men require to do the job that must be done. And that job is going to be done. These gallant men have our prayers-have our thanks—have our heart-felt praise—and our deepest gratitude. Let the world know that the keepers of peace will endure through every trial—and that with the full backing of their countrymen, they are going to prevail.”

During some of the most harrowing periods of human history, the Vietnam War, American soldiers were getting soundly defeated by the Vietnamese in guerrilla warfare. President Lyndon Johnson then issued this dignified, consolatory speech to encourage patriotism and support for the soldiers putting their lives on the line for the nation.

32. A Whisper of AIDS by Mary Fisher

“We may take refuge in our stereotypes, but we cannot hide there long, because HIV asks only one thing of those it attacks. Are you human? And this is the right question. Are you human? Because people with HIV have not entered some alien state of being. They are human. They have not earned cruelty, and they do not deserve meanness. They don’t benefit from being isolated or treated as outcasts. Each of them is exactly what God made: a person; not evil, deserving of our judgment; not victims, longing for our pity people, ready for support and worthy of compassion. We must be consistent if we are to be believed. We cannot love justice and ignore prejudice, love our children and fear to teach them. Whatever our role as parent or policymaker, we must act as eloquently as we speak else we have no integrity. My call to the nation is a plea for awareness. If you believe you are safe, you are in danger. Because I was not hemophiliac, I was not at risk. Because I was not gay, I was not at risk. Because I did not inject drugs, I was not at risk. The lesson history teaches is this: If you believe you are safe, you are at risk. If you do not see this killer stalking your children, look again. There is no family or community, no race or religion, no place left in America that is safe. Until we genuinely embrace this message, we are a nation at risk.”

Back when AIDS research was still undeveloped, the stigma of contracting HIV was even more immense than it is today. A celebrated artist, author and speaker, Mary Fisher became an outspoken activist for those with HIV/AIDS, persuading people to extend compassion to the population with HIV instead of stigmatizing them – as injustice has a way of coming around to people eventually. Her bold act of speaking out for the community regardless of the way they contracted the disease, their sexual orientation or social group, was an influential move in advancing the human rights of those with HIV and spreading awareness on the discrimination they face.

33. Freedom from Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi

“The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit, born of an intellectual conviction of the need for change in those mental attitudes and values which shape the course of a nation’s development. A revolution which aims merely at changing official policies and institutions with a view to an improvement in material conditions has little chance of genuine success. Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration. It is not enough merely to call for freedom, democracy and human rights. There has to be a united determination to persevere in the struggle, to make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the corrupting influences of desire, ill will, ignorance and fear. Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and to uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society. Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.”

Famous for her resoluteness and fortitude in campaigning for democracy in Burma despite being put under house arrest by the military government, Aung San Suu Kyi’s speeches have been widely touted as inspirational. In this renowned speech of hers, she delivers a potent message to Burmese to ‘liberate their minds from apathy and fear’ in the struggle for freedom and human rights in the country. To this day, she continues to tirelessly champion the welfare and freedom of Burmese in a state still overcome by vestiges of authoritarian rule.

34. This Is Water by David Foster Wallace

“Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the centre of all creation. This kind of freedom has much to recommend it. But of course there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talk about much in the great outside world of wanting and achieving…. The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.”

Esteemed writer David Foster Wallace gave a remarkably casual yet wise commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005 on the importance of learning to think beyond attaining a formal education. He encouraged hundreds of students to develop freedom of thought, a heart of sacrificial care for those in need of justice, and a consciousness that would serve them in discerning the right choices to make within a status quo that is easy to fall in line with. His captivating speech on what it meant to truly be ‘educated’ tugged at the hearts of many young and critical minds striving to achieve their dreams and change the world.

35. Questioning the Universe by Stephen Hawking

“This brings me to the last of the big questions: the future of the human race. If we are the only intelligent beings in the galaxy, we should make sure we survive and continue. But we are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history. Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill. But our genetic code still carries the selfish and aggressive instincts that were of survival advantage in the past. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million. Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward-looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space. The answers to these big questions show that we have made remarkable progress in the last hundred years. But if we want to continue beyond the next hundred years, our future is in space. That is why I am in favor of manned — or should I say, personned — space flight.”

Extraordinary theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author Stephen Hawking was a considerable influence upon modern physics and scientific research at large, inspiring people regardless of physical ability to aspire towards expanding knowledge in the world. In his speech on Questioning the Universe, he speaks of the emerging currents and issues in the scientific world like that of outer space, raising and answering big questions that have stumped great thinkers for years.

36. 2008 Democratic National Convention Speech by Michelle Obama

“I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history — knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I’ve met all across this country: People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they’re working for. The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it. The young people across America serving our communities — teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day. People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher. People like Joe Biden, who’s never forgotten where he came from and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again. All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won’t do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack’s journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope. That is why I love this country.”

Ever the favourite modern First Lady of America, Michelle Obama has delivered an abundance of iconic speeches in her political capacity, never forgetting to foreground the indomitable human spirit embodied in American citizens’ everyday lives and efforts towards a better world. The Obamas might just have been the most articulate couple of rhetoricians of their time, making waves as the first African American president and First Lady while introducing important policies in their period of governance.

37. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

“I’m not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope — Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”

Now published into a book, Barack Obama’s heart-capturing personal story of transformational hope was first delivered as a speech on the merits of patriotic optimism and determination put to the mission of concrete change. He has come to be known as one of the most favoured and inspiring presidents in American history, and arguably the most skilled orators ever.

38. “Be Your Own Story” by Toni Morrison

“But I’m not going to talk anymore about the future because I’m hesitant to describe or predict because I’m not even certain that it exists. That is to say, I’m not certain that somehow, perhaps, a burgeoning ménage a trois of political interests, corporate interests and military interests will not prevail and literally annihilate an inhabitable, humane future. Because I don’t think we can any longer rely on separation of powers, free speech, religious tolerance or unchallengeable civil liberties as a matter of course. That is, not while finite humans in the flux of time make decisions of infinite damage. Not while finite humans make infinite claims of virtue and unassailable power that are beyond their competence, if not their reach. So, no happy talk about the future. … Because the past is already in debt to the mismanaged present. And besides, contrary to what you may have heard or learned, the past is not done and it is not over, it’s still in process, which is another way of saying that when it’s critiqued, analyzed, it yields new information about itself. The past is already changing as it is being reexamined, as it is being listened to for deeper resonances. Actually it can be more liberating than any imagined future if you are willing to identify its evasions, its distortions, its lies, and are willing to unleash its secrets.”

Venerated author and professor Toni Morrison delivered an impressively articulate speech at Wellesley College in 2004 to new graduates, bucking the trend by discussing the importance of the past in informing current and future ways of living. With her brilliance and eloquence, she blew the crowd away and renewed in them the capacity for reflection upon using the past as a talisman to guide oneself along the journey of life.

39. Nobel Speech by Malala Yousafzai

“Dear brothers and sisters, the so-called world of adults may understand it, but we children don’t. Why is it that countries which we call “strong” are so powerful in creating wars but so weak in bringing peace? Why is it that giving guns is so easy but giving books is so hard? Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so difficult? As we are living in the modern age, the 21st century and we all believe that nothing is impossible. We can reach the moon and maybe soon will land on Mars. Then, in this, the 21st century, we must be determined that our dream of quality education for all will also come true. So let us bring equality, justice and peace for all. Not just the politicians and the world leaders, we all need to contribute. Me. You. It is our duty. So we must work … and not wait. I call upon my fellow children to stand up around the world. Dear sisters and brothers, let us become the first generation to decide to be the last. The empty classrooms, the lost childhoods, wasted potential-let these things end with us.”

At a mere 16 years of age, Malala Yousafzai gave a speech on the severity of the state of human rights across the world, and wowed the world with her passion for justice at her tender age. She displayed tenacity and fearlessness speaking about her survival of an assassination attempt for her activism for gender equality in the field of education. A model of courage to us all, her speech remains an essential one in the fight for human rights in the 21st century.

40. Final Commencement Speech by Michelle Obama

“If you are a person of faith, know that religious diversity is a great American tradition, too. In fact, that’s why people first came to this country — to worship freely. And whether you are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh — these religions are teaching our young people about justice, and compassion, and honesty. So I want our young people to continue to learn and practice those values with pride. You see, our glorious diversity — our diversities of faiths and colors and creeds — that is not a threat to who we are, it makes us who we are. So the young people here and the young people out there: Do not ever let anyone make you feel like you don’t matter, or like you don’t have a place in our American story — because you do. And you have a right to be exactly who you are. But I also want to be very clear: This right isn’t just handed to you. No, this right has to be earned every single day. You cannot take your freedoms for granted. Just like generations who have come before you, you have to do your part to preserve and protect those freedoms. … It is our fundamental belief in the power of hope that has allowed us to rise above the voices of doubt and division, of anger and fear that we have faced in our own lives and in the life of this country. Our hope that if we work hard enough and believe in ourselves, then we can be whatever we dream, regardless of the limitations that others may place on us. The hope that when people see us for who we truly are, maybe, just maybe they, too, will be inspired to rise to their best possible selves.”

Finally, we have yet another speech by Michelle Obama given in her final remarks as First Lady – a tear-inducing event for many Americans and even people around the world. In this emotional end to her political tenure, she gives an empowering, hopeful, expressive speech to young Americans, exhorting them to take hold of its future in all their diversity and work hard at being their best possible selves.

Amidst the bleak era of our current time with Trump as president of the USA, not only Michelle Obama, but all 40 of these amazing speeches can serve as sources of inspiration and hope to everyone – regardless of their identity or ambitions. After hearing these speeches, which one’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

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10 of the Most Famous and Inspirational Speeches from History

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

What makes a great and iconic speech? There are numerous examples of brilliant orators and speechmakers throughout history, from classical times to the present day. What the best speeches tend to have in common are more than just a solid intellectual argument: they have emotive power, or, for want of a more scholarly word, ‘heart’. Great speeches rouse us to action, or move us to tears – or both.

But of course, historic speeches are often also associated with landmark, or watershed, moments in a nation’s history: when Churchill delivered his series of wartime speeches to Britain in 1940, it was against the backdrop of a war which was still in its early, uncertain stages. And when Martin Luther King stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, he was addressing a crowd who, like him, were marching for justice, freedom, and civil rights for African Americans.

Let’s take a closer look at ten of the best and most famous speeches from great moments in history.

Abraham Lincoln, ‘ Gettysburg Address ’ (1863).

The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history, yet it was extremely short – just 268 words, or less than a page of text – and Abraham Lincoln, who gave the address, wasn’t even the top billing .

The US President Abraham Lincoln gave this short address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on 19 November 1863. At the time, the American Civil War was still raging, and the Battle of Gettysburg had been the bloodiest battle in the war, with an estimated 23,000 casualties.

Lincoln’s speech has been remembered while Edward Everett’s – the main speech delivered on that day – has long been forgotten because Lincoln eschewed the high-flown allusions and wordy style of most political orators of the nineteenth century. Instead, he addresses his audience in plain, homespun English that is immediately relatable and accessible.

Sojourner Truth, ‘ Ain’t I a Woman? ’ (1851).

Sometimes known as ‘Ar’n’t I a Woman?’, this is a speech which Sojourner Truth, a freed African slave living in the United States, delivered in 1851 at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio. The women in attendance were being challenged to call for the right to vote.

In her speech, Sojourner Truth attempts to persuade the audience to give women the vote . As both an ex-slave and a woman, Sojourner Truth knew about the plight of both groups of people in the United States. Her speech shows her audience the times: change is coming, and it is time to give women the rights that should be theirs.

John Ball, ‘ Cast off the Yoke of Bondage ’ (1381).

The summer of 1381 was a time of unrest in England. The so-called ‘Peasants’ Revolt’, led by Wat Tyler (in actual fact, many of the leaders of the revolt were more well-to-do than your average peasant), gathered force until the rebels stormed London, executing a number of high-ranking officials, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor, Simon Sudbury.

Alongside Tyler, the priest John Ball was an important leading figure of the rebellion. His famous couplet, ‘When Adam delved and Eve span, / Who was then the gentleman?’ sums up the ethos of the Peasants’ Revolt: social inequality was unheard of until men created it.

Winston Churchill, ‘ We Shall Fight on the Beaches ’ (1940).

Winston Churchill had only recently assumed the role of UK Prime Minister when he gave the trio of wartime speeches which have gone down in history for their rhetorical skill and emotive power. This, for our money, is the best of the three.

Churchill gave this speech in the House of Commons on 4 June 1940. Having brought his listeners up to speed with what has happened, Churchill comes to the peroration of his speech : by far the most famous part. He reassures them that if nothing is neglected and all arrangements are made, he sees no reason why Britain cannot once more defend itself against invasion: something which, as an island nation, it has always been susceptible to by sea, and now by air.

Even if it takes years, and even if Britain must defend itself alone without any help from its allies, this is what must happen. Capitulation to the Nazis is not an option. The line ‘if necessary for years; if necessary, alone’ is sure to send a shiver down the spine, as is the way Churchill barks ‘we shall never surrender!’ in the post-war recording of the speech he made several years later.

William Faulkner, ‘ The Agony and the Sweat ’ (1950).

This is the title sometimes given to one of the most memorable Nobel Prize acceptance speeches: the American novelist William Faulkner’s acceptance of the Nobel Prize for Literature at Stockholm in 1950.

In his speech, Faulkner makes his famous statement about the ‘duty’ of writers: that they should write about ‘the human heart in conflict with itself’, as well as emotions and themes such as compassion, sacrifice, courage, and hope. He also emphasises that being a writer is hard work, and involves understanding human nature in all its complexity. But good writing should also remind readers what humankind is capable of.

Emmeline Pankhurst, ‘ The Plight of Women ’ (1908).

Pankhurst (1858-1928) was the leader of the British suffragettes, campaigning – and protesting – for votes for women. After she realised that Asquith’s Liberal government were unlikely to grand women the vote, the Women’s Social and Political Union, founded by Pankhurst with her daughter Christabel, turned to more militant tactics to shift public and parliamentary opinion.

Her emphasis in this speech is on the unhappy lot most women could face, in marriage and in motherhood. She also shows how ‘man-made’ the laws of England are, when they are biased in favour of men to the detriment of women’s rights.

This speech was given at the Portman Rooms in London in 1908; ten years later, towards the end of the First World War, women over 30 were finally given the vote. But it would be another ten years, in 1928 – the year of Pankhurst’s death – before the voting age for women was equal to that for men (21 years).

Franklin Roosevelt, ‘ The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself ’ (1933).

This is the title by which Roosevelt’s speech at his inauguration in 1933 has commonly become known, and it has attained the status of a proverb. Roosevelt was elected only a few years after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 which ushered in the Great Depression.

Roosevelt’s famous line in the speech, which offered hope to millions of Americans dealing with unemployment and poverty, was probably inspired by a line from Henry David Thoreau, a copy of whose writings FDR had been gifted shortly before his inauguration. The line about having nothing to fear except fear itself was, in fact, only added into the speech the day before the inauguration took place, but it ensured that the speech went down in history.

Marcus Tullius Cicero, ‘ Among Us You Can Dwell No Longer ’ (63 BC).

Of all of the great classical orators, perhaps the greatest of all was the Roman statesman, philosopher, and speechmaker, Cicero (whose name literally means ‘chickpea’).

This is probably his best-known speech. At the Temple of Jupiter in Rome, Cicero addressed the crowd, but specifically directed his comments towards Lucius Catiline, who was accused of plotting a conspiracy to set fire to the capital and stage and insurrection. The speech was considered such a fine example of Roman rhetoric that it was a favourite in classrooms for centuries after, as Brian MacArthur notes in The Penguin Book of Historic Speeches .

Queen Elizabeth I, ‘ The Heart and Stomach of a King ’ (1588).

Queen Elizabeth I’s speech to the troops at Tilbury is among the most famous and iconic speeches in English history. On 9 August 1588, Elizabeth addressed the land forces which had been mobilised at the port of Tilbury in Essex, in preparation for the expected invasion of England by the Spanish Armada.

When she gave this speech, Elizabeth was in her mid-fifties and her youthful beauty had faded. But she had learned rhetoric as a young princess, and this training served her well when she wrote and delivered this speech (she was also a fairly accomplished poet ).

She famously tells her troops: ‘I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too’. She acknowledged the fact that her body was naturally less masculine and strong than the average man’s, but it is not mere physical strength that will win the day. It is courage that matters.

Martin Luther King, ‘ I Have a Dream ’ (1963).

Let’s conclude this selection of the best inspirational speeches with the best-known of all of Martin Luther King’s speeches. The occasion for this piece of oratorical grandeur was the march on Washington , which saw some 210,000 men, women, and children gather at the Washington Monument in August 1963, before marching to the Lincoln Memorial. King reportedly stayed up until 4am the night before he was due to give the speech, writing it out.

King’s speech imagines a collective vision of a better and more equal America which is not only shared by many Black Americans, but by anyone who identifies with their fight against racial injustice, segregation, and discrimination.

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Dick Goodwin, the Kennedy-LBJ Speechwriter Who Changed the ’60s—and the Country

For Jack, Bobby, and Lyndon, he wrote some of the most eloquent words they ever spoke and was one of the most important figures of his year.

Jeff Greenfield

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast

In the summer of 1954, Richard Goodwin walked into the Harvard Law School library, ready to begin his first day as a member of the Harvard Law Review; a position all but guaranteeing a path to a life of privilege and prestige. For the son of lower middle-class Jews, it was the reward for years of intense study, with summers working as a fry cook at Revere Beach, supplementing a full scholarship to Harvard Law.

But as he prepared for the dreary work of checking footnotes from a law review article, something snapped. It was as if, he wrote years later, that he was in a prison. So he turned on his heel, drove back to Brookline, waived his student deferment, and joined the army. After his service, he went back to Harvard Law, where he finished first in his class, was president of the Law Review, and won a clerkship from Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter.

Fourteen years later, 2 miles east of Harvard Law, Goodwin sat in his office at MIT, where he held a cushy faculty position. It was early 1968, and Goodwin was increasingly despairing of a Vietnam War that had lost all purpose, and a nation seized by racial and generational tumult. His close friend Robert Kennedy had refused to challenge President Johnson for the Democratic nomination, but Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy was embarked on that quixotic effort in New Hampshire.

So Goodwin quit his post, jumped into his car, and at midnight, arrived at the Perkins Motel in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he rousted McCarthy’s press secretary, Sy Hersh, walked him to his car, pointed to his typewriter and said, “You, me and this typewriter, Sy; together we’re going to overthrow the president of the United States.”

A month later, McCarthy won 42 percent of the primary vote—a stunning, unexpected achievement; four days later, Robert Kennedy entered the race, and two weeks after that, Johnson announced he would not run for another term.

These two anecdotes say much about who Dick Goodwin was: the blend of determination, ability, and, yes, a touch of arrogance; but more than that— they point to what made Goodwin so compelling a figure. The last of the New Frontiersmen—when he died Sunday at 85, he was the last surviving member of President John Kennedy’s 1960 campaign team—he embodied one of Kennedy’s favorite observations, from fellow New Englander Emerson: that “a man must share the actions and passions of his time on peril of being judged not to have lived.” Goodwin didn’t just “share” the actions and passions of his time—he threw himself into them, and in so doing, put his mark on those times.

Goodwin is best known as a speechwriter, who wrote perhaps the single greatest presidential oration of the post-FDR era: Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 speech on the Voting Rights Act (video here ), which proclaimed that “it’s not just Negroes, but really it’s all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.”

He was also a principal author, along with Adam Walinsky, of Robert Kennedy’s 1966 “Day of Affirmation” speech in South Africa (video here ), which declared: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

But his influence extended beyond rhetoric; he was, in a way, an embodiment of at least one part of the ’60s; an era that began with the rise of a younger generation to power, armed with the conviction—which a times shaded into hubris—that it could move mountains, and that ended with an assassin’s bullet in a kitchen pantry in a Los Angeles hotel.

In his late twenties, Goodwin was a lawyer for a House Committee that investigated the enormously popular TV quiz shows of the late 1950s. It was Goodwin, the scholarship kid from a Jewish neighborhood in Boston, who confronted and revealed the fraud behind the performance of Charles Van Doren, the epitome of WASP elitism. (The movie Quiz Show tells the story.)

It was Goodwin who, at age 29, became Ted Sorensen’s deputy speechwriter in JFK’s 1960 campaign. It was Goodwin who, not yet 30, became the deputy assistant secretary of state for Inter-American Affairs and caused a political firestorm by meeting secretly with Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara in Uruguay. (The meeting led to no diplomatic breakthrough, but Guevara did gift Goodwin with a box of fine Havanas, which appealed mightily to the cigar-loving Goodwin.)

By his mid-thirties, he was a close friend of Robert Kennedy, accompanying him on tumultuous trip through South America, where they were harassed by Communist students and swam in piranha-infested waters. It was that friendship that ultimately drew him to leave Gene McCarthy’s campaign and join RFK’s effort, where he worked with director John Frankenheimer on the television ads that helped win primaries in Indiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and California, where Sirhan Sirhan was waiting in that hotel kitchen.

That, in shorthand, describes what Dick Goodwin did in that decade. But it doesn’t really capture who he was. For one thing, Goodwin shared with Robert Kennedy a mordant sense of humor; a puckish delight in upending the pieties of politics. In his memoir Remembering America , Goodwin describes a memo from a White House aide warning him that a file cabinet of his had been found open at 12:45 a.m. In response, Goodwin sent a memo to the aide, explaining that the aide had just blown up “the most skillful espionage operation in the history of the American government.” The cabinet, he wrote, was filled with deliberately false information.

“Then I usually invite someone from the Russian embassy over for a nightcap. At the appropriate moment (around 12:45 am) I say I have to go over to the mansion and leave”—thus leaving the Soviet agent in possession of totally misleading data.

Goodwin’s political disappointments in the years after Robert Kennedy’s death were leavened by the arrival in his life of Doris Kearns, with whom he shared more than four decades of marriage. What he—and she—brought to that union was a zest for life that could have powered a medium-sized city. When I traveled to Concord, Massachusetts, to interview them for various books I was writing, dinner at the local inn was endlessly interrupted by a parade of locals from all walks of life—cops, firefighters, lawyers, business folks, politicians, all wanting to trade a quip, or share a conversation with them. (It made the interview tougher, but it made the memory of the dinners indelible.)

Goodwin was a less visible presence in the last decades of his life; he wrote for The New Yorker , Rolling Stone , and other venues, as well as a play about Galileo, but he took the most satisfaction from helping Doris Kearns Goodwin with her succession of best-selling histories.

In his 2014 introduction to the e-book version of Remembering America , Goodwin wrote that “the memory of the Sixties remains fresh in my mind This is not simply the nostalgia of a man in his eighties. The decade of the Sixties was one of those special moments in our history, when important public issues animated our citizens, when large achievement seemed a realistic possibility; and when the American faith was charged with a determination equal to the needs and the promise of the nation.”

This is, of course, a romantic version of that time, one that is rejected and even scorned by a significant segment of the American populace. And Dick’s words have an almost quaint ring in our current political climate. But it’s worth remembering that when Dick Goodwin and his colleagues entered the White House in 1961, no black or woman or Italian had ever sat on the Supreme Court; no African-American had ever been a member of the Cabinet, or led a Fortune 500 company; that from Capitol Hill to Wall Street to the powerhouse law firms and ad agencies, to the executive offices of newspapers, magazines, and broadcasting, your skin color, religion, gender, and family background imposed sharp limits on what you could do and what you could be. Goodwin was part of a movement that changed that bleak reality for good.

You can look back on Dick Goodwin’s life and work and see him as a key player in a time, and a politics burdened by its fair share of illusion and overreach. What I see is someone armed with an incandescent intellect, a razor-sharp wit and a fragrant Havana , who put his gifts in the service of causes that changed the lives of millions for the better. John and Robert Kennedy often liked to cited a Greek definition of happiness: “the full use of your powers, along lines of excellence in a life affording scope.” By that definition Dick Goodwin was among the happiest people of his time.

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What Was the Greatest Speech, Historical or Fictional, Ever Given?

From the New Testament to Animal House

Ben Stein, actor and former speechwriter for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford

The “To Be or Not to Be” speech from Hamlet boils down the essentials of life to a few magnificently poetic paragraphs.

Harold Bloom, humanities professor, Yale University

The seventh and last of Hamlet’s soliloquies , as he watches Fortinbras’s army march by him in the snow. The darkness of his insight is absolute.

Ted Widmer, former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton

Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural came at a time for self-glorification. But instead of chest-thumping, it offered a profound modesty. Whenever the air is thick with political smugness, it bears rereading.

Anthony Weiner, former U.S. congressman from New York

FDR’s “Four Freedoms” speech .

Camille Paglia, author, Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art From Egypt to Star Wars

Pericles’ Funeral Oration , as reconstructed by Thucydides, is a celebration of Athenian freedom and justice—plus, it may have been written by Pericles’ mistress.

Mark Salter, former speechwriter for Senator John McCain

The Sermon on the Mount , for defining humility. Close runners-up are William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, for its confident humility, and Lincoln’s second inaugural, for explaining the social necessity of humility.

Pat Buchanan, political analyst

The Sermon on the Mount, which includes the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and the divine instructions on how men ought to live, if they wish eternal life.

Representative John Lewis (D-Georgia)

If humankind would only live by the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes , the world would finally be at peace with itself. That great speech is from another time, but its words ring true from generation to generation.

Robert Schlesinger, author, White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters

For sheer reach and influence, it’s hard to argue against Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It’s perhaps the central teaching of one of the world’s great religions, still studied and recounted not just in academia and religious institutions but by lay people all around the world.

James Carville, former campaign manager for President Bill Clinton

Although it does not have the same cache as the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Plain is a shorter and more cogent speech. Jesus was talking to people at his same level, rather than to people down the mountain.

Herman Edwards, football analyst, former NFL player and coach

I can remember watching Martin Luther King’s “ I Have a Dream ” speech on television when I was 9 years old. King educated and inspired not just the people who were at the March on Washington, but America in general.

Melinda Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution” combines the beauty and power we associate with King’s oratory and a visionary argument about technology and morality.

Jim Harbaugh, head coach, San Francisco 49ers

For speeches of leadership and valor, there are none better than Winston Churchill’s speech before the House of Commons on June 4, 1940 —“We shall never surrender!”—or Shakespeare’s Saint Crispin’s Day speech , delivered by Henry V before the Battle of Agincourt: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”

Mary Beard, classics professor, University of Cambridge

Cicero’s first speech against his political rival Catiline , in 63 B.C. , has been a model for orators and protesters ever since. In fact, its first words—“How long will you abuse our patience, Catiline?”—were seen on opposition banners in Hungary less than two years ago.

Chris Anderson, TED curator

The best talk ever given at TED, judging by the length of the standing ovation, was the human-rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s “We Need to Talk About an Injustice.” In the 10 minutes after Stevenson finished, audience members committed $1 million to his advocacy organization by show of hands.

Steve Duck, professor of rhetoric, University of Iowa

For its effect at the time and its ability to speak to us today about leadership and bravery, the greatest speech has to be the one given by Queen Elizabeth I at Tilbury Docks in 1588 as she faced the Spanish armada and stirred her troops to England’s defense: “I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king.”

Colin Quinn, comedian and writer

Karl Malden’s speech in On the Waterfront , because his character is based on a real priest from the Chelsea waterfront who chain-smoked and tried to help fight the mob. When Malden gives his speech, it's over a dead body in the hold of a ship, with the mob henchmen throwing vegetables and cans at him.

Matthew Scully, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush

Even two generations after John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address , a collaboration between him and Theodore Sorensen, not a line seems dated or stilted. From “man holds in his mortal hands” to “knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own,” it is a work of perfection.

Gabby Giffords, former U.S. congresswoman from Arizona

As the spouse of a former NASA shuttle commander, I’m inspired by Kennedy’s speech at Rice University in 1962. We choose to go to the moon, he said, not because it is easy, but because it is hard. He touched on what makes America so great: we dream big.

General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of American forces in Afghanistan

Great speeches can inspire nations, armies, and teams to win against the odds and to take action when things seem hopeless. In that tradition, an entire generation can recite the simple message delivered by a slovenly fraternity brother: “What? Over? Did you say over ? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!” — Bluto, Animal House

This is an expanded version of October 2013’s Big Question . Readers have been sharing their answers online—here are some of our favorites.

From Twitter:

@MerrittJennifer : Gettysburg Address. Still gives me chills. Or Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth..." - A Few Good Men

@philsmithwrites : Margaret Chase Smith's denunciation of Joseph McCarthy at height of his popularity.

@shakyside : Mr. Rogers' appearance before Congress is up there for sure.

@exentricone : Charlie Chaplin final speech in The Great Dictator

@jenniebrand : "Your Father's Watch", Christopher Walken, Pulp Fiction

@EeeVeeGross : Liam Neeson's threat over the phone to the Albanians that just kidnapped his daughter and her friend

From Facebook:

Thomas Izaguirre : I want to put in a word for speeches of infamy, which by eloquently stating the worst of human impulses have shown more mirror-like honesty than nobler orations. We deny and ignore them at our peril, as history shows. In that regard, there is the heinous "Cornerstone Speech" delivered by the Vice President of the Confederacy. Its candor and thoroughness in exalting and justifying racism on religious, political, ethical, and scientific grounds remains a stain on the nation and underscores the ultimate moral decay the dissent of the seceding states tried to obscure. It is the opposite of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in every possible way.

Felipe Enrique : Julius Caesar, to his troops just north of the Rubicon River in northern Italy. After years campaigning in Gaul and Germania, he had to convince his war weary troops that they could no longer return home and rest or retire but they would have to fight to preserve what they believed in and that the enemies of Rome lie within. Once they crossed the Rubicon they would be considered enemies of the state and only victory in a civil war would ensure their freedom. "Alea iacta est" - the die is cast, one of so many lasting impressions from the great Caesar.

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Meet the Top Speechwriters

Posted on December 18, 2020 December 23, 2020
3 minute read
by Swagger Contributors

People love hearing speeches. Presidents and CEOs deliver speeches with so much eloquence and organization that you may wonder when they had the time to craft all that with their ever-busy schedules.

Speechwriting is an extraordinary job, yet fulfilling in a way. It requires staying out of the box and looking for content out of the ordinary. Being an odd job, it also has interesting individuals. Here are some top speechwriters the world has had so far.

Roger Wolfson

Roger Wolfson is a fast-paced, sharp, and witty writer who has worked for over twenty years in political affairs. Roger has been a speechwriter for a very long time in several fields and specialties. He is unique with his fantastic writing abilities. He writes on politics, entertainment, law, public service, and more.

Roger has accomplished a lot in his writing career. He has provided support to several US senators with legislative counsel. He left the political world at age 32 to settle on other specialties he holds. He had achieved much under the service of the following senators:

•Senator John Kerry •Senator Paul Wellstone • Senator Ted Kennedy • Senator Lieberman

Jon Favreau

President Obama is ranked as one of the best orators. Jon is the brains behind the great speeches President Obama made during his time in 2008. He led the speechwriting team that saw the president make his way to become the first black president of America. He was the primary writer for the speech that President Obama made in 2009 during his inaugural ceremony.

Ronald Miller

Miller came out of World War II and began work at Hollywood writing scripts. This gave life to his excellent speech writing skills, and he worked for three prime ministers in England. Many people remember Margaret Thatcher’s famous lines, which he wrote.

His work was very instrumental during Prime Minister Thatcher’s reign earning him much respect from the England royalties.

Graham Freudenberg

Graham is an outstanding Australian speechwriter. His time working at the Labor Party saw him writing thousands of speeches, which took over the whole country with excellent organization and quality. His most recognized speeches were those he wrote for:

•Arthur Caldwell •Bob Hawke •Neville Wren •Bob Carr •Mark Latham •Gough Whitlam

How is a Speechwriter as a Profession?

Getting a great speechwriter must be the most overwhelming situation for any PR position. A speechwriter writes for a public figure who is adored by many. There is no room for mistakes, and quality is a must. Any errors will lead to significant criticism, as Gabriella Monn Mann explains in her exclusive interview with Swagger women .

Formerly, speechwriting was not recognized as part of the job until the Professional Speechwriters Association’s formation. The post is becoming more real with all the duties they have to undertake to make their bosses’ lives easy with the public.

Many of the speechwriters don’t see themselves as writers per se. They feel the term is limited since they have other significant roles in any company, organization, or public space they hold. They have to be very keen on their ways of life since their position is hefty yet unknown to many.

However, leaders regard them with high respect. They are reliable and convenient. They will craft the best sound and be single-minded on the verge of any meeting. They are dedicated to making the leaders at ease by spewing out the organization’s plan and views in any writing they partake.

What Does a Typical Speechwriter’s Day Look Like?

A speechwriter is not ordinary. They are unique and have to find new ways to build their craft. They have to learn continually and get more knowledge on almost every topic on earth.

First, a speechwriter must be a creative inventor. The invention is the order of the day as they go about crafting quality speeches written flawlessly.

The second key thing to a speechwriter is organization. It is common practice to find someone organizing everything since they are used to it. A speechwriter must craft a speech that flows uniformly and touches only the critical points in the best concise manner.

The other crucial feature is style. A speechwriter must develop a unique style to introduce their speech, uniquely craft the body, and finish with the most powerful conclusion.

The five canons of rhetoric guide the life of a speechwriter. You have read about the top speechwriters with some exciting facts about speechwriting. Speechwriting is necessary for any organization.

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How Can You Elevate Your Life through Positive Relationships: Explains Markus Kaulius

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Ted Sorensen on Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Words

Kennedy advisor Ted Sorensen found that of all the U.S. presidents, Lincoln had the best speechwriter—himself

Theodore C. Sorensen

Abraham Lincoln, the greatest American president, was also in my view the best of all presidential speechwriters. As a youngster in Lincoln, Nebraska, I stood before the statue of the president gracing the west side of the towering state capitol and soaked up the words of his Gettysburg Address, inscribed on a granite slab behind the statue.

Two decades later, in January 1961, President-elect John F. Kennedy asked me to study those words again, in preparing to help him write his inaugural address. He also asked me to read all previous 20th-century inaugural addresses. I did not learn much from those speeches (except for FDR's first inaugural), but I learned a great deal from Lincoln's ten sentences.

Now, 47 years later, as another tall, skinny, oratorically impressive Illinois lawyer is invoking Lincoln as he pursues his own candidacy for president, and with Lincoln's bicentennial underway (he turns 200 February 12, 2009), I want to acknowledge my debt.

Lincoln was a superb writer. Like Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt, but few if any other presidents, he could have been a successful writer wholly apart from his political career. He needed no White House speechwriter, as that post is understood today. He wrote his major speeches out by hand, as he did his eloquent letters and other documents. Sometimes he read his draft speeches aloud to others, including members of his cabinet and his two principal secretaries, John Hay and John Nicolay, and he occasionally received suggestions, particularly at the start of his administration, from his onetime rival for the presidency, Secretary of State William Seward. On the first occasion on which Seward offered a major contribution—Lincoln's first inaugural—the president demonstrated clearly that he was the better speechwriter. Seward's idea was worthy, principally a change in the ending, making it softer, more conciliatory, invoking shared memories. But his half-completed proposed wording, often cited by historians, was pedestrian: "The mystic chords which proceeding from so many battle fields and so many patriot graves pass through all the hearts . . . in this broad continent of ours will yet again harmonize in their ancient music when breathed upon by the guardian angel of the nation."

Lincoln graciously took and read Seward's suggested ending, but, with the magic of his own pen, turned it into his moving appeal to "the mystic chords of memory," which, "stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Lincoln was a better speechwriter than speaker. Normally, the success of a speech depends in considerable part on the speaker's voice and presence. The best speeches of John F. Kennedy benefited from his platform presence, his poise, personality, good looks and strong voice. William Jennings Bryan moved audiences not only with the extravagance of his language, but also with the skill of his movements and gestures, the strength of his voice and appearance. Democratic Party leaders not attending the 1896 National Convention at which Bryan delivered his "Cross of Gold" speech, and thus not carried away by the power of his presence, later could not understand his nomination on the basis of what they merely read. Franklin Roosevelt's speeches, for those who were not present for his performance, were merely cold words on a page with substantially less effect than they had for those who were present to hear them.

But Lincoln's words, heard by comparatively few, by themselves carried power across time and around the world. I may have been more moved by his remarks at the Gettysburg cemetery when I read them behind his statue at the state capitol in Lincoln in 1939 than were some of those straining to hear them on the outskirts of the audience at Gettysburg in 1863. The Massachusetts statesman Edward Everett, with his two-hour speech filled with classical allusions, had been the designated orator of the day. The president was up and quickly down with his dedicatory remarks in a few short minutes. Some newspapers reported: "The President also spoke."

Lincoln's voice, reportedly high, was not as strong as Bryan's, nor were his looks as appealing as Kennedy's. (Lincoln himself referred to his "poor, lean, lank face.") His reading was not electronically amplified nor facilitated by a teleprompter, which today almost every president uses to conceal his dependence on a prepared text. (Why? Would we have more confidence in a surgeon or a plumber who operated without referring to his manual? Do we expect our presidents to memorize or improvise their most important speeches?) Lincoln also spoke with a Midwestern inflection that—in those days, before mass media created a homogenized national audience and accent—was not the way folks talked in Boston or New York, making him difficult for some audiences to understand.

But Lincoln's success as an orator stemmed not from his voice, demeanor or delivery, or even his presence, but from his words and his ideas. He put into powerful language the nub of the matter in the controversy over slavery and secession in his own time, and the core meaning for all time of this nation itself as "this last best hope of earth." Such great and moving subjects produce many more great and moving speeches than discussions of tax cuts and tariffs.

With his prodigious memory and willingness to dig out facts (as his own researcher), he could offer meticulous historical detail, as he demonstrated in his antislavery Peoria speech of 1854 and in the 1860 Cooper Union address, which effectively secured for him the Republican nomination for president. But most Lincoln speeches eschewed detail for timeless themes and flawless construction; they were profound, philosophical, never partisan, pompous or pedantic. His two greatest speeches—the greatest speeches by any president—are not only quite short (the second inaugural is just a shade over 700 words, the Gettysburg Address shorter still), but did not deal in the facts of current policy at all, but only with the largest ideas.

A president, like everyone else, is shaped by his media environment, and if he is good, he shapes his communication to fit that environment. Lincoln lived in an age of print. Oratory was important political entertainment; but with no broadcasting, his words reached large audiences outside the immediate vicinity only by print. His speeches were published in the newspapers of the day and composed by him with that in mind. He spoke for readers of the printed page, not merely for those listening. His words moved voters far from the sound of his voice because of his writing skills, his intellectual power, his grip on the core issue of his time and his sublime concept of his nation's meaning.

Franklin Roosevelt mastered the fireside chat on radio, Kennedy the formal address on television, Bill Clinton the more casual messages. Of course, modern American television audiences would not tolerate the three-hour debates Lincoln had with Stephen Douglas, or his longer speeches—but that was a different age. Lincoln was adaptable enough that he could have mastered modern modes of political speech—today's sound-bite culture—had he lived in this era. He had a talent for getting to the point.

Lincoln avoided the fancy and artificial. He used the rhetorical devices that the rest of us speechwriters do: alliteration ("Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray"; "no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet"); rhyme ("I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views"); repetition ("As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew"; "We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground"); and—especially—contrast and balance ("The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present"; "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master"; "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free").

He used metaphors, as we all do, both explicit and implicit: think of the implied figure of birth—the nation "brought forth," "conceived"—in the Gettysburg Address. He would quote the Bible quite sparingly, but to tremendous effect. See how he ends the monumental next-to-last paragraph of the second inaugural: "Yet, if God wills that [the Civil War] continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, ‘the judgments of the Lord are True and Righteous Altogether.' "

But the triumph of this greatest example of American public speech did not come from devices alone. Lincoln had in addition two great qualities infusing his use of those devices. First, he had a poetic literary sensibility. He was aware of the right rhythm and sound. An editor of the Gettysburg Address might say that "Eighty-seven years ago" is shorter. Lincoln wrote instead, "Four score and seven years ago."

And, finally, he had the root of the matter in him. The presidents greatest in speechcraft are almost all the greatest in statecraft also—because speeches are not just words. They present ideas, directions and values, and the best speeches are those that get those right. As Lincoln did.

Theodore C. Sorensen , former special counsel to President John F. Kennedy, is the author, most recently, of Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History .

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Great Talks Most People Have Never Heard

Not long ago, I came across a little-known speech titled, “You and Your Research”.

The speech had been delivered in 1986 by Richard Hamming, an accomplished mathematician and computer engineer, as part of an internal series of talks given at Bell Labs. I had never heard of Hamming, the internal lecture series at Bell Labs, or this particular speech. And yet, as I read the transcript, I came across one useful insight after another.

After reading that talk, I got to thinking… what other great talks and speeches are out there that I’ve never heard?

I’ve been slowly searching for answers to that question and the result is this list of my favorite interesting and insightful talks that are not widely known. You may see a few famous speeches on this list, but my guess is that most people are not aware of many of them—just as I wasn’t when I first started looking around.

As far as I know this is the only place where you can read transcripts of these speeches in one place.

Famous Speeches and Great Talks

This list is organized by presenter name and then speech topic. Click the links below to jump to a specific speech. On each page, you’ll find a full transcript of the speech as well as some additional background information.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story”
Jeff Bezos, “Statement by Jeff Bezos to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary”
Jeff Bezos, “What Matters More Than Your Talents”
John C. Bogle, “Enough”
Brené Brown, “ The Anatomy of Trust “
John Cleese, “Creativity in Management”
William Deresiewicz, “Solitude and Leadership”
Richard Feynman, “Seeking New Laws”
Neil Gaiman, “Make Good Art”
John W. Gardner, “Personal Renewal”
Elizabeth Gilbert, “Your Elusive Creative Genius”
Albert E. N. Gray, “The Common Denominator of Success”
Bill Gurley, “Runnin Down a Dream”
Richard Hamming, “Learning to Learn”
Richard Hamming, “You and Your Research”
Steve Jobs, “2005 Stanford Commencement Address”
Peter Kaufman, “The Multidisciplinary Approach to Thinking”
C.S. Lewis, “The Inner Ring”
Admiral William H. McRaven, “Make Your Bed”
Arno Rafael Minkkinen, “Finding Your Own Vision”
Charlie Munger, “2007 USC Law School Commencement Address”
Charlie Munger, “A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom”
Charlie Munger, “How to Guarantee a Life of Misery”
Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment”
Nathan Myhrvold, “ Roadkill on the Information Highway “
Randy Pausch, “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”
Randy Pausch, “Time Management”
Anna Quindlen, “1999 Mount Holyoke Commencement Speech”
John Roberts, “I Wish You Bad Luck”
Sir Ken Robinson, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”
J.K. Rowling, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure”
George Saunders, “Failures of Kindness”
Claude Shannon, “Creative Thinking”
BF Skinner, “How to Discover What You Have to Say”
Jim Valvano, “Don’t Give Up”
Bret Victor, “Inventing on Principle”
David Foster Wallace, “This is Water”
Art Williams, “Just Do It”
Evan Williams, “A Journey on the Information Highway”

This is an on-going project. If you know of another great talk, please contact me .

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The best speeches of all time, recommended by clarence b jones.

Behind the Dream by Clarence B Jones

Which were the best speeches ever made? Clarence B Jones , lawyer, friend and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr—and contributor to the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech—chooses his top five, and explains what is that makes these famous speeches so good.

Interview by Anna Blundy

Franklin D Roosevelt’s inaugural address, 4 March 1933 by Various authors

John F Kennedy’s inaugural address, 20 January 1961 by Various authors

Laurence Olivier’s Oscar Acceptance Speech (1979) by YouTube video

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, 28 August 1963 by Martin Luther King Jr

Nelson Mandela’s inaugural address as President of South Africa, 10 May 1994 by David Elliot Cohen

The Best Speeches of All Time - Franklin D Roosevelt’s inaugural address, 4 March 1933 by Various authors

1 Franklin D Roosevelt’s inaugural address, 4 March 1933 by Various authors

2 john f kennedy’s inaugural address, 20 january 1961 by various authors, 3 laurence olivier’s oscar acceptance speech (1979) by youtube video, 4 dr martin luther king, jr’s ‘i have a dream’ speech, 28 august 1963 by martin luther king jr, 5 nelson mandela’s inaugural address as president of south africa, 10 may 1994 by david elliot cohen.

Y ou’ve chosen what you regard as the best speeches of all time for us and Roosevelt’s Inaugural Address is your first choice. Tell me about this speech.

What is it about the actual speech, about the way it’s written, that is so brilliant?

Well, what impressed me about the speech was that, to me, the measure of or index of a good speech is not merely the words that are festooned together and spoken – presumably by someone who has a good delivery or even an exceptional delivery – but the extent to which the text of speech, the substance of the speech, is responsive and addresses the major issues of the time. I wasn’t so concerned about Roosevelt’s delivery, but I measured the text against the magnitude of the problem to which it was addressed.

The famous line is: ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself.’

Tell me about JFK’s inaugural address.

Well, JFK , as you know, or maybe you don’t know, won the presidential election by merely 120,000 popular votes over Richard Nixon. The country was clearly divided; we were in the apex of what one would now describe as the Cold War, the great competition between ourselves and the Soviet Union, and here this younger man had taken over from Eisenhower, a World War II hero. This young man, whose inauguration day was relatively cold, some would say freezing cold, gave the address with no hat on, no scarf on, signalling the health and vitality of the new younger generation. He enumerated the problems that the country was confronted with, and then, of course, came the classic line: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.’

“In my judgement, the measure of a speech is not merely the text or words, or even the person who delivers the speech, but the context of the speech.”

Just recently we had the passing of Sargent Shriver, who was the architect of the Peace Corps, the most celebrated form of government volunteer service that this country has ever had. The Peace Corps came out of the Kennedy administration. What came out of the address was that we could indeed be competitive with the Soviet Union, that this was a new generation coming into power and he wanted to say to the people that this new generation was ready – professionally ready, managerially ready, morally ready, militarily ready. It was up to the task.

Who wrote it?

Well, Theodore Sorensen contributed to it.

Did he write most of JFK’s speeches or help write them?

Tell me about Laurence Olivier’s Oscar acceptance speech (which I’ll quote for our readers, since it’s not very long).

“Mr President and governors of the Academy, committee members, fellows, my very noble and approved good masters, my colleagues, my friends, my fellow students: In the great wealth, the great firmament of your nation’s generosities this particular choice may perhaps be found by future generations as a trifle eccentric, but the mere fact of it – the prodigal, pure, human kindness of it – must be seen as a beautiful star in that firmament which shines upon me at this moment dazzling me a little, but filling me with the warmth of the extraordinary elation, the euphoria that happens to so many of us at the first breath of the majestic glow of a new tomorrow. From the top of this moment, in the solace, in the kindly emotion that is charging my soul and my heart at this moment, I thank you for this great gift which lends me such a very splendid part in this, your glorious occasion. Thank you.”

It was a very short speech, and its power was in its spontaneity and its erudition. I don’t have to tell you that he was one of the great actors of the 20th century. A number of people who get Academy Awards come up and read from a written text or they say something that is kind of banal, but Olivier quoted some Shakespeare. It was very eloquent. It really spoke about the fact that he was honoured and humble – but it was just the way he spoke to this group of actors and actresses, and an example of the magnificent use of language.

What did he win for?

So, now we’re moving on to your speech. The Martin Luther King .

Well, the Martin Luther King speech, of course… To understand it, you have to see it within the historical context. It was made three months after a very successful and very searing campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, in April of 1963, when the country and the world saw pictures of young negro girls and boys being pummelled against a wall with fire hoses and police dogs nipping at their ankles as they were peacefully marching in opposition to racial segregation. So that was April 63, and then, in August, some four months later, King was speaking at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial to more than 250,000 people. He was speaking to celebrate and to validate the success of the civil rights movement at that point, but also speaking prophetically about his hope for a better America. The ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, the portion that is most talked about, was totally spontaneous and extemporaneous. It wasn’t written.

You didn’t write that bit?

No. The contribution I made was in the first nine paragraphs. What happened was that as he got through reading the first nine paragraphs of prepared texts to which I contributed some language and concepts, he was interrupted by his favourite gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, who was on the podium with him, and he paused in the middle of his speaking and she shouted: ‘Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!’ At which point he put aside the written text. I was standing about 15 yards behind him, and I saw him, I read his body language and I said to the person standing next to me: ‘The people assembled here, they don’t know it, but they’re about ready to go to church.’ It appeared to me that he had gone into his preacher’s body mode.

What did that mean?

Well, before, he stood at the podium reading the text and looking up, but once he decided to speak extemporaneously he assumed a pose I had seen so many times when he was preaching a sermon from a pulpit, being a Baptist minister. He was no longer just a speaker at a public assembly, it was like he was speaking to a massive congregation in a church. And that’s when he went off into this extraordinary ‘I have a dream…’

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What did you think? Did you think, ‘Oh no! What’s he doing to my speech?’

No! First of all, I didn’t consider it ‘my’ speech. I didn’t even know if he was going to incorporate and use the material in the first nine paragraphs. I didn’t know that until I heard it for the first time. I just thought it was rather bold and extraordinary for him to cast aside the written text, but Martin Luther King, Jr was a master orator. He didn’t need a written text to speak eloquently. Using contemporary parlance, I say to people that Martin Luther King, Jr was the only person I have ever observed or known – and I’ve never ever seen or heard anyone do it since – who could compose a speech extemporaneously in real time and while he was speaking. Like we use computer skills, he could cut and paste in his mind from previous speeches or writings and he could insert those excerpts into his real time speech. It was an extraordinary ability. It was a transcendental experience to be there. It was like watching lightning captured in a bottle.

I’m fascinated by what you say about him getting carried away and going into preacher mode, because I saw Bill Clinton speak at the London School of Economics, and he is a captivating speaker…

Yes, he is.

He got everyone in the room to fall in love with him, including an 80-year-old Republican oil magnate sitting next to me, but what he did was, he read slowly and falteringly for the first few paragraphs and then he put the speech aside and leant forward to go into preacher mode. He was probably trying to look like Martin Luther King.

That would be a very challenging task. I am frequently asked, since Dr King’s assassination on 4 April 1968: ‘Who today is most like Martin Luther King, Jr?’ I answer the question very quickly. I say: ‘Who today is most like Shakespeare, like Leonardo Da Vinci, like Michelangelo, like Beethoven, like Mozart? Who? No one.’

But they’re trying!

They try. Some people foolishly try, I believe.

I was just thinking about the wonderful oratorical techniques…

Well, Martin Luther King, Jr was a fourth-generation Baptist preacher, and I spent a good part of the 1960s not only around him but around a lot of other preachers. I would say during that period that there is a style, there is an inside way in which they talk about how they preach, and when you go and preach, they say, you have to be capable of telling them the story. You have to tell the story. The story is going to be whatever your text is going to be that day, but you have to tell it, in eloquent words, using various techniques, such as repetition. Some preachers will repeat a key phrase two or three times to make their point. Martin Luther King was the most gifted orator I had ever heard and that I can ever remember hearing in my lifetime. No one, no person I have ever heard, any place, any time, anywhere on this earth can speak as eloquently as Martin Luther King, Jr.

You sound as if you did know, while you were standing there, what kind of impact the speech was having. Do you think everybody did? Did it seem as momentous then as it does now, or did it seem more momentous then than it does now?

Well, when Dr King was introduced, he was the last speaker of the formal programme, and everyone had been waiting. So when A Philip Randolph said, in this deep sonorous voice, ‘And now, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, the man and the voice that we have been waiting for, the unquestioned moral leader of this nation – I am pleased to introduce the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King, Jr,’ the place exploded. The place was electrified; it was like he had dropped a match and more than 250,000 people exploded in public adulation and acclaim for the person who was about to address them. And then, while he was speaking, particularly when he began to speak extemporaneously in his Baptist preacher mode, it was transcendental. I had heard and seen Martin Luther King give many speeches, under many different circumstances, but this speech was extraordinary.

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Tell me, lastly, about the Nelson Mandela. It’s not going to compare at all – I’m feeling sorry for Nelson now!

Well, you should not. Remember what I said earlier? In my judgement, the measure of a speech is not merely the text or words, or even the person who delivers the speech, but the context of the speech. And here the power of Nelson Mandela’s speech is not merely the words he has put together, but the power of the context. Here is a man who was in prison for 27 years, and now he is addressing the country on his inauguration as its president after a period of painful governance, a period of rigid, brutal apartheid. This former political prisoner is now president of the country, and he gives a speech in an effort to guide the country through a peaceful transition to a multiracial society. I mean, what a circumstance! The power, even the pomp and circumstance of the parliament and legislature, and you have President Nelson Mandela of South Africa addressing his country for the first time as president of the republic of South Africa. It’s the context! It’s the power of the moment!

Is it a good speech, though, in itself?

Yes. It’s a good speech. It’s a speech that is responsive and relevant to the particular historical moment in time. If you know anything about South Africa… When did he give the speech?

If you know anything about the preceding 25 years, that has to be an amazing speech. If I just say to you: ‘The former prisoner of Robben Island who was incarcerated for 27 years is now speaking as President of South Africa,’ that says it all.

It does. If you’re only allowed one of these speeches, I assume you’re taking Dr King’s?

If I’m only allowed one of the speeches…

Or you’re only allowed one line from one of the speeches.

Oh, then no question, Martin Luther King. There are two lines. First of all the beginning – and this is a paraphrase, it’s not exact: ‘We’ve come here to the foot of this great monument to redeem a promissory note that has been returned unpaid for insufficient funds.’ The promissory note is the guarantee of negroes’ freedom under the Declaration of Independence, and he says: ‘I refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the vaults of justice.’ That’s language that I crafted. And the other part I think is so moving if you know something about the history of the United States of America. ‘I have a dream that one day the great-great-grandsons of slaves and the great-great-grandsons and granddaughters of slave owners will sit down at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream, one day…’ Think about it. He dreams that the country will become one America, that it will become so reconciled that the descendents of former slave masters and former slaves will sit down at the table of brotherhood in our country. If you look at the speech or listen to it carefully, it’s all in the future tense. ‘One day I will…’ It’s always prophetic, always in the future. He reflected a more prophetic confidence in America than America had in itself.

This interview was published in 2011.

December 13, 2012

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Clarence B Jones

Clarence B Jones is the former personal counsel, adviser, draft speech writer and close friend of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. He is Scholar in Residence at the Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.

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Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev reads his resignation statement shortly before appearing on television in Moscow, December 25, 1991.

100 of the greatest speeches of the 20th century

100 greatest speeches of the 20th century.

The 20th century was one of the most varied, hopeful, and tumultuous in world history. From the Gilded Age to the beginning of the Internet Age—with plenty of stops along the way—it was a century punctuated by conflicts including two World Wars, the Cold War, the War in Vietnam, and the development of nuclear warfare. At the same time, the 20th century was characterized by a push for equality: Women in the United States received the right to vote after decades of activism, while the civil rights movement here ended the era of Jim Crow, inspired marginalized groups to take action, and introduced this country to great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Hundreds of people have used their voices along the way to heal, inspire, and enact change with speeches that helped to define these poignant moments in world history. Stacker has curated a list of 100 of the greatest speeches from the 20th century, drawing from research into great American speeches as determined by 137 scholars of American public address , as well as other historical sources. What follows is a gallery of speeches from around the U.S. and the world dealing with the most pressing issues of the day. Not all images show the speech event itself, but do feature the people who gave them.

Read on to discover which American author accepted his Nobel prize under protest and whether an American president accidentally called himself a jelly donut in German.

You may also like: 50 essential civil rights speeches

#100. Maya Angelou's "On the Pulse of Morning"

Delivered Jan. 20, 1993, in Washington D.C.

Maya Angelou, a longtime supporter of the Clinton family , became the second poet (after Robert Frost in 1961), and the first African American poet, to read at a presidential inauguration. She delivered "On the Pulse of Morning" directly after President Bill Clinton gave his first address, a poem that spanned the entire history of America and ended with a hopeful "Good morning." She won the Best Spoken Word Grammy for her performance, and a new audience was introduced to her previous work with the recognition she'd gained from the performance.

#99. Robert M. La Follette's "Free Speech in Wartime"

Delivered Oct. 6, 1917, in Washington D.C.

Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette was one of just six Senators to oppose U.S. entry into World War I and, after war was declared, an antiwar speech he gave was misleadingly portrayed in the media. As Senators threatened to expel him from the legislative body, he launched a lengthy filibuster that concluded with his rousing defense of "Free Speech in Wartime." He decisively stated that free speech during times of war was not only necessary, but that "the first step toward the prevention of war and the establishment of peace, permanent peace, is to give the people who must bear the brunt of war's awful burden more to say about it." Not everyone in the Senate was convinced, and La Follette was under investigation for treason until the end of the war.

#98. Yasser Arafat's "Gun and Olive Branch"

Delivered Nov. 13, 1974, at the UN General Assembly, New York City, N.Y.

A divisive historical figure at the center of one of the most controversial conflicts, Yasser Arafat served as the Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization for nearly half a century. In 1974, he became the first non-voting member to speak in front of a plenary session of the United Nations. He declared, " Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun . Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." His "olive branch" appeal to peace in the long-running conflict affected the audience, slightly boosted public support for the Palestinians, and PLO was granted observer status in the international body .

#97. Audre Lorde's "Uses of Anger" keynote address

Delivered June 1981, in Storrs, Conn.

Well-known as a poet, writer, feminist, and civil rights activist, Audre Lorde wasn't afraid to critique the second-wave feminism movement for its disregard for the different ways women of color, particularly black women, suffered under the patriarchy. "Uses of Anger" was her keynote speech at the National Women's Studies Association Conference, but in it, Lorde doesn't only express rage at men and the white feminists who silence those marginalized voices. She also declares , "And I am not free as long as one person of color remains chained. Nor is anyone of you." Here and throughout she echoes the language of more inclusive intersectional feminism but also portends the modern solidarity movements between minority groups we see today.

#96. Charles de Gaulle's "Appeal of June 18"

Broadcast June 18, 19, and 22, 1940, via BBC radio

By 1940, things weren't looking great for Allied powers fighting in Europe, and in June 1940, France, one of the last remaining military powers on the continent, fell to the Nazi army. Escaping the country before a complete Nazi takeover, General Charles de Gaulle declared himself the leader of Free France (based in London), and broadcast several messages calling for resistance in his home country. He knew that "the flame of French resistance must not and shall not die," and ultimately he was proved correct four years later when France was liberated from the Nazi party. He would later become President of the French Republic.

#95. Margaret Sanger's "The Children's Era"

Delivered March 30, 1925, in New York City, N.Y.

The founder of what today is Planned Parenthood, and one of America's most famous birth control advocates, has both the reason and experience to be concerned with the plight of the country's children. In this speech at the Sixth International Neo-Malthusian and Birth Control Conference, Margaret Sanger uses the powerful imagery of turning the world into "a beautiful garden of children." This garden, she suggests, must be cultivated from a fetus' conception and lays out several criteria she thinks parents should be forced to meet before having children—echoing several eugenicist talking points popular before World War II.

#94. George C. Marshall's "Marshall Plan"

Delivered June 5, 1947, at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

Following World War II, the European continent was in shambles, and after failing to negotiate German reconstruction with the Soviet Union, the United States decided it couldn't wait for the USSR to get involved before stepping in. Secretary of State George Marshall doesn't necessarily outline the specifics of the plan that today bears his name, instead calling on European leaders to accept U.S. help to rebuild (and of course, stop the spread of Communism). American journalists were kept as far away from the speech as possible because the Truman administration feared Americans wouldn't like the plan. But it was delivered and later accepted by Europe.

#93. Corazon Aquino's "Speech Before the Joint Session of the United States Congress"

Delivered: Sept. 18, 1986, in Washington D.C.

Corazon Aquino transformed from a self-described "plain housewife" to the presidency of the Philippines after the assassination of her husband Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. He was outspoken about the dictatorial rule of President Ferdinand Marcos, and Corazon took up the mantle, becoming the face of the People Power Revolution that ultimately ousted Marcos and elevated Aquino to the presidency. In this speech, the newly installed president eloquently recalls her journey thus far and reaffirms her commitment to bringing democracy and prosperity to the Filipino people.

#92. Jimmy Carter's "Energy and National Goals: Address to the Nation"

Delivered: July 15, 1979, in Washington D.C.

Energy policy is one of the signature domestic achievements of the Carter administration , reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil and improving nuclear power in the U.S. However, President Carter's address on energy policy ended up being about more than those policies. Energy is the jumping-off point for those who have lost faith in government—who feel hopeless and fragmented. He tells these frightened people to "have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this nation," and that his energy policy is a start in the right direction for healing the nation.

#91. Eva Perón's "Renunciation of the Vice Presidency of Argentina"

Delivered Aug. 31, 1951, on Argentine radio

Immortalized by the people of Argentina, a Broadway musical, and a movie starring Madonna, Eva "Evita" Perón climbed from a childhood of poverty to First Lady when her husband Juan Perón became president in 1946 with the help of her campaigning. She was active as First Lady, helping women earn the right to vote, furthering her husband's Perónist movement, and meeting with the poor. She became something of a celebrity in the country, and in 1951 she announced her candidacy for the vice presidency alongside her husband, to the delight of the poor and working-class citizens she dedicated her time to. Their joy was short-lived; cancer left Perón unable to run for office, as she announces in this speech .

#90. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn's "Statement at the Smith Act Trial"

Delivered April 24, 1952, in New York City, N.Y.

The Smith Act Trial swept up huge numbers of Communist Party members and put them on trial for allegedly trying to overthrow the U.S. government. American Communist Party leader and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, was one of those. She represented herself, made an impassioned statement to the court about her communist beliefs, and argued that she was not, as a communist, advocating for the fall of the government. Despite her remarks, she was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.

#89. Ronald Reagan's "Speech on the Challenger Disaster"

Delivered: Jan. 28, 1986, via TV broadcast

The explosion of the Challenger Shuttle just seconds after took off into the sky left seven people dead, including a civilian school teacher, on the same day that President Reagan was to give the State of the Union. Instead, he called in a young speechwriter, Peggy Noonan , to write a new speech that would help the nation process the tragedy they had seen broadcast on live TV. Reagan's speech is lauded even today for its careful balance between honoring the dead while reminding listeners of the importance of exploring the vast and unknown reaches of space, a quest for exploration for which the Challenger astronauts died.

#88. Elizabeth Glaser's "Address at the 1992 Democratic National Convention"

Delivered July 14, 1992, in New York City

Elizabeth Glaser contracted HIV early in the AIDS epidemic after receiving a contaminated transfusion while giving birth; she passed it on to both her children either through breastmilk or in utero. After her daughter passed away at age seven from AIDS, Glasner and two friends started the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and this activism led to her invitation to speak at the DNC in 1992. There, she described the issue as "not politics" but a "crisis of caring" that led the Republican administration to fail to tackle the AIDS crisis, and she called out Democrats as well to do better. She passed away from complications of the disease two years later.

#87. Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man with the Muckrake"

Delivered April 14, 1906, in Washington D.C.

Investigative journalism was booming in the first decade of the 20th century, as Progressive Era muckraking writers continued to publicize injustices to the country. These journalists had one powerful enemy: President Theodore Roosevelt, as he disliked writers who focused on bad things at the exclusion of all the good that was happening. His speech didn't call for these journalists to stop their practices of uncovering corrupt businessmen but reminded writers that their work affects public outlook and opinion, so only focusing on the worst moments could have a negative impact on the fabric of the nation.

#86. Richard Nixon's "The Great Silent Majority"

Delivered Nov. 3, 1969, in Washington D.C.

Richard Nixon was sworn into office in January 1969 after a wave of anti-Vietnam protests across the country left opposition to the war at a peak. Eleven months after he took office, Nixon gave an Oval Office speech that made clear he believed those protesting the war didn't demonstrate what most Americans actually thought about Vietnam—their opinions were just louder. He called on "the great silent majority of Americans" watching to support him in his decision. It was a gamble, but it paid off as Nixon's approval ratings shot up overnight and popularized the use of the term "silent majority," which is still used in politics today .

#85. John F. Kennedy's "Ich Bin Ein Berliner"

Delivered June 26, 1963, in West Berlin, Germany

Huge crowds thronged around the stage where President John F. Kennedy threw away the speech written by his advisers designed not to offend the Soviet Union and instead read one he'd written himself. The president demonstrated his solidarity with the citizens of the divided city by declaring, "Ich bin ein Berliner," or essentially, "I'm a citizen of Berlin in spirit." (For those who may be wondering, it's a popular myth, but JFK did not accidentally call himself a jelly donut when he called himself a Berliner.) Those who saw the speech in West Berlin, as well as those who watched it around the globe, were inspired.

#84. Rachel Carson's "A New Chapter in Silent Spring"

Delivered Jan. 8, 1963, in New York City, N.Y.

In the '60s and '70s, environmentalism sprang up as a social justice organization inspired by the civil rights movement. A seminal text was Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," which detailed the effects of the harmful pesticide DDT. In a speech to the Garden Club of America after her book's publication, Carson discusses the importance of raising public awareness of environmental issues, the next steps for those against pesticides, and new environmental dangers emerging on the horizon.

#83. Dwight Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace"

Delivered Dec. 8, 1953, at the UN General Assembly, New York City, N.Y.

The development of nuclear warfare gave the Cold War higher stakes and led to fears of a potential nuclear holocaust should something go wrong. In his "Atoms for Peace" speech before the UN, Eisenhower admitted that he needed to speak in a " new language...the language of atomic warfare ," and for the first time let the public know what the atomic age actually meant. Ultimately, the speech demonstrated the need for nuclear disarmament due to its destructive power; at the same time, the huge danger offered the U.S. an excuse to continue the arms race with the USSR after the Soviets refused to disarm.

#82. Eugene V. Debs' "Statement to the Court"

Delivered Sept. 18, 1918, in Girard, Kan.

Eugene V. Debs ran for president five times as a candidate for the Socialist Party but ran his final campaign in 1920 from a prison cell. Debs made an enemy of President Woodrow Wilson for his repeated speeches denouncing U.S. entry into World War I and was arrested on 10 charges of sedition. At his trial, Debs was granted permission to testify on his own behalf; the two-hour speech is remembered for its beautiful passages that moved even people who did not support him, such as in his concluding call for listeners everywhere to "take heart of hope, for the cross is bending, the midnight is passing, and joy cometh with the morning." He was sentenced to a decade in prison but only served a few years before his sentence was commuted.

#81. Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience"

Delivered June 1, 1950, in Washington D.C.

Joseph Welch ultimately took down Joseph McCarthy during a 1953 trial investigating communism in the Army, but he was far from the first person to attempt to end the Senator's red-scare fearmongering. Senator Margaret Chase of Maine took aim at him from the Senate to the House floor four months after he became a national figure, with a speech that endorsed " the right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the right to protest, [and] the right of independent thought " as fundamental to American democracy. She was joined by six other moderate Republican Senators in her rebuke, and some publications praised her for taking a stand while others dismissed her concerns. It wasn't until 1954 that the rest of the Senate took her side and formally censured McCarthy .

#80. Gloria Steinem's "Testimony Before Senate Hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment"

Delivered May 6, 1970, in Washington D.C.

While Shirley Chisholm's speech on the Equal Rights Amendment emphasized all the change its passage would bring, Gloria Steinem—a feminist, activist, and journalist—focused on the sex-based myths that she saw as the root of these problems. Among other myths she took down during her testimony, Steinem cited science that proves men aren't biologically superior to women, points out that discrimination keeps women and African Americans from pursuing their dreams as fully as possible, and noted that men, women, and children all benefit when women are treated more equally in the family.

#79. Barbara Bush's "Choices and Change" commencement address

Delivered June 1, 1990, at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.

Unlike most commencement addresses, all three major news networks interrupted their coverage to carry First Lady Barbara Bush's speech to Wellesley College live. Students were unhappy after Bush had replaced author Alice Walker after she withdrew as the speaker, but the First Lady silenced even her most fervent protestors when she showed up with the First Lady of the USSR, Raisa Gorbachev. The speech itself addressed student criticism head-on and exhorted all students, no matter their goals, to prioritize relationships above all .

#78. Lyndon B. Johnson's "The Great Society"

Delivered May 22, 1964, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.

This speech launched President Lyndon Johnson's ambitious domestic policy agenda and outlined exactly what he meant by a "Great Society." He defined it as "[demanding] an end to poverty and racial injustice," a place where all children can be educated, and "a challenge constantly renewed." Though the rhetoric in the speech is so sweeping it seems impossible to live up to, Johnson's list of accomplishments is long . He signed the Civil Rights Act, integrated schools, started Medicare, gave federal aid to K-12 schools and created federally backed college loans.

#77. Ronald Reagan's "Address at the U.S. Ranger Monument on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day"

Delivered June 6, 1984, in Pointe du Hoc, France

The title of Ronald Reagan's eloquent D-Day memorial address provides a bland package for the stirring—and at times chilling—speech he gave in honor of the storming of Normandy four decades prior. Reagan spoke of the Rangers that climbed the cliffs, remarking that "when one...fell, another would take his place." The focus, however, did not remain on how the men who died there passed away, but rather on the convictions that drove them; speaking directly to the men who died, Reagan praised them : "You all knew that some things are worth dying for...democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man."

#76. Emma Goldman's "Address to the Jury"

Delivered July 9, 1917, in New York City, N.Y.

A Russian-born feminist and anarchist , Emma Goldman went around the country delivering speeches supporting free speech, birth control, women's rights, labor's right to organize, and other progressive causes. In 1917, she and fellow radical Alexander Berkman were arrested for organizing the anti-war No Conscription League because it encouraged men not to register for a draft. At her trial, Goldman invoked the First Amendment , and like many other free speech advocates at the time, pointed out that "if America has entered the war to make the world safe for democracy, she must first make democracy safe in America" by safeguarding free speech protections. The jury was not convinced, and both were found guilty.

#75. Edward Kennedy's "Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy"

Delivered June 8, 1968, at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, N.Y.

Within a decade, Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy lost both his brothers to assassination, first President John F. Kennedy in 1963, then Robert "Bobby" Kennedy in 1968, whom he eulogized three days later. His heart-wrenching speech pulled together the past, present, and future , deftly weaving together Bobby's writings, the grief of his family and the nation over his brother's death, and his own vision for the future.

#74. Mario Savio's "Bodies Upon the Gears"

Delivered Dec. 2, 1964, in Berkeley, Calif.

Mario Savio was a student leader during the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, which worked to end the school's restriction on students' political speech. Known for his fiery speeches, Savio delivered his most famous one during a sit-in at Sprout Hall, advocating for civil disobedience: "There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! ... And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels...and you've got to make it stop." This inspired hundreds to occupy an administrative building overnight , and they continue to inspire countercultural and anti-government movements around the world.

#73. Jesse Jackson's "1984 Democratic National Convention"

Delivered July 18, 1984, in San Francisco, Calif.

Perhaps one of the biggest shifts in 20th-century politics was the "great reversal" of each political party's key constituencies: White Southerners became overwhelmingly Republican while black voters abandoned the party of Lincoln in favor of the Democratic presidents who worked to pass civil rights legislation. In the '80s, Democrats thought they should pivot back to the whites who'd abandoned the party, but civil rights leader Jesse Jackson's 1984 DNC address proposed an alternative: build a "rainbow coalition" that "makes room" for diversity, including black, Latino, young, Native American, environmentalist, activist, union, and LGBTQ+ voters. The strategy seems to have worked, if the diversity of the candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination is any indication.

#72. John L. Lewis, "Labor and the Nation"

Delivered Sept. 2, 1937, in Washington D.C.

Powerful unions like the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations—whose founding president was John L. Lewis —emerged in the 1920s and '30s. Lewis' speech lays out the long, occasionally bloody history of unions that brought them to this point and argues that the labor movement's fight for "peace with justice" shouldn't be seen as communist and should be supported by the people. It seems his speech fell on deaf ears, as unions were significantly weakened in the 1970s and have been on the decline since .

#71. Margaret Sanger's "The Morality of Birth Control"

Delivered Nov. 18, 1921, at Park Theatre, New York

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was one of the most outspoken advocates for every man and woman's right to access birth control and take control of their own family planning. In this speech, she argues that it is not immoral, as some claim, but rather that it's moral for children to be desired and that motherhood should " be the function of dignity and choice ." (She also argues that disabled and impoverished people might not be fit parents, echoing eugenicist ideas of the time , but her fundamental argument is a woman's right to choose.) Open access to birth control for married and unmarried couples wouldn't be realized until the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court decision established a constitutional right to privacy over reproductive choices.

#70. Shirley Chisholm, "For the Equal Rights Amendment"

Delivered Aug. 10, 1970, in Washington D.C.

Versions of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would enshrine women's equality into the Constitution, have been proposed since women earned the right to vote, but it didn't take off until the second-wave feminist movement began to push for its passage. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in Congress, delivered an eloquent defense of the ERA in the face of arguments that its passage would do nothing to change sexist attitudes. It passed the Senate two years later but was never ratified by enough states—just one more state needs to do so for it to become law .

#69. Edward Kennedy's "Faith, Truth, and Tolerance in America"

Delivered Oct. 3, 1983, at Liberty Baptist College, Lynchburg, Va.

Polls from the 2018 midterms stuck to a trend that's been evident for decades: White Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, overwhelmingly vote Republican. The rise of the evangelical or "religious" right in the 1970s, and America's increasing polarization, led to this point, but Senator Edward Kennedy's address at the evangelical Liberty University suggested it didn't have to be this way. The devoutly Catholic Kennedy argued that no one's "convictions about religion should command any greater respect than any other faith in this pluralistic society," leading to a robust separation of church and state . The connection between Americans is not, he suggests, a shared faith but rather " individual freedom and mutual respect ."

#68. Mary Church Terrell's "What It Means to Be Colored in the Capital of the United States"

Delivered Oct. 10, 1906, in Washington D.C.

A trailblazer half a century before the full force of the civil rights movement, Mary Church Terrell was one of the first African American women to earn a college degree. She spent her life working in the D.C. education system and the fight for black women's rights. Her hallmark speech detailed the discrimination and racism she and other African Americans experienced in the nation's capital and called on white listeners to realize the impact this oppression has on the future of black people living in D.C. and across the country.

#67. Winston Churchill's "Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat"

Delivered May 13, 1940, at the House of Commons, London, England

Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister following Chamberlain's failed attempts to prevent war with Nazi Germany through appeasement. Churchill wasn't an immediately obvious choice as his successor , as his reputation left him with few friends in Parliament, but he was the only man with enough experience willing to take on the job in the middle of a war. In his first speech to Parliament , he offered only his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat...to wage war against [the] monstrous tyranny" that was Nazi Germany. The sentiment won him the support of skeptics in Parliament and was the first in a trio of speeches that unified the country in the early years of the war.

#66. Wilma Mankiller's "On Rebuilding the Cherokee Nation"

Delivered April 2, 1993, in Sweet Briar, Va.

An activist from her early days, Wilma Mankiller became the first woman to be Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation after decades of community organizing. In her speech at Sweet Briar , Mankiller infuses her story with wry humor and keen insight while at the same time, with gravity, narrating the history of the Cherokee tribe and the deadly removals they faced at the hands of the U.S. government. Mankiller emphasizes trying to rebuild the community that endured within the Cherokee Nation despite all the removals. This theme was made all the more powerful when you remember that Native American children were separated from their communities and forced into assimilationist boarding schools up through the 1970s.

#65. Russell Conwell's "Acres of Diamonds"

Delivered from 1900 to 1925, in multiple locations across the U.S.

The American Dream and the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" school of thought were popularized in the Gilded Age , creating an ideology of success that proposes any person in the country can succeed, no matter their circumstance, as long as they work hard. Russell Conwell, a former minister, ushered this school of thought into the 20th century with the "Acres of Diamonds" speech, which claims it is "your duty to get rich," and, in general, that impoverished people are unsympathetic because it was their own shortcomings that got them there.

#64. Ellen DeGeneres' "Vigil for Matthew Shepard"

Delivered Oct. 14, 1998, in Washington D.C.

In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres came out, as did the character on her sitcom (becoming the first LGBTQ+ lead on a TV show), paving the way for more LGBTQ+ representation in Hollywood. The following year, Matthew Shepard's murder sent shock waves through the LGBTQ+ community, evident in the angry, tearful speech DeGeneres gave at a celebrity vigil. She called out the hypocrisy of the church and framed Shepard's murder as "a wake-up call" for straight allies "to help us end the hate" and "raise your children with love and non-judgment." Already emerging as a spokesperson for LGBTQ+ rights, she gave voice to the rage and heartbreak many in the community, and across the nation, felt in the wake of the brutal anti-gay hate crime.

#63. Harry Truman's "Statement by the President Announcing the Use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima"

Delivered Aug. 6, 1945, via radio address

On Aug. 6, 1945, modern warfare changed forever when the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In a radio address to the nation announcing both the development of atomic-bomb technology and the attack, President Harry Truman announced "let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war" using the atomic bomb. Three days later, a bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, decisively ending the war in the Pacific.

#62. Harold Ickes' "What Is an American?"

Delivered May 1941, in Central Park, New York City, N.Y.

In this speech, Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior during the Roosevelt Administration, asks a question that we're still grappling with in one way or another today . Here, Ickes answers the question to advocate for American involvement in World War II, bemoaning the loss of America's "vaunted idealism" . He characterizes an American as someone who "loves justice," "will fight for his freedom" and "in whose heart is engraved the immortal second sentence of the Declaration of Independence." Ickes appeals to these ideals to establish the necessity of fighting the Nazi threat to democracy; however, the bombing of Pearl Harbor a few months later is ultimately what pulled the U.S. into the war.

#61. Golda Meir's "Speech That Made Possible a Jewish State"

Delivered Jan. 2, 1948, in Chicago, Ill.

As the fight between Israelis and Palestinians intensified over the land to form the Jewish state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion (who would become Israel's first Prime Minister) sent Golda Meir (who would become the third) to America to ask for money to finance the fighting from the American Jewish community. The speech, first delivered in Chicago , then across the U.S., appealed to a sense of unity within the community, suggesting that "if you were in Palestine and we were in the United States," the American Jewish community would do the same thing they did. She then asked for between $25 and $30 million to continue the fight; she returned home with $50 million to finance the effort.

#60. Rigoberta Menchú's "Nobel Peace Prize Lecture"

Delivered Dec. 10, 1992, in Oslo, Norway

Rigoberta Menchú is a fierce advocate for the rights of indigenous people, stemming from racism she's experienced in her home country and the violence that caused her to flee her home. She told her story that resulted in the book, "I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala," which shaped her into a spokeswoman for indigenous rights in the Western Hemisphere. She makes her universal message clear in her Nobel Lecture , in which she declares her prize "constitutes a sign of hope in the struggle of the indigenous people in the entire Continent."

#59. Robert F. Kennedy's "On the Death of Martin Luther King"

Delivered April 4, 1968, in Indianapolis, Ind.

Brother to John F. Kennedy and candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, Robert F. Kennedy was at a campaign stop in Indiana when news came that Martin Luther King had been shot while marching with striking sanitation workers. His death would lead to marches and protests across the country but when RFK announced the death in Indianapolis, no violence broke out . Instead, in this short and powerful speech, Kennedy empathizes with those hurt by King's death, connecting it with his own brother's murder, and calls for unity and compassion in honor of King's legacy.

#58. Indira Gandhi's "What Educated Women Can Do"

Delivered Nov. 23, 1973, in New Delhi, India

Daughter of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the world's longest-serving female PM, Indira Gandhi had the kind of education that most Indian girls would never dream of receiving, especially in the 1930s and 40s. However, her own story doesn't figure into her famous speech on women's education, instead focusing on the need for more scientifically educated people , both men and women, so the country could achieve great things and become truly modern.

#57. Tony Blair's "Address to the Irish Parliament"

Delivered Nov. 26, 1998, in Dublin, Ireland

The relationship between Britain and Ireland had been characterized by centuries of colonialism and violence, culminating in the partition of Ireland and later the Troubles, decades of intense violence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The two sides had made peace with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. British Prime Minister Tony Blair's address to the Irish Parliament a few months later marked the first time a British PM addressed an Irish parliament and affirmed that healing had begun and more could be accomplished by both nations when "our voices speak in harmony."

#56. Richard Nixon's "Checkers"

Delivered Sept. 23, 1952, via television broadcast

This speech, delivered when Nixon was a candidate for Vice President, might be named after the Nixon family dog, but the actual subject proves slightly less adorable. In it, Nixon used a television broadcast to directly answer accusations that he'd used political contributions to pay for personal expenses. He denied the allegations, laid out his financial history and proved his political intelligence by turning the question to the Democrats, asking their candidate to do the same. But what about Checkers the dog? Apparently, she was the only political contribution the Nixon's kept.

#55. Nelson Mandela's "Free at Last"

Delivered May 2, 1994, in Pretoria, South Africa

Decades earlier, Nelson Mandela made a name for himself for his anti-apartheid speech while on trial in Pretoria; now, after 27 years in prison, apartheid had officially ended and Mandela had become South Africa's first democratically elected president. "Free at last" is a reference to a Dr. Martin Luther King speech , showing how closely connected the anti-apartheid and civil rights movement were, though the two leaders never met. The speech emphasizes both the joy of the moment and continued work needed to build " a better life for all South Africans ."

#54. Nikita Khrushchev's "The Cult of the Individual"

Delivered Dec. 5, 1956, in Moscow, Russia

Very few men in the Soviet Union dared insult or question Joseph Stalin, a man who ordered the deaths of millions of his own people , including political rivals. It wasn't until after his death that his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, was willing to say that elevating an individual and worshiping a cult of personality went against the kind of communism that Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin espoused—the communism that formed the foundation of the Soviet Union's political philosophy. Khrushchev's denunciation of his predecessor shocked the world and offered the first thorough account of Stalin's crimes, but his motivations for giving the speech remain unclear.

#53. Franklin D. Roosevelt's "First Inaugural Address"

Delivered March 4, 1933, in Washington D.C.

President Franklin Roosevelt is lauded for guiding the United States through the thick of World War II, but upon first taking office, he was facing down a different kind of war: the one against the Great Depression. When FDR assumed office, the Depression was at its peak, with almost a quarter of the working population unemployed . His inauguration address emphasizes the enormous scale of the project it would take to rebuild the nation; still, he famously invigorated everyone listening by declaring that " the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ."

#52. Betty Friedan's "Farewell to the National Organization of Women"

Delivered Mar. 20, 1970, in Chicago, Ill.

Betty Friedan's best-selling book, "The Feminine Mystique," got women talking about "the problem with no name" and is often credited with helping spark second-wave feminism. Her voice continued to have power even as she stepped down as president from the National Organization of Women. That day, she called for a general women's strike to be held on Aug. 26, 1970. Despite skepticism from media outlets, thousands of women heeded Friedan's call and took to the street that day—a physical manifestation of the feminist movement's enduring power.

#51. Malcolm X's "Message to the Grassroots"

Delivered on Nov. 10, 1963, in Detroit, Mich.

The divisions between the civil rights movement become obvious in "Message to the Grassroots," which contrasted the "Negro revolution" which was nonviolent and ineffectual, and the "black revolution," which was necessarily violent and had proved itself effective across Africa . This stands alongside the powerful but historically flawed distinction he makes between the self-hating "house slaves" loyal their white owners and "field slaves" as illustrative of X's criticism of black activists whom he thought were too eager to acquiesce to the white people whose oppression the movement was trying to overcome.

#50. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam: Breaking the Silence"

Delivered on April 4, 1967, in New York City, N.Y.

Though today Martin Luther King is revered by nearly all Americans as a powerful spokesman for equal rights and integration, not every political opinion was popular among the American public. Exactly one year before he was assassinated, King spoke out against the Vietnam War. He accused America of ignoring conflicts at home in favor of war abroad, pointing out the "cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools." Delivered several years before popular opinion on the war changed, King lost many of the powerful allies in government and media due to this speech .

#49. Bill Clinton's "Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address"

Delivered April 23, 1992, in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Before President Bill Clinton became the nation's "consoler-in-chief" during Columbine, he had to face a nation mourning the 168 people killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing by two domestic terrorists angry about the FBI raid in Waco, Texas. The speech he gave at the memorial service reminded those who had lost loved ones that they "have not lost everything" because they "have certainly not lost America, for we will stand with you for as many tomorrows as it takes" to heal from the tragedy. The sentiment struck a chord with the American public, evident in the boosting of Clinton's poll numbers after the speech.

#48. Nora Ephron's "Commencement Address to the Wellesley Class of 1996"

Delivered June 3, 1996, in Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.

Commencement speeches are usually uplifting addresses to graduating seniors looking to inspire them before they begin the next chapter of their lives. Journalist, filmmaker, and writer Nora Ephron returned to her alma mater, Wellesley College, to discuss all the ways the world had changed for the better since she graduated but also offered a note of warning for the grads. "Don't underestimate how much antagonism there is toward women and how many people wish we could turn the clock back," she remarked , listing off current events that reminded the Wellesley graduates that feminism was still urgently needed at the close of the 20th century.

#47. Barbara C. Jordan's "Statement on the Articles of Impeachment"

Delivered: July 25, 1974, in Washington D.C.

As a newly minted State Senator in Texas, Barbara Jordan won over segregationists to pass an equal rights amendment in the state and became a hugely popular political figure in her state. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1973 just as the Watergate investigation was heating up, and there she gave a rousing political speech subtly advocating for the president's impeachment. Grounding her argument in the Constitution, she called on her fellow House members to use "reason, and not passion" to "guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision" as she just adeptly demonstrated.

#46. General Douglas MacArthur's "Farewell Address to Congress"

Delivered April 19, 1951, in Washington D.C.

President Harry Truman and five-star general Douglas MacArthur had a combative relationship, which heated up after the President relieved him of command of UN forces in the Korean War for insubordination. General MacArthur's speech before a joint session of Congress questioned Truman's decision not to take on China in the war, commenting that "War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision." He received 50 standing ovations during the address while Truman's approval rating plummeted after firing a popular general and World War II hero.

#45. Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" lectures

Delivered October 20 and 26, 1928, at Cambridge University, Cambridge, England

English author Virginia Woolf's lectures at the women's college at Cambridge are not remembered as stirring works of oratory, but rather as a book. "A Room of One's Own" is a foundational piece of feminist literary theory adapted from this pair of lectures that examines the different types of marginalization women have faced throughout history and the impact on their creative productivity. Among other things, she posits that in order for women to write literature , they need a "room of one's own" or a private space and financial independence in order to write well—a revolutionary claim in late-1920s Europe.

#44. Joseph Welch's "Have You No Sense of Decency?" testimony

Delivered June 9, 1953, in Washington D.C.

Though not technically a speech, the exchange between Senator Joseph McCarthy and Joseph Welch, a lawyer hired by the U.S. Army, proved to be the final blow in the Wisconsin Senator's fall from grace . McCarthy had been conducting trials of suspected Communists since 1950 and everyone was beginning to tire of his methods. A heated back-and-forth erupted between the two men when McCarthy questioned whether one of the lawyers at Welch's firm had Communist ties, leading Welch to ask heatedly McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" With these famous lines, Senator McCarthy saw the last of his power evaporate and died three years later.

#43. Carrie Chapman Catt's "The Crisis"

Delivered Sept. 7, 1916, in Atlantic City, N.J.

Carrie Chapman Catt was a leading figure in the late stages of the American women's suffrage movement, founding the International Women's Suffrage Alliance and serving as president of the National American Women's Suffrage Association during the final push to pass the 19th Amendment. In "The Crisis," Catt outlines her plan to make pushing for a federal amendment to the Constitution NAWSA's priority. At the same time, she tied their fight for the vote to World War I in Europe and the broader fight for women's rights around the world. Ultimately, her instinct to focus on federal legislation instead of working state-by-state proved correct; white women gained the right to vote just three years after this address.

#42. Lyndon B. Johnson's "We Shall Overcome"

Delivered March 15, 1965, in Washington D.C.

One of the most stirring pieces of American rhetoric was written by a hungover speechwriter in just eight hours , after President Lyndon B. Johnson decided he wanted to address Congress about the "Bloody Sunday" attacks against protestors in Selma, Ala. In it, Johnson called on all of America to join him in the cause of civil rights. He appealed specifically to white Americans, noting that "it's not just Negroes, but really it's all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome." The speech was interrupted for applause 40 times and brought civil rights activists to tears. And overcome they did; five months later, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.

#41. Geraldine Ferraro's "Vice Presidential Nomination Acceptance Address"

Delivered July 19, 1984, in San Francisco, Calif.

In her concession speech in 2016, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton noted that women have yet to shatter the "highest and hardest glass ceiling" of the American presidency or vice presidency. Very few have come close, the first being Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale's VP pick in the 1984 campaign. In her acceptance speech, Ferraro demonstrates her adeptness as a politician, weaving critiques of the Reagan administration together with her career as an avid activist for women's rights. Though they would ultimately lose to the Republicans, Ferraro cemented her place as a prominent voice in the Democratic party and a trailblazer for women in politics .

#40. Richard Nixon's "Resignation Address to the Nation"

Delivered: Aug. 8, 1974, from Washington D.C.

The case against President Richard Nixon had been growing for years as more details about the Watergate scandal emerged. By August 1974, The Supreme Court ordered the release of tapes he made in the Oval Office, articles of impeachment were being drawn up, and Nixon had lost the support of members of his own party. Rather than suffer the shame of being the first president to be removed from office, Nixon opted to be the first president to resign in a speech highlighting his successes and the work that would need to be continued by his successor.

#39. Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation"

Delivered Dec. 8, 1941, via radio broadcast

World War II had been raging since 1939 across the Atlantic but America's historic reluctance to enter global conflict barred President Franklin Roosevelt from taking the direct action he wanted to support U.S. allies in Europe. That changed after the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, killing thousands of Americans. The next day, FDR took to the radio to report what had happened on this "date which will live in infamy" and called on Congress to declare war on Japan, which they did shortly after.

#38. Huey P. Long's "Share the Wealth"

Delivered Feb. 23, 1934, via radio broadcast

Also called the "Every Man a King" speech, Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long addressed the nation and laid out his radical plan to redistribute wealth between the richest and poorest Americans by capping fortunes and guaranteeing a basic income, among other radical policy proposals . This was a break from the Democratic Party's New Deal policies, which Long felt did not address wealth discrepancies that he believed caused the Great Depression. His embrace of radio to speak directly to the people won him many supporters to his cause; though he was assassinated the following year.

#37. Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points"

Delivered Jan. 8, 1918, in Washington D.C.

Woodrow Wilson and many others who lived through World War I wanted the deadly global conflict to be "the war to end all wars." The idealistic, progressive Wilson turned this desire into his Fourteen Points for world peace, which he later laid out before Congress after other combatants failed to articulate their aims in the war. Cornerstones of Wilson's peace plan included self-determination , free trade, open seas, and a League of Nations to enforce peace around the world—a plan that was ultimately hampered by Congress' refusal to join the League.

#36. Margaret Thatcher's "The Lady's Not for Turning"

Delivered Oct. 10, 1980, in Brighton, England

Margaret Thatcher took over as Prime Minister and leader of the Tory Party at a time when conservatism was becoming politically popular in much of the Western world (Ronald Reagan would be elected a month after this speech was given). In it, Thatcher lays out her opposition to changing the conservative economic policies she'd instituted, one that focuses on curbing inflation and removing economic regulations. It's most famous line, "'You turn [U-turn the economy] if you want to. The lady's not for turning!" fed into her formidable reputation as the Iron Lady of British politics.

#35. Ursula K. Le Guin's "A Left-Handed Commencement Address"

Delivered in 1983, at Mills College, Oakland, Calif.

Feminist science-fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin wasn't shy about interrogating the complexities of gender in her work, featuring everything from strong female characters to genderfluid aliens. Her famous commencement address is shaped around some of her concerns regarding gender, pointing out that "women as women are largely excluded from, alien to, the self-declared male norms of this society," and that language itself is centered around men. Citing many famous feminists and women leaders of the era, Le Guin's speech provides a powerful call to action for women (and men) to "grow human souls" and work toward gender equality in their own lives.

#34. Harold Macmillan's "Wind of Change"

Delivered Feb. 3, 1960, in Cape Town, South Africa

The list of countries that have never been invaded by the British is shorter than the list of those that have, but by 1960, the British Empire no longer stretched around the world. British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan signaled this by visiting several British colonies in southern Africa before giving a speech to the South African Parliament announcing that England would no longer stand in the way of colonies wishing to become independent. In his opinion, the emergence of these new nations were the result of "the wind of change...blowing through this continent," and there was nothing Parliament could do to stop them.

#33. Mikhail Gorbachev's resignation

Delivered Dec. 25, 1991, in Moscow, Russia

The fall of the Soviet Union marked the end of the Cold War, the conflict which defined almost every aspect of the post-World War II era. The Cold War didn't end with nuclear holocaust, as many had feared during the conflict's peak, but rather the resignation of executive President Mikhail Gorbachev after several Soviet bloc countries broke away from the USSR behind his back. In the speech he warned that though the country had acquired freedom, "we haven't learned to use freedom yet," so it was important to tread carefully—a warning that has a new salience as the country slides back into authoritarian rule under President Vladimir Putin.

#32. Frank James' "Suppressed Speech"

Delivered Nov. 1970, in Plymouth, Mass.

Wampanoag elder Frank James was invited to speak at a celebration at Plymouth in honor of the 350th Thanksgiving. Organizers objected to his portrayal of the Puritan Pilgrims and white settlers as people who "sought to tame the 'savage' and convert him," but James had refused to read the more PR-friendly speech they gave him. James instead held a protest nearby that has since become the annual Day of Mourning , in which indigenous Americans come to protest and speak out about their experiences.

#31. Jawaharlal Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny"

Delivered Aug. 14–15, 1947, in New Delhi, India

The struggle against the British Empire on the Indian subcontinent finally came to a triumphant finish with Jawaharlal Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny" speech just before midnight on the eve of India's independence. He honors Gandhi as the leader of the movement, as well as the victory they achieved. He also alludes to the Partition that split India and Pakistan into two countries, as well as the sectarian divides between Hindus and Muslims—problems that still plague the country today.

#30. Sacheen Littlefeather's speech at the 1972 Academy Award ceremony

Delivered March 27, 1973, in Los Angeles, Calif.

Marlon Brando shocked the Academy Awards when he refused his Oscar for mobster classic "The Godfather." Instead, he sent indigenous activist Sacheen Littlefeather to refuse the award and give her a platform to protest the treatment of Native Americans in Hollywood, and more importantly, bring attention to the standoff between federal agents and Native Americans at Wounded Knee that was under a media blackout. Littlefeather delivered a shortened version of his message amid boos; The New York Times later printed Brando's letter in its entirety , and the media blackout at Wounded Knee was lifted.

#29. Bill Clinton's "Presidential Address to Columbine High School"

Delivered May 20, 1999, at Dakota Ridge High School, Littleton, Colo.

One of the most difficult jobs of the U.S. President is to act as "consoler-in-chief" when tragedy strikes the nation. President Bill Clinton found himself in that position—and, in the eyes of many, set the standard for future American leaders —after the shooting at Columbine High School left 12 students and one teacher dead. In the speech given a month after the tragedy, Clinton traveled to Colorado to offer support to grieving families and try to come to terms with an event that " pierced the soul of America ."

#28. Eleanor Roosevelt's "On the Adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights"

Delivered Dec. 9, 1948, in Paris, France

Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated her life to human rights around the world, serving as the chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission after World War II. In that position, she pushed for creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which lays out 30 articles affirming " that man must have freedom in which to develop his full stature and through common effort to raise the level of human dignity."

#27. Stokely Carmichael's "Black Power"

Delivered Oct. 29, 1966, in Berkeley, Calif.

Stokely Carmichael firmly believed in nonviolent protest in the early days of the civil rights movement, but as the years wore on, he became convinced that "black power for black people" was needed to jump-start the next phase of the civil rights project. Black power, later adopted by groups like the Black Panther Party, required a sense of solidarity between black people and the election of black representatives. As his speech demonstrates , this wasn't an inherently violent concept, but rather questions the notion of nonviolence because, as Carmichael points out, "white people beat up black people every day—don't nobody talk about nonviolence."

#26. Aung San Suu Kyi's "Freedom from Fear"

Delivered Jan. 1 1990, in Myanmar (formerly Burma)

Daughter of the founder of the modern Burmese military and a key figure in Burmese independence, Aung San Suu Kyi followed in her father's footsteps to become a leader in the push for democratic government in the country. The military placed her under house arrest on-and-off for over 20 years while she continued to push for democracy, including in this speech, which calls for "a united determination to persevere in the struggle, to make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the corrupting influences of desire, ill will, ignorance and fear." She ascended to governmental power in 2010 with global praise and hope for change, but the recent ethnic cleansing of a minority group in the country threatens her legacy as an advocate for freedom .

#25. Emmeline Pankhurst's "Freedom or Death"

Delivered Nov. 13, 1913, in Hartford, Conn.

The early decades of the 1900s brought new energy and activism to the push for women's suffrage in England, just as it did in the United States and Canada. Emmeline Pankhurst delivered this speech on a fundraising tour of the U.S. after a long period of hunger striking and arrests, using imagery from the American Revolution and other powerful metaphors to justify militant tactics adopted by her group in the push for the vote.

#24. Severn Cullis-Suzuki's "Speech to the UN Summit in Rio"

Delivered in 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Twelve-year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki became "The Girl Who Silenced the World for Five Minutes" after she stunned the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development with a plea for older generations to work to improve the environment. Her demand that "If [adults] don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!" echoes those of modern child climate activists like Greta Thunberg, who has led a worldwide movement of school strikes pushing for action on the climate crisis.

#23. Nellie McClung's "Should Men Vote?"

Delivered Jan. 29, 1914, in Winnipeg, Canada

The Canadian women's suffrage movement was kicked into high gear when prominent activist Nellie McClung turned a rejection of the request for the vote into a piece of theater. Drawing on humor and showmanship, she presented a mock trial of men asking women legislators for suffrage, arguing that "manhood suffrage has not been a success in the unhappy countries where it has been tried," among other satirical moments. McClung later campaigned against the party that previously denied her the right to vote, finally winning suffrage for white Manitoban women in 1916.

#22. Ronald Reagan's "Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate"

Delivered June 12, 1987, in West Berlin, Germany

It might be hard to believe, but, coming just a few short years before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, President Ronald Reagan's cry of "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" didn't make much of a splash when he first gave his speech. It didn't reach its status as a famous piece of American political rhetoric until the wall actually began to come down in 1989. While some scholars claim it helped Reagan build support for his plans to work with the Soviet Union, others believe the Wall's destruction had far more to do with reforms going on inside the USSR.

#21. William Faulkner's Nobel lecture

Delivered Jan. 10, 1950, in Stockholm, Sweden

Author of stories rooted in the American South, William Faulkner's Nobel lecture ( for a prize he didn't even want! ) spoke to deeply American concerns. He addresses the difficulty in creating art in an age of anxiety over atomic destruction, noting that until a writer relearns their craft under this condition, " he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man ." He ends the address rejecting this possibility, offering a surprisingly hopeful view in an age characterized by fear of a nuclear holocaust.

#20. John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

Delivered Jan. 20, 1961, in Washington D.C.

One line from President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address has endured in the American imagination for nearly half a century: "My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." However, Kennedy's call to public service has overshadowed the fact that most of the speech focused on global issues. As Kennedy was elected near the height of tensions in the Cold War, he felt the need to address both the Soviet Union and allies abroad to reassure them of his competency and desire for global peace.

#19. Lou Gehrig's "Farewell to Baseball Address"

Delivered July 4, 1939, at Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, N.Y.

The crowd at Yankee Stadium sat silent as Lou "The Iron Horse" Gehrig addressed his retirement from baseball after being diagnosed with a disease that would later be named after him. Declaring himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth," he spoke briefly of the "awful lot [of things] to live for," including his fans, his teammates, and his family members. Following the address, he received a two-minute standing ovation and was showered with gifts and praise.

#18. Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches"

Delivered: June 4, 1940, in London, England

In the first five weeks after he took over as Prime Minister, Winston Churchill gave three major speeches addressing the worsening war in France. The second of these dealt with the intensifying situation in France. Implying that battle might come to Britain, he declared that "we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets" and never surrender. Parliament praised the rousing address, but the public didn't hear it in Churchill's own words until after the war had ended and caused public pessimism after it was read by broadcasters .

#17. Mahatma Gandhi's "Quit India"

Delivered Aug. 8, 1942, in Bombay (now Mumbai), India

Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi became the face of Indian independence as he organized the "Quit India" movement, which, as he laid out in the speech to fellow leaders , would coerce the British to voluntarily leave India using nonviolent protest. His fellow leaders agreed, passing a resolution to that effect, but thousands of arrests followed and Gandhi's speech was suppressed. Underground presses published his speech, and his call to "either free India or die in the attempt" became a rallying point for the movement.

#16. Nelson Mandela's "I am prepared to die"

Delivered April 20, 1964, in Pretoria, South Africa

The address Nelson Mandela gave instead of testimony at his trial for alleged sabotage became the defining speech of the anti-apartheid movement—and of his legacy as an advocate for equality in South Africa. In it, he argues that his cause is correct and explains his views, before launching into his famous conclusion, in which he states a free and equal state is "an ideal for which I am prepared to die." Mandela was sentenced to life in prison but did not die there, instead continuing his advocacy from prison before his release 27 years later.

#15. William Jennings Bryan's "Against Imperialism"

Delivered Aug. 8, 1900, in Indianapolis, Ind.

Perennial presidential candidate (but never winner) William Jennings Bryan advocated against American imperialism shortly after U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War allowed the country to begin building an empire. He appealed to American ideals, pointing out the lack of "full citizenship" offered to Puerto Ricans and Filipinos, and decried the "gun-powder gospel" that argued imperial wars should be fought due to Christianity. Unfortunately, his status as perennial presidential loser continued into the early 1900s and none of his proposed reforms were taken into consideration.

#14. Dolores Huerta's speech at the NFWA march and rally

Delivered April 10, 1966, in Sacramento, Calif.

Dolores Huerta worked alongside César Chávez to establish the National Farm Workers Association and direct the Delano grape strike, where she quickly emerged as a leading feminist figure. Her speech at the NFWA march illustrates her dedication and zeal , exclaiming "La huelga [the strike] and la causa is our cry, and everyone must listen. Viva la huelga!" Huerta's success with the Delano strike led to continued labor organizing and support for feminist causes, activities which she continues today.

#13. Gabriel García Márquez's "The Solitude of Latin America"

Delivered Dec. 8, 1982, in Stockholm, Sweden

Gabriel García Márquez, storied Colombian author whose books "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera" helped fuel the Latin American literature boom, used his Nobel acceptance speech to make a political statement . In it, he spoke of Latin America's isolation in the world, despite decades of imperialism and outside influence in the region. However, with the same magical realism for which his writing was famous, he envisioned " a new and sweeping utopia of life ...where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude will have, at last and forever, a second opportunity on earth."

#12. Ryan White's "Testimony before the President's Commission on AIDS"

Delivered: March 3, 1988, in Washington D.C.

Born with a rare blood disorder, Ryan White became infected with HIV as a young child because of the factor 8 used for his treatment, which was collected using untested, anonymous blood donors. After his diagnosis in 1984, White attempted to return to school but faced huge stigma and attempts to bar him from the classroom, experiences which formed the basis of his testimony before the commission. This speech, and the court battles over his schooling, led to his becoming a leading HIV/AIDS activist, dispelling myths about the disease for the American public before his death in 1990 at 18.

#11. Elie Wiesel's "The Perils of Indifference"

Delivered April 12, 1999, in Washington D.C.

Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel survived the Holocaust as a teenager, losing his family in the process. The experience fueled his lifelong activism ; he became an educator about the Holocaust and advocate of victims of other atrocities, such as apartheid in South Africa and genocides around the world. His "Perils of Indifference" speech criticized those who ignored the horrors of the Holocaust and reminded listeners that " indifference is not a response " and "in denying [victims] their humanity we betray our own."

#10. Anita Hill's Opening Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee

Delivered Oct. 11, 1991, in Washington D.C.

Anita Hill's testimony at the Supreme Court confirmation of Clarence Thomas, alleging that he sexually harassed her, proved to be a powerful and occasionally painful day in Washington D.C. Hill, a black woman, shared her experience staring down a Senate Judiciary Committee composed entirely of white men, who have since admitted to mishandling Hill's testimony . Thomas was confirmed to the bench despite Hill's allegations, but her testimony in part spurred record-breaking numbers of women to run for elected office and is seen by some as a precursor to the modern #MeToo movement.

#9. Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Women's Rights are Human Rights"

Delivered Sept. 5, 1995, in Beijing, China

Advisors to then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton advised her to soften her rhetoric in her speech at the United Nations Fourth World Congress on Women , but Clinton refused, seizing the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the abuse of women in China and around the world. Though she is not the first person to declare " human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights, once and for all," she popularized use of the phrase on that day, in a speech that defined Clinton's career apart from her husband's. Since then, it's become a rallying cry in the fight for women's rights and became a focal point in Clinton's 2016 bid for president.

#8. Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address

Delivered Jan. 6, 1941, in Washington D.C.

Delivered just under a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union emphasized the value of democracy in a world embroiled in a devastating war. It's most famous for FDR's declaration of the four freedoms : freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want (meaning economic security), and freedom from fear (meaning global disarmament and prevention of wars).

#7. César Chávez's "The Mexican American and the Church"

Delivered: March 10, 1968, in Delano, Calif.

César Chávez is an iconic figure in movements for labor rights and Latino rights due to his organization and leadership of the National Farm Workers Association (alongside colleague Dolores Huerta), particularly during the five-year Delano grape strike. Chávez adopted historical tactics of nonviolence and resistance, such as fasting; after breaking a 25-day fast, the religious Chávez spoke at a conference about the relationship between Mexican Americans and the church, calling on the ministry to use their " tremendous spiritual and economic power " to support the striking farm workers. His work with the NFWA formed a cornerstone of the Chicano Movement that pushed for Mexican American rights in the 1960s and beyond.

#6. Harvey Milk's "Hope Speech"

Delivered June 25, 1978, in San Francisco, Calif.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, used his "Hope Speech" as his stump speech during his 1977 run for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors; he expanded on it for its final delivery at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade the following year. The rousing speech emphasizes the importance of electing LGBTQ+ leaders so that young LGBTQ+ people across the country surrounded by homophobia can have those to look up to and regain their hope. Milk's life was cut short when he was assassinated only months later, but he continued to inspire hope as a martyr for the LGBTQ+ movement.

#5. Malcom X's "The Ballot or the Bullet"

Delivered April 12, 1964, at King Solomon Baptist Church, Detroit, Mich. (also delivered nine days earlier in Cleveland)

Malcolm X stands alongside Martin Luther King as one of the leading figures of the civil rights movement, but X's advocacy for black nationalism and defeating racism by "any means necessary" often conflicted with King's support for integration and nonviolent protest. "The Ballot or the Bullet," considered by many to be one of Malcolm X's best orations, urges African Americans to exercise their power at the ballot box in the 1964 election and select leaders who will pass civil rights legislation and care about issues affecting black communities.

#4. Dennis Shepard's "Statement to the Court"

Delivered Nov. 4, 1999, in Laramie, Wyo.

Matthew Shepard, a young gay man attending college in Laramie, Wyo., was beaten to death in an apparent hate crime in October 1998. His father gave an emotional impact statement to the court (since excerpted in several movies and plays about the crime), emphasizing the effect of his son's life and death on his family and the world. After their son's death, Dennis Shepard and his wife, Judy, helped to fulfill the promise he made "to see that this never, ever happens to another person or another family again" by advocating for the passage of hate crime legislation that became the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

#3. Sylvia Rivera's "Y'all Better Quiet Down"

Delivered in 1973, at Washington Square Park, New York City, N.Y.

On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, and the riots that resulted jumpstarted the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Sylvia Rivera participated in the riots that day (she's said to have thrown one of the first bottles at police) and began a storied career as an activist . Rivera, a transgender Puerto Rican woman, wasn't afraid to call out what she saw as shortcomings in the movement; she delivered her "Y'all Better Quiet Down" to the crowd at the Christopher Street Liberation Rally, decrying white, middle-class gay men and lesbians for ignoring transgender people and other marginalized voices in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

#2. John F. Kennedy's "We choose to go to the moon"

Delivered Sept. 12, 1962, at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas

In 1962, the U.S. and Soviet Union were in the thick of the Space Race, and the U.S. government was fighting over how much money to put into the project to put a man on the moon. With this speech , President Kennedy put an end to the squabbling; he laid out why it was important for the U.S. to lead the way to the stars and famously declared, " We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." This speech inspired the American people, and the Apollo mission was made a priority, leading to Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969.

#1. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"

Delivered Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington D.C.

While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was giving a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, gospel singer (and King's close friend) Mahalia Jackson spurred him to go off-script , calling out, "Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!" He did, and today, King's dream that his four children "live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" is one of the most lauded pieces of American rhetoric. It cemented King's place as the face of the civil rights movement, for which he's still celebrated today. Pictured here is Martin Luther King (center) leading the "March on Washington" the day he gave the speech.

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Abraham Lincoln’s Most Enduring Speeches and Quotes

By: Aaron Randle

Updated: February 7, 2024 | Original: January 26, 2022

Abraham Lincoln making his famous address.Abraham Lincoln making his famous address on 19 November 1863 at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg on the site of the American Civil War battle with the greatest number of casualties. Lithograph. (Photo by: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

There’s perhaps no better way to grasp Abraham Lincoln ’s outsized American legacy than through his writing.

From his time as a 20-something political hopeful to his tragic death, Lincoln was a voluminous writer, authoring hundreds of letters, speeches, debate arguments and more.

Despite very little formal schooling, the 16th president was an avid reader who from a young age understood the transformative power of words. “Words were Lincoln’s way up and out of the grinding poverty into which he had been born,” wrote historian and author Geoffrey Ward. “If the special genius of America was that it provided an environment in which ‘every man can make himself,’ as Lincoln believed, pen and ink were the tools with which he did his self-carpentering.”

While he often expressed himself with humor and folksy wisdom, Lincoln wasn’t afraid to wade into lofty territory. His writings show how his thoughts on the thorny issues of the day—like slavery, religion and national discord—evolved over time. He penned some of America’s most monumental expressions of statecraft, such as the Gettysburg Address , widely hailed for its eloquence and clarity of thought. His prose, infused with his deep love of poetry, helped him in his efforts to reach—and heal—a fractured nation.

Here are a few excerpts of Lincoln’s writings, both famous and lesser-known.

On the Fractured Nation

The ‘House Divided’ Speech: As America expanded West and fought bitterly over whether new territories could extend the practice of slavery, Lincoln spoke out about what he saw as a growing threat to the Union. Many criticized this speech as radical, believing—mistakenly—that Lincoln was advocating for war.

The 'Better Angels of Our Nature' speech: By the time Lincoln was first sworn into office , seven states had already seceded from the Union. During his first address as president, he tried to assure the South that slavery would not be interfered with, and to quiet the drumbeat of war by appealing to “the better angels of our nature.”

Was Abraham Lincoln an Atheist?

As a young man, Lincoln openly admitted to his lack of faith. As a politician, he spoke about God but refused to say he was a Christian.

Lincoln‑Douglas Debates

Background and Context for the Debates As the architect of the Kansas‑Nebraska Act, Douglas was one of the most prominent politicians in the country and seen as a future presidential contender. The controversial 1854 law repealed the Missouri Compromise and established the doctrine of popular sovereignty, by which each new territory joining the Union would […]

The Gettysburg Address: Hailed as one of the most important speeches in U.S. history, Lincoln delivered his brief, 272-word address at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield , the site of more than 50,000 casualties. By alluding to the Declaration of Independence , he redefined the war as a struggle not just to preserve the Union, but for the fundamental principle of human freedom.

On Religion

During his younger years, the future President remained notoriously noncommittal on the topic of religion—so much so that even his close friends were unable to verify his personal faith. At times, wrote Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo, “He would actually be aggressive on the subject of unbelief,” asserting that the Bible was just a book or that Jesus was an illegitimate child.

This lack of clarity on his beliefs—Was he an atheist? A skeptic?—proved a political liability early on. After failing to win election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843, a worried Lincoln expressed fears that his lack of religiosity might have been to blame:

Lincoln won that House seat three years later, but not without his opponent, a revivalist preacher, accusing him of being a religious scoffer. Instead of dismissing the allegation, as he might have before, the future President wrote a public message directly to his constituency to deny any disrepect, while still avoiding pinning himself down to one personal faith:

By his first inauguration, Lincoln had evolved to making full-throated avowals of faith, even declaring that adherence to Christianity was critical to the Union's survival.

On Racial Inequality

It might seem that the author of the Emancipation Proclamation , the president hailed as “the Great Liberator,” would have clear and consistent views on racial justice and equality. Not exactly.

From the onset, Lincoln always opposed the idea and existence of slavery . As early as 1837, when addressing Congress as a newly-elected member of the Illinois General Assembly, the 28-year-old Lincoln proclaimed the institution to be “founded on both injustice and bad policy.”

Nearly two decades later, he continued to reject it on moral and political grounds:

Nonetheless, despite his deep opposition to slavery, Lincoln did not believe in racial equality. He made this point clear during his famed debates against rival Stephen A. Douglas during their race for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois:

Lincoln struggled to articulate a vision for how free Black Americans could integrate into white-dominated U.S. society. Under constant political pressure to offset his push for emancipation, Lincoln frequently floated the idea of resettling African Americans elsewhere —to Africa, the Caribbean or Central America. As early as 1854, he articulated this idea:

Lincoln’s views on race equality continued to evolve until his death. In his last public address, just four days before his assassination, Lincoln seemed to denounce a future in which newly freed Black Americans were barred from a chance at equal access to the American dream.

In that same speech, Lincoln also teased the idea of Black suffrage , particularly maddening one attendee. Listening from the crowd, Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth heard the assertion and remarked, “That is the last speech he will make.”

Lincoln’s Humor

An essential facet of Lincoln the man—and a huge contributor to his political success—was his witty, folksy humor and his talent for mimicry. An inveterate storyteller, Lincoln skillfully spun up puns, jokes, aphorisms and yarns to offset dicey social and political situations, ingratiate himself with hostile audiences, endear himself with the common man and separate himself from political opponents.

As a lawyer , Lincoln always made a point to speak plainly to the judge and jury, avoiding obscure or high-minded legal jargon. One day in court, another lawyer quoted a legal maxim in Latin, then asked Lincoln to affirm it. His response: “If that’s Latin, you had better call another witness.”

So captivating and engaging was Lincoln’s banter that even his vaunted Senate opponent Stephen A. Douglas begrudgingly acknowledged its effectiveness. Douglas likened it to "a slap across my back. Nothing else—not any of his arguments or any of his replies to my questions—disturbs me. But when he begins to tell a story, I feel that I am to be overmatched."

Humor played a key role, historians say, in Lincoln’s victory over Douglas in their famed 1858 debates. In one instance, he colorfully undercut Douglas’s arguments for the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision as “as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death.”

And when hecklers followed a Douglas jibe by calling Lincoln “two-faced,” the future president famously defused the attack with his famed self-deprecating humor:

“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”

HISTORY Vault: Abraham Lincoln

A definitive biography of the 16th U.S. president, the man who led the country during its bloodiest war and greatest crisis.

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in: Character , Featured , Knowledge of Men

Brett & Kate McKay • August 24, 2020 • Last updated: August 25, 2021

The 35 Greatest Speeches in History

Theodore Roosevelt giving speech during campaign.

These famous speeches lifted hearts in dark times, gave hope in despair, refined the characters of men, inspired brave feats, gave courage to the weary, honored the dead, and changed the course of history.

How did we compile this list?

Great oratory has three components: style, substance, and impact.

Style: A great speech must be masterfully constructed. The best orators are masters of both the written and spoken word, and use words to create texts that are beautiful to both hear and read.

Substance: A speech may be flowery and charismatically presented, and yet lack any true substance at all. Great oratory must center on a worthy theme; it must appeal to and inspire the audience’s finest values and ideals.

Impact: Great oratory always seeks to persuade the audience of some fact or idea. The very best speeches change hearts and minds and seem as revelatory several decades or centuries removed as when they were first given.

And now for the speeches.

Contents [ hide ]

1. Theodore Roosevelt, "Duties of American Citizenship"
2. Winston Churchill, "We Shall Fight on the Beaches"
3. Lou Gehrig, "Farewell to Baseball Address"
4. Demosthenes, "The Third Philippic"
5. Chief Joseph, "Surrender Speech"
6. John F. Kennedy, "Inauguration Address"

7. Ronald Reagan, "Address to the Nation on the Challenger"

8. "speech of alexander the great", 9. william wilberforce, "abolition speech", 10. theodore roosevelt, "the man with the muck-rake", 11. franklin delano roosevelt, "first inaugural address", 12. charles de gaulle, "the appeal of 18 june", 13. socrates, "apology", 14. george washington, "resignation speech", 15. mahatma gandhi, "quit india", 16. winston churchill, "their finest hour", 17. william faulkner, "nobel prize acceptance speech", 18. dwight d. eisenhower, "farewell address", 19. marcus tullius cicero, "the first oration against catiline", 20. ronald reagan, "remarks at the brandenburg gate", 21. pericles, "funeral oration", 22. general douglas macarthur, "farewell address to congress", 23. theodore roosevelt, "strength and decency", 24. abraham lincoln, "2nd inaugural address", 25. patrick henry, "give me liberty or give me death", 26. ronald reagan, "40th anniversary of d-day".

27. John F. Kennedy, "The Decision to Go to the Moon"

28. Frederick Douglass, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

29. general douglas macarthur, "duty, honor, country", 30. theodore roosevelt, "citizenship in a republic", 31. winston churchill, "blood, sweat, and tears", 32. franklin delano roosevelt, "pearl harbor address to the nation", 33. jesus christ, "the sermon on the mount", 34. martin luther king jr., "i have a dream", 35. abraham lincoln, "the gettysburg address", 1. theodore roosevelt, “duties of american citizenship”.

January 26, 1883; Buffalo , New York

Given while serving as a New York assemblyman, TR's address on the "Duties of American Citizenship" delved into both the theoretical reasons why every man should be involved in politics and the practical means of serving in that capacity. Roosevelt chided those who excused themselves from politics because they were too busy; it was every man's duty to devote some time to maintaining good government.

Worthy Excerpt:

Of course, in one sense, the first essential for a man's being a good citizen is his possession of the home virtues of which we think when we call a man by the emphatic adjective of manly. No man can be a good citizen who is not a good husband and a good father, who is not honest in his dealings with other men and women, faithful to his friends and fearless in the presence of his foes, who has not got a sound heart, a sound mind, and a sound body; exactly as no amount of attention to civil duties will save a nation if the domestic life is undermined, or there is lack of the rude military virtues which alone can assure a country's position in the world. In a free republic the ideal citizen must be one willing and able to take arms for the defense of the flag, exactly as the ideal citizen must be the father of many healthy children. A race must be strong and vigorous; it must be a race of good fighters and good breeders, else its wisdom will come to naught and its virtue be ineffective; and no sweetness and delicacy, no love for and appreciation of beauty in art or literature, no capacity for building up material prosperity can possibly atone for the lack of the great virile virtues. But this is aside from my subject, for what I wish to talk of is the attitude of the American citizen in civic life. It ought to be axiomatic in this country that every man must devote a reasonable share of his time to doing his duty in the Political life of the community. No man has a right to shirk his political duties under whatever plea of pleasure or business; and while such shirking may be pardoned in those of small cleans it is entirely unpardonable in those among whom it is most common--in the people whose circumstances give them freedom in the struggle for life. In so far as the community grows to think rightly, it will likewise grow to regard the young man of means who shirks his duty to the State in time of peace as being only one degree worse than the man who thus shirks it in time of war. A great many of our men in business, or of our young men who are bent on enjoying life (as they have a perfect right to do if only they do not sacrifice other things to enjoyment), rather plume themselves upon being good citizens if they even vote; yet voting is the very least of their duties, Nothing worth gaining is ever gained without effort. You can no more have freedom without striving and suffering for it than you can win success as a banker or a lawyer without labor and effort, without self-denial in youth and the display of a ready and alert intelligence in middle age. The people who say that they have not time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in a free community.

Read full text of speech here .

2. Winston Churchill, “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”

June 4, 1940 ; House of Commons, London

winston churchill giving speech we shall fight on beaches

Winston Churchill, one of the greatest orators of the 20th century, was interestingly enough, like Demosthenes and other great orators before him, born with a speech impediment which he worked on until it no longer hindered him. One would never guess this from hearing Churchill's strong and reassuring voice, a voice that would buoy up Britain during some of her darkest hours.

During the Battle of France, Allied Forces became cut off from troops south of the German penetration and perilously trapped at the Dunkirk bridgehead. On May 26, a wholesale evacuation of these troops, dubbed "Operation Dynamo," began. The evacuation was an amazing effort-the RAF kept the Luftwaffe at bay while thousands of ships, from military destroyers to small fishing boats, were used to ferry 338,000 French and British troops to safety, far more than anyone had thought possible. On June 4, Churchill spoke before the House of Commons, giving a report which celebrated the "miraculous deliverance" at Dunkirk, while also seeking to temper a too rosy of view of what was on the whole a "colossal military disaster."

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Check out my podcast with Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts .

3. Lou Gehrig, “Farewell to Baseball Address”

July 4, 1939; Yankee Stadium

lou gehrig farewell speech yankee stadium luckiest man

It seemed as if the luminous career of Lou Gehrig would go on forever. The Yankee's first baseman and prodigious slugger was nicknamed the Iron Horse for his durability and commitment to the game. Sadly, his record for suiting up for 2,130 consecutive games came to an end when at age 36, Gehrig was stricken with the crippling disease that now bears his name. On July 4, 1939, the Yankees held a ceremony to honor their teammate and friend. They retired Gehrig's number, spoke of his greatness, and presented him with various gifts, plaques, and trophies. When Gehrig finally addressed the crowd, he did not use the opportunity to wallow in pity. Instead, he spoke of the things he was grateful for and what a lucky guy he was.

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert - also the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow - to have spent the next nine years with that wonderful little fellow Miller Huggins - then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology - the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy! Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift, that's something! When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles against her own daughter, that's something. When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it's a blessing! When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that's the finest I know. So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break - but I have an awful lot to live for!

4. Demosthenes, “The Third Philippic”

342 B.C.; Athens, Greece

Demosthenes, master statesman and orator, loved his city-state of Athens. He cherished its way of life and abundant freedoms. And he believed in standing strong against anyone who might attempt to infringe on these privileges. This passion, unfortunately, was seldom shared by his fellow Athenians. While Philip the II of Macedon made bolder and bolder incursions into the Greek peninsula, the Athenian people seemed stuck in an apathetic stupor. For years, Demosthenes employed his powerful oratorical skills in attempts to awaken his fellow citizens from sleep to the realization of the imminent danger Philip posed. When Philip advanced on Thrace, the Athenians called an assembly to debate whether or not to finally heed the great orator's advice. Demosthenes was sick of his brethren taking liberty and the Athenian way of life for granted and he boldly called upon them to rise up and take action. After his rousing speech, the assembly all cried out, "To arms! To arms!"

It is this fate, I solemnly assure you, that I dread for you, when the time comes that you make your reckoning, and realize that there is no longer anything that can be done. May you never find yourselves, men of Athens, in such a position! Yet in any case, it were better to die ten thousand deaths, than to do anything out of servility towards Philip [or to sacrifice any of those who speak for your good]. A noble recompense did the people in Oreus receive, for entrusting themselves to Philip's friends, and thrusting Euphraeus aside! And a noble recompense the democracy of Eretria, for driving away your envoys, and surrendering to Cleitarchus! They are slaves, scourged and butchered! A noble clemency did he show to the Olynthians, who elected Lasthenes to command the cavalry, and banished Apollonides! It is folly, and it is cowardice, to cherish hopes like these, to give way to evil counsels, to refuse to do anything that you should do, to listen to the advocates of the enemy's cause, and to fancy that you dwell in so great a city that, whatever happens, you will not suffer any harm.

5. Chief Joseph, “Surrender Speech”

October 5, 1877; Montana Territory

In 1877, the military announced that the Chief Joseph and his tribe of Nez Perce had to move onto a reservation in Idaho or face retribution. Desiring to avoid violence, Chief Joseph advocated peace and cooperation. But fellow tribesmen dissented and killed four white men. Knowing a swift backlash was coming, Joseph and his people began to make their way to Canada, hoping to find amnesty there. The tribe traveled 1700 miles, fighting the pursuing US army along the way. In dire conditions, and after a five day battle, Chief Joseph surrendered to General Nelson A. Miles on Oct. 5, 1877 in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana Territory, a mere 40 miles from the Canadian border. The Chief knew he was the last of a dying breed, and the moment of surrender was heartbreaking.

Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Ta Hool Hool Shute is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are - perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my Chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.

6. John F. Kennedy, “Inauguration Address”

January 20, 1961; Washington, D.C.

john f kennedy inauguration speech 1961 washington dc

Young, handsome, with a glamorous family in tow, John F. Kennedy embodied the fresh optimism that had marked the post-war decade. On January 20, 1961, Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th President of the United States. The youngest president in United States history, he was the first man born in the 20th century to hold that office. Listening to his inaugural address, the nation felt that a new era and a "new frontier" were being ushered in.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Listen to the speech.

January 28, 1986; Washington, D.C.

ronald reagan address to nation on challenger explosion 1986

On January 28, 1986, millions of Americans, many of them schoolchildren watching from their classroom desks, tuned in to see 7 Americans, including Christa McAuliffe, a 37 year old schoolteacher and the first ever "civilian astronaut," lift off in the space shuttle Challenger. Just 73 seconds later, the shuttle was consumed in a fireball. All seven aboard perished. These were the first deaths of American astronauts while in flight, and the nation was shocked and heartbroken by the tragedy. Just a few hours after the disaster, President Ronald Reagan took to the radio and airwaves, honoring these "pioneers" and offering comfort and assurance to a rattled people.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers. And I want to say something to the school children of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them...... The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honoured us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'

Check out our podcast with Ronald Regan biographer Bob Sptiz.

326 B.C.; Hydaspes River, India

alexander the great engraving color young alexander

In 335 B.C., Alexander the Great began his campaign to recapture former Greek cities and to expand his empire. After ten years of undefeated battles, Alexander controlled an empire that included Greece, Egypt, and what had been the massive Persian Empire.

That wasn't enough for Xander. He decided to continue his conquest into India. But after ten years of fighting and being away from home, his men lacked the will to take part in another battle, especially against an opponent like King Porus and his army. Alexander used the talent for oration he had developed while studying under Aristotle to infuse his men with the motivation they needed to continue on, to fight and to win.

I could not have blamed you for being the first to lose heart if I, your commander, had not shared in your exhausting marches and your perilous campaigns; it would have been natural enough if you had done all the work merely for others to reap the reward. But it is not so. You and I, gentlemen, have shared the labour and shared the danger, and the rewards are for us all. The conquered territory belongs to you; from your ranks the governors of it are chosen; already the greater part of its treasure passes into your hands, and when all Asia is overrun, then indeed I will go further than the mere satisfaction of our ambitions: the utmost hopes of riches or power which each one of you cherishes will be far surpassed, and whoever wishes to return home will be allowed to go, either with me or without me. I will make those who stay the envy of those who return.

Check out the AoM podcast about the life of Alexander the Great.

May 12, 1789; House of Commons, London

william wilberfoce black and white illustration abolition speech

When William Wilberforce, a member of the British Parliament, converted to Christianity, he began to earnestly seek to reform the evils he found within himself and the world around him. One of the glaring moral issues of the day was slavery, and after reading up on the subject and meeting with anti-slavery activists, Wilberforce became convinced that God was calling him to be an abolitionist. Wilberforce decided to concentrate on ending the slave trade rather than slavery itself, reasoning that the abolition of one would logically lead to the demise of the other. On May 12, 1789, Wilberforce made his first speech on the abolition of the slave trade before the House of Commons. He passionately made his case for why the trade was reprehensible and needed to cease. Wilberforce introduced a bill to abolish the trade, but it failed, a result he would become quite familiar with in the ensuing years. Yet Wilberforce never gave up, reintroducing the bill year after year, and the Slave Trade Act was finally passed in 1807.

When I consider the magnitude of the subject which I am to bring before the House-a subject, in which the interests, not of this country, nor of Europe alone, but of the whole world, and of posterity, are involved: and when I think, at the same time, on the weakness of the advocate who has undertaken this great cause-when these reflections press upon my mind, it is impossible for me not to feel both terrified and concerned at my own inadequacy to such a task. But when I reflect, however, on the encouragement which I have had, through the whole course of a long and laborious examination of this question, and how much candour I have experienced, and how conviction has increased within my own mind, in proportion as I have advanced in my labours;-when I reflect, especially, that however averse any gentleman may now be, yet we shall all be of one opinion in the end;-when I turn myself to these thoughts, I take courage-I determine to forget all my other fears, and I march forward with a firmer step in the full assurance that my cause will bear me out, and that I shall be able to justify upon the clearest principles, every resolution in my hand, the avowed end of which is, the total abolition of the slave trade.

April 14, 1906; Washington, D.C.

theodore roosevelt political cartoon muck raking scandal

Theodore Roosevelt was president during the Progressive Era, a time of great enthusiasm for reform in government, the economy, and society. TR himself held many progressive ideals, but he also called for moderation, not extremism. The "Man with a Muck-rake" in Pilgrim's Progress never looked heavenward but instead constantly raked the filth at his feet. TR thus dubbed the journalists and activists of the day who were intent on exposing the corruption in society as "muckrakers." He felt that they did a tremendous amount of good, but needed to mitigate their constant pessimism and alarmist tone. He worried that the sensationalism with which these exposes were often presented would make citizens overly cynical and too prone to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

To assail the great and admitted evils of our political and industrial life with such crude and sweeping generalizations as to include decent men in the general condemnation means the searing of the public conscience. There results a general attitude either of cynical belief in and indifference to public corruption or else of a distrustful inability to discriminate between the good and the bad. Either attitude is fraught with untold damage to the country as a whole. The fool who has not sense to discriminate between what is good and what is bad is well-nigh as dangerous as the man who does discriminate and yet chooses the bad. There is nothing more distressing to every good patriot, to every good American, than the hard, scoffing spirit which treats the allegation of dishonesty in a public man as a cause for laughter. Such laughter is worse than the crackling of thorns under a pot, for it denotes not merely the vacant mind, but the heart in which high emotions have been choked before they could grow to fruition.

March 4, 1933; Washington, D.C.

franklin delano roosevelt fdr inauguration speech 1933

Franklin Delano Roosevelt handily beat incumbent Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election. The country was deep into the Great Depression, and the public felt that Hoover did not fully sympathize with their plight and was not doing enough to alleviate it. No one was quite clear on what FDR's plan was, but as in today's election season, "change" was enough of an idea to power a campaign. In his First Inaugural Address, Roosevelt sought to buoy up the injured psyche of the American people and present his case for why he would need broad executive powers to tackle the Depression.

I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

Read the full text here .

June 18, 1940; London

charles de gaulle 1940 appeal of june 18

In June of 1940, it was clear that France was losing their country to the German invasion. Refusing to sign an armistice, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud was forced to resign. He was succeeded by Marshal Philippe Petain who made clear his intention to seek an accommodation with Germany. Disgusted with this decision, General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces, escaped to England on June 15. De Gaulle asked for, and obtained permission from Winston Churchill to make a speech on BBC radio. De Gaulle exhorted the French to not give up hope and to continue the fight against the German occupation and the Vichy Regime.

But has the last word been said? Must hope disappear? Is defeat final? No! Believe me, I who am speaking to you with full knowledge of the facts, and who tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same means that overcame us can bring us victory one day. For France is not alone! She is not alone! She is not alone! She has a vast Empire behind her. She can align with the British Empire that holds the sea and continues the fight. She can, like England, use without limit the immense industry of the United States. This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our country. This war is not over as a result of the Battle of France. This war is a worldwide war. All the mistakes, all the delays, all the suffering, do not alter the fact that there are, in the world, all the means necessary to crush our enemies one day. Vanquished today by mechanical force, in the future we will be able to overcome by a superior mechanical force. The fate of the world depends on it.

399 B.C.; Athens

Socrates is perhaps the greatest teacher in the history of the Western world. He wandered around Athens engaging in dialogues with his fellow citizens that focused on discovering the truth of all things . He taught his pupils that the "unexamined life is not worth living."

The Athenians saw Socrates as a threat, especially to the Athenian youth. Socrates acquired quite a following among the young men of Athens. He taught these impressionable minds to question everything, even Athenian authority. Eventually, Socrates was arrested and put on trial for corrupting the youth, not believing the gods, and creating new deities.

The "Apology" is Socrates' defense to these charges. Instead of crying and pleading for mercy, Socrates accepts his charges and attempts to persuade the jury with reason. He argued that it was his calling from the gods to seek knowledge and that it was through his questions he uncovered truth. To not fulfill his calling would be blasphemy. In the end, Socrates lost and was sentenced to death by hemlock. Socrates accepted this fate willingly and without grudge against his condemners, thus dying as a martyr for free thinking.

Some one will say: Yes, Socrates, but cannot you hold your tongue, and then you may go into a foreign city, and no one will interfere with you? Now I have great difficulty in making you understand my answer to this. For if I tell you that to do as you say would be a disobedience to the God, and therefore that I cannot hold my tongue, you will not believe that I am serious; and if I say again that daily to discourse about virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest good of man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you are still less likely to believe me.

Check out our article on the philosophy of Plato .

December 23, 1784; Annapolis, Maryland

george washington resignation speech painting 1784

As the Revolutionary War drew to a close, there was much speculation that George Washington, then Major General and Commander-in-Chief, would follow in the footsteps of former world leaders by making a grab for supreme power. Some even wished he would do so, hoping he would become the king of a new nation. Yet Washington knew that such a move would wither the fragile beginnings of the new republic. Looking to the Roman general Cincinnatus an exemplar, Washington rejected the temptations of power and resigned his position as Commander-in-Chief. Choosing the right is almost never easy, and as Washington read his speech in front of the Continental Congress, the great statesman trembled so much that he had to hold the parchment with two hands to keep it steady. "The spectators all wept, and there was hardly a member of Congress who did not drop tears. His voice faltered and sunk, and the whole house felt his agitations." When finished, Washington bolted from the door of the Annapolis State House, mounted his horse, and galloped away into the sunset.

While I repeat my obligations to the Army in general, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge in this place the peculiar Services and distinguished merits of the Gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the War. It was impossible the choice of confidential Officers to compose my family should have been more fortunate. Permit me Sir, to recommend in particular those, who have continued in Service to the present moment, as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage of Congress. I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my Official life, by commending the Interests of our dearest Country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping. Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theater of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life.

Check out my podcast about the self-education of George Washington.

August 8, 1942; India

mahatma gandhi portrait smiling gandhi photo

While the battle for freedom and democracy raged across the world, the people of India were engaged in their own fight for liberty. For almost a century, India had been under the direct rule of the British crown, and many Indians had had enough. Mahatma Gandhi and the National Indian Congress pushed for a completely non-violent movement aimed at forcing Britain to "Quit India." Gandhi, pioneer of the tactics of non-violent civil disobedience, called for their use on August 8, 1942 with the passing of the Quit India Resolution demanding complete independence from British rule.

I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours. I read Carlyle's French Resolution while I was in prison, and Pandit Jawaharlal has told me something about the Russian revolution. But it is my conviction that inasmuch as these struggles were fought with the weapon of violence they failed to realize the democratic ideal. In the democracy which I have envisaged, a democracy established by non-violence, there will be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own master. It is to join a struggle for such democracy that I invite you today. Once you realize this you will forget the differences between the Hindus and Muslims, and think of yourselves as Indians only, engaged in the common struggle for independence.

June 18, 1940; House of Commons, London

winston churchill head shot great speeches wwii

On May 10, 1940, the Germans began their invasion of France. On June 14 Paris fell. In a matter of days, France would surrender and England would stand as Europe's lone bulwark against the twin evils of Fascism and Nazism. At this critical moment, Churchill gave his third and final speech during the Battle of France, once again imparting words meant to bring hope in this dark hour.

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'

Check out my podcast about how Churchill led during the Blitz.

December 10, 1950; Stockholm, Sweden

william faulkner nobel prize acceptance speech 1950

A true master of the written word, William Faulkner did not often make public his gift for the spoken variety. So there was some interest as to what he would say when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for his "powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." The year was 1950, the Soviet Union had tapped the potential of the atomic bomb, and the atmosphere in the the United States crackled with the fear of them using it. Faulkner challenged poets, authors, and all mankind to think beyond the questions of "When will I be blown up?" and instead continue to "create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before."

I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.

January 17, 1961; Washington, D.C.

dwight d eisenhower farewell address 1961

The 1950's were a time of ever increasing military spending, as the United States sought to fight communism abroad and prevent it at home. As President Dwight D. Eisenhower left office, more than half of the federal budget was allocated for defense purposes. Eisenhower, former General of the Army, was certainly not opposed to the use of military power to keep the peace. Still, he saw fit to use his "Farewell Address" to warn the nation of the dangers posed by the "military-industrial complex," referring to the relationship between the armed forces, the government, and the suppliers of war materials. Eisenhower was wary of the large role defense spending played in the economy, and understood the political and corporate corruption that could result if the public was not vigilant in checking it.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex . The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

63 BC; Rome

cicero speech first oration against cataline 63 bc

Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline to his friends) was a very jealous man. Having once run against Cicero for the position of consul and lost, he became determined to win the next election by any devious method necessary. Plan A was to bribe people to vote for him, and when that didn't work, he decided to go for bust and simply knock Cicero off on election day. This plan was ferreted out by the ever vigilant Cicero, the election was postponed, and the Senate established marital law. When the election finally was held, the murderer-cum-candidate was surprisingly trounced at the polls. Now it was time for Catiline's Plan C: raise an army of co-conspirators, create insurrection throughout Italy, overthrow the government, and slice and dice as many Senators as they could get their coo -ky hands on. But Cicero was again one step ahead and discovered the plan. He called the Senate together for a meeting at the Temple of Jupiter in the Capitol, an orifice only used in times of great crisis. Catiline, who seriously didn't know when he was not welcome, decided to crash the party. With his archenemy in attendance, Cicero began his Catiline Orations, a series of speeches covering how he saved Rome from rebellion, the guilt of Catiline, and the need to whack he and his cronies.

I wish, O conscript fathers, to be merciful; I wish not to appear negligent amid such danger to the state; but I do now accuse myself of remissness and culpable inactivity. A camp is pitched in Italy, at the entrance of Etruria, in hostility to the republic; the number of the enemy increases every day; and yet the general of that camp, the leader of those enemies, we see within the walls-aye, and even in the senate-planning every day some internal injury to the republic. If, O Catiline, I should now order you to be arrested, to be put to death, I should, I suppose, have to fear lest all good men should say that I had acted tardily, rather than that any one should affirm that I acted cruelly. But yet this, which ought to have been done long since, I have good reason for not doing as yet; I will put you to death, then, when there shall be not one person possible to be found so wicked, so abandoned, so like yourself, as not to allow that it has been rightly done. As long as one person exists who can dare to defend you, you shall live; but you shall live as you do now, surrounded by my many and trusty guards, so that you shall not be able to stir one finger against the republic; many eyes and ears shall still observe and watch you, as they have hitherto done, tho you shall not perceive them.

June 12, 1987; Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

ronald reagan speech 1987 berlin wall brandenburg gate

Since the end of World War II, Germany had been a divided country, the West free and democratic, the East under authoritarian communist control. When President Reagan took office, he was committed not only to uniting that country, but to bringing down the entire "Evil Empire." While the importance of Reagan's role in successfully doing so is endlessly debated, it beyond dispute that he exerted some influence in bringing the Cold War to an end. There is no more memorable and symbolic moment of this influence then when Reagan stood at the Berlin wall, the most visible symbol of the "Iron Curtain," and challenged Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"

We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Listen to speech.

431 BC; Athens

pericles funeral oration 431 bc marble bust

Pericles, master statesman, orator, and general, was truly, as Thuciydies dubbed him, "the first citizen of Athens." Pericles was a product of the Sophists and had been personally tutored by the great philosopher Anaxagoras. His study with the Sophists made Pericles a highly persuasive orator. Through his speeches, he galvanized Athenians to undertake an enormous public works project that created hundreds of temples, including the Pantheon.

Pericles' gift of oration was put to the test during the epic battles of the Peloponnesian War, a civil war between Athens and Sparta. His speeches inspired Athenians to fight to become the number one power in Greece. In February of 431 B.C., Athens had their annual public funeral to honor all those who died in war. Pericles was asked to give the traditional funeral oration. Rather than focus his speech on enumerating the conquests of Athens' fallen heroes, Pericles instead used his funeral oration to laud the glory of Athens itself and inspire the living to make sure the soldiers had not died in vain.

Over 2,000 years later, Pericles' funeral oration inspired Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." Like Pericles, Lincoln was a leader during a time of civil war. Like Pericles, Lincoln focused on exhorting the living to live their lives in a way that would make the sacrifice of fallen warriors worthwhile.

So died these men as became Athenians. You, their survivors, must determine to have as unfaltering a resolution in the field, though you may pray that it may have a happier issue. And not contented with ideas derived only from words of the advantages which are bound up with the defense of your country, though these would furnish a valuable text to a speaker even before an audience so alive to them as the present, you must yourselves realize the power of Athens, and feed your eyes upon her from day to day, till love of her fills your hearts; and then, when all her greatness shall break upon you, you must reflect that it was by courage, sense of duty, and a keen feeling of honor in action that men were enabled to win all this, and that no personal failure in an enterprise could make them consent to deprive their country of their valor, but they laid it at her feet as the most glorious contribution that they could offer.

April 19, 1951, Washington; D.C.

general douglas macarthur saluting troops

During the Korean War, General MacArthur and President Truman clashed over the threat posed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army and their incursion into Korea. MacArthur continually pressed Truman for permission to bomb bases in Manchuria, believing the war needed to be extended in area and scope. Truman refused the General's requests, arguing that directly drawing China into the war would arouse the Soviet Union to action. MacArthur continued to press his case, and Truman, accusing the General of insubordination, made the decision to relieve MacArthur of his command. After serving for 52 years and in three wars, the General's military career was over. MacArthur returned to the United States and gave this farewell address to Congress.

I am closing my 52 years of military service. When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on theplain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away." And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good Bye.

theodore roosvelt portrait with eyeglasses

Roosevelt was an advocate of having many children and making sure the next generation would continue to uphold the great virtues of civilization. He was always concerned that young men not be coddled or cowardly, and grow up to live rugged, strenuous, and thoroughly manly lives. But he also strongly believed that being ruggedly manly and being refined in mind and spirit were not incompatible and should in fact go hand and hand. In this speech, he exhorts young men to pursue virtuous manliness. Amen, brother, amen.

It is peculiarly incumbent upon you who have strength to set a right example to others. I ask you to remember that you cannot retain your self-respect if you are loose and foul of tongue, that a man who is to lead a clean and honorable life must inevitably suffer if his speech likewise is not clean and honorable. Every man here knows the temptations that beset all of us in this world. At times any man will slip. I do not expect perfection, but I do expect genuine and sincere effort toward being decent and cleanly in thought, in word, and in deed. As I said at the outset, I hail the work of this society as typifying one of those forces which tend to the betterment and uplifting of our social system. Our whole effort should be toward securing a combination of the strong qualities with those qualities which we term virtues. I expect you to be strong. I would not respect you if you were not. I do not want to see Christianity professed only by weaklings; I want to see it a moving spirit among men of strength. I do not expect you to lose one particle of your strength or courage by being decent. On the contrary, I should hope to see each man who is a member of this society, from his membership in it become all the fitter to do the rough work of the world; all the fitter to work in time of peace; and if, which may Heaven forfend, war should come, all the fitter to fight in time of war. I desire to see in this country the decent men strong and the strong men decent, and until we get that combination in pretty good shape we are not going to be by any means as successful as we should be. There is always a tendency among very young men and among boys who are not quite young men as yet to think that to be wicked is rather smart; to think it shows that they are men. Oh, how often you see some young fellow who boasts that he is going to "see life," meaning by that that he is going to see that part of life which it is a thousandfold better should remain unseen!

March 4, 1865; Washington, D.C.

abraham lincoln 2nd inauguration address 1865 photo

The Union's victory was but a month away as Abraham Lincoln began his second term as president of a bitterly ruptured United States. Like the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln keeps this speech only as long as needful. While there are those who still debate whether the Civil War was truly fought over slavery or not, Lincoln certainly believed so. To him, slavery was a great national sin, and the blood shed during the war was the atoning sacrifice for that evil.

He does not relish the prospect of coming victory; instead, he appeals to his countrymen to remember that the war was truly fought between brothers. When the war was over and the Confederacy forced to return to the Union, Lincoln was prepared to treat the South with relative leniency. He did not believe secession was truly possible, and thus the South had never truly left the Union. Reconstruction would not mean vengeance, but the return home of a terribly errant son.

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

March 23, 1775; Richmond , VA

patrick henry give me liberty or give me death speech

For a decade, revolutionary sentiments had been brewing in Virginia and Patrick Henry had always been in the thick of it, stirring the pot. Henry became particularly enflamed by the Stamp Act of 1764, which prompted him to give his so-called "treason speech," spurring the Burgesses to pass the Virginia Resolves banning the act. Tensions between the colonies and the Crown continued to build, and in 1775, Massachusetts patriots began making preparations for war. Henry believed that Virginia should follow suit. At a meeting held in St. John's Church in Richmond, Henry presented resolutions to make ready Virginia's defenses. Seeking to persuade his fellow delegates of the urgency of his message, he gave a rousing and memorable speech, climaxing is that now famous line, "Give me liberty of give me death!"

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

June 6, 1984; Pointe du Hoc, France

ronald reagan 40th anniversary of d-day speech 1984

What the Army Rangers did on D-Day at Pointe Du Hoc is a tale every man worth his salt should be familiar with. Pointe du Hoc was a sheer 100 foot cliff located in-between Omaha and Utah beaches. Perched atop the cliff sat six casemates capable of being manned, armed, and taking out the men on the beaches. As the Germans fired upon them, the Rangers scaled the cliff using ropes and ladders, found the guns (which had been moved from the casemates) and destroyed them. Without reinforcements for two days, the Rangers alone held their position and fended off German counterattacks. These skirmishes proved deadly; only 90 of the original 225 Ranger landing force survived.

On the 40 th anniversary of D-Day, President Reagan gave a moving tribute to these men, many of whom were present at the occasion.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war. Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your 'lives fought for life...and left the vivid air signed with your honor'... Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith, and belief; it was loyalty and love. The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

27. John F. Kennedy, " The Decision to Go to the Moon"

May 25, 1961; Houston, TX

john f kennedy moon announcement speech 1961

On April 12, 1961, the Soviets launched the first man into space. Khrushchev used this triumph as prime evidence of communism's superiority over decadent capitalism. Embarrassed, the United States feared it was falling behind the Soviet Union and losing the "space race." After consulting with political and NASA officials, Kennedy decided it was time for America to boldly go where no man had gone before by putting a man on the moon. The feat would not only catapult the nation over the Soviet Union, but also allow man to more fully explore the mysteries of space. And this mission would be accomplished by the end of the 1960's. When was the last time a president had the cajones to publicly issue a straightforward, ambitious goal and set a timeline for its success?

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

July 5, 1852; Rochester, NY

frederick douglass portrait photo later years goatee

Frederick Douglass, former slave, abolitionist, and engineer on the underground railroad, was a popular speaker on the anti-slavery circuit. He traveled thousands of miles each year, giving hundreds of speeches. Yet the money he earned from lecturing was not enough to become financially comfortable, and he and his family struggled. Douglass was disillusioned by the repercussions of the Fugitive Slave Act, and his abolitionist leanings grew more strident and bold. If the citizens of Rochester, New York had expected to be flattered by Douglass when they asked him to speak on the Fourth, they were soon disavowed of that idea. Douglass took the opportunity to defiantly point out the ripe hypocrisy of a nation celebrating their ideals of freedom and equality while simultaneously mired in the evil of slavery. While the speech surely made even the most liberal audience members squirm; nonetheless, the crowed let loose in "universal applause" when Douglass finished.

I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. Youmay rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?

Read what books had the biggest influence on Frederick Douglass.

May 12, 1962; West Point, New York

General Douglas MacArthur Duty, Honor, Country west point

General Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army and a man who fought in three wars, knew something of "Duty, Honor, Country." In 1962, MacArthur was in the twilight of his life and came to West Point to accept the Sylvanus Thayer Award and participate in his final cadet roll call. His address reflects upon and celebrates the brave and courageous men who came before, men he personally led, men who embodied "Duty, Honor, Country."

There are many great speeches in this list, but I hope you will pause to read the entirety of this one. Picking an excerpt was quite difficult, as so many of the passages are inspiring. A must read for all men.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds. The Long Gray Line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country . This does not mean that you are war mongers. On the contrary, the soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war." The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished, tone and tint. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears, and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen vainly, but with thirsty ears, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll. In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory, always I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country .

April 23, 1910; Paris , France

theodore roosvelt portrait full body next to giant globe

At the end of Theodore Roosevelt's second term in office, he set out to tour Africa and Europe, hoping to allow his successor, President Taft, to step into the enormous shoes TR had left and become his own man. After a safari in Africa, he traveled throughout Europe. While in France, he was invited to speak at the historic University of Paris. Roosevelt used the opportunity to deliver a powerful address on the requirements of citizenship, the characteristics which would keep democracies like France and the United States robust and strong. This speech is famous for the "man in the arena" quote, but the entire speech is an absolute must read.

Let the man of learning, the man of lettered leisure, beware of that queer and cheap temptation to pose to himself and to others as a cynic, as the man who has outgrown emotions and beliefs, the man to whom good and evil are as one. The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer. There are many men who feel a kind of twister pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt. There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes to second achievement. A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life's realities - all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. They mark the men unfit to bear their part painfully in the stern strife of living, who seek, in the affection of contempt for the achievements of others, to hide from others and from themselves in their own weakness. The rÃ´le is easy; there is none easier, save only the rÃ´le of the man who sneers alike at both criticism and performance. It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

May 13, 1940; House of Commons, London

winston churchill blood sweat and tears 1940

Winston Churchill's first speech to the House of Commons as Britain's new Prime Minister got off to an auspicious start. His welcome to that assembly was quite tepid, while outgoing PM Neville Chamberlain was enthusiastically applauded (the world did not yet know just how disastrous his appeasement policies would prove and did not trust Churchill). But Churchill's first speech, the first of three powerful oratories he gave during the Battle of France, would prove that England was in more than capable hands. A seemingly unstoppable Hitler was advancing rapidly across Europe, and Churchill wasted no time in calling his people to arms. While TR had actually been the first to utter the phrase, "blood, sweat and tears," it was Churchill's use of these words that would leave an inedible and inspiring impression upon the world's mind.

Worthy Excerpt

I say to the House as I said to ministers who have joined this government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.

December 8, 1941; Washington, D.C.

franklin delano roosevelt fdr pearl harbor speech 1941

The attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, shocked the United States to its core, outraging a nation that had hoped to stay out of the mounting turmoil in Asia and Europe. Overnight, the country united in desire to enter the war. The day after the attacks, FDR addressed the nation in a brief, but electrifying speech, declaring war on Japan and giving assurance that the United States would attain victory.

Be sure to listen to the audio of the speech. Imagine every American family, rattled and worried, listening around the radio to what their president would say. They knew their whole world was about to change forever. Listen to the reaction of Congress as they applaud and cheer FDR's words. The emotion is so very real and palatable; it truly transports you back to that critical moment in time.

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: yesterday, December 7, 1941- a date which will live in infamy -the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan..... But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces-with the unbounding determination of our people-we will gain the inevitable triumph-so help us God.

33 A.D.; Jerusalem

jesus christ sermon on the mount painting

Whether one believes that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God or simply a wise teacher, it is impossible to deny the impact of perhaps the world's most famous speech: The Sermon on the Mount. No speech has been more pondered, more influential, or more quoted. It introduced a prayer now familiar the world over and uttered in trenches, churches, and bedsides around the globe. It introduced a code of conduct billions of believers have adopted as their lofty, if not not always attainable, goal. While much of the sermon has roots in Jewish law, the advice given in the Beatitudes represented a dramatic and radical departure from the eye for an eye system of justice known in the ancient world. The standards of behavior outlined in the sermon have given believers and non-believers alike plenty to contemplate and discuss in the two thousand years since it was given.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

See Matthew Chapter 5-7 for full text.

August 28, 1963; Washington, D.C.

martin luther king jr i have a dream speech 1963

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech" is hands down one of the greatest, if not the greatest, pieces of oratory in American history. King's charisma, skills in rhetoric, and passion, place him in a league of his own. A century after slavery ended, a century after African-Americans were promised full equality, black children were being hosed down in the streets, spat upon, bused to separate schools, turned away from restaurants, and denied treatment as full human beings. In this midst of this egregious track record, Dr. King voiced a clear, compelling message of hope, a dream that things would not always be as they were, and that a new day was coming.

Many people have seen excerpts of the speech, but a surprisingly number of adults my age I have never sat down and watched the speech in its entirety. I challenge you to do just that. It is just as electrifying and moving today as it was in 1963.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

Listen to the speech here .

November 19, 1863; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

272 words. 3 minutes long. Yet, the Gettysburg Address is unarguably one of the greatest pieces of rhetoric in American history. Dr. J Rufus Fears (one of the great modern orators) argues that the Gettysburg Address, along with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, form the three founding documents of American freedom. And I have to agree.

The Battle of Gettysburg left 8,000 men dead. The bodies were too numerous to bury properly and many were at first placed in shallow graves. Weeks after the battle, heads and arms were sticking up through the ground and the smell of rotting flesh was sickening.

Money was raised for a proper reburial, and it was decided that the new cemetery should be dedicated, to sweeten the air of Gettysburg, to solemnize this place of death. As was traditional, a great orator, in this case, Edward Everett, was asked to give a solemn and grand speech as a memorial to the fallen men. Lincoln was asked 2 months later, almost as a causal afterthought. He was to add a few remarks to Everett's, a function much like the man with the ceremonial scissors who cuts the ribbon. Legends has it that Lincoln's remarks were the product of pure inspiration, penned on the back of an envelope on the train chugging its way to the soon-to-be hallowed grounds of Gettysburg.

On the day of the dedication, Everett kept the crowd enthralled for a full two hours. Lincoln got up, gave his speech, and sat down even before the photographer had finished setting up for a picture. There was a long pause before anyone applauded, and then the applause was scattered and polite.

Not everyone immediately realized the magnificence of Lincoln's address. But some did. In a letter to Lincoln, Everett praised the President for his eloquent and concise speech, saying, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."

And of course, in time, we have come to fully appreciate the genius and beauty of the words spoken that day. Dr. Fears argues that Lincoln's address did more than memorialize the fallen soldiers at Gettysburg; it accomplished nothing short of transforming the entire meaning of the Civil War. There were no details of the battle mentioned in the speech, no mentioning of soldier's names, of Gettysburg itself, of the South nor the Union, states rights nor secession. Rather, Lincoln meant the speech to be something far larger, a discourse on the experiment testing whether government can maintain the proposition of equality. At Gettysburg, the Constitution experienced a transformation. The first birth has been tainted by slavery. The men, of both North and South, lying in the graves at Gettysburg had made an atoning sacrifice for this great evil. And the Constitution would be reborn, this time living up to its promises of freedom and equality for all.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we cannot consecrate - we cannot hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

A man is holding a piece of paper and writing with invisible ink.

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7 Nobel Speeches by 7 Great Writers: Hemingway, Faulkner, and More

in Books , Literature , Writing | May 16th, 2013 14 Comments

William Faulkner, 1949:

Almost every year since 1901, the Swedish Academy has apportioned one fifth of the interest from the fortune bequeathed by dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel to honor, as Nobel said in his will, “the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction.”

Many of the greatest writers of the past 112 years have received the Nobel Prize in Literature , but there have been some glaring omissions right from the start. When Leo Tolstoy was passed over in 1901 (the prize went to the French poet Sully Prudhomme) he was so offended he refused later nominations. The list of great writers who were alive after 1901 but never received the prize is jaw-dropping. In addition to Tolstoy, it includes James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad, Anton Chekhov, Marcel Proust, Henry James, Henrik Ibsen, Émile Zola, Robert Frost, W.H. Auden, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jorge Luis Borges and Vladimir Nabokov.

But the Nobel committee has honored many worthy writers, and today we’ve gathered together seven speeches by seven laureates. Our choice was restricted by the limitations of what is available online in English. We have focused on the short speeches traditionally given on December 10 of every year at the Nobel banquet in Stockholm. With the exception of short excerpts from Bertrand Russell’s lecture, we have passed over the longer Nobel lectures (which typically run about 40 minutes) presented to the Swedish Academy on a different day than the banquet.

We begin above with one of the most often-quoted Nobel speeches: William Faulkner’ s eloquent acceptance of the 1949 prize. There was actually no prize in literature given in 1949, but the committee decided to award that year’s medal 12 months later to Faulkner, citing his “powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.” Faulkner gave his speech on December 10, 1950, in the same ceremony with Bertrand Russell . Unfortunately the audio cuts off just before the finish. To follow along and read the missing ending, click here to open the full text in a new window . Faulkner stumbles a few times during his delivery. You can listen to his smoother 1954 reading of a polished version of the speech here .

Bertrand Russell, 1950:

The British logician and philosopher Bertrand Russell was one of several prize-winners in literature who were primarily known for their work in other fields. (The short list includes statesman Winston Churchill and philosopher Henri Bergson.) In addition to his ground-breaking contributions to mathematics and analytic philosophy, Russell wrote many books for the general reader. In 1950 the Nobel committee cited his “varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.” Above are two short audio clips from Russell’s December 11, 1950 Nobel lecture, “What Desires are Politically Important?” You can click here to open the full text in a new window .

Ernest Hemingway, 1954:

The American writer Ernest Hemingway was awarded the 1954 prize “for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea , and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style.” Hemingway was not feeling well enough in December of 1954 to travel to Stockholm, so he asked John C. Cabot, United States Ambassador to Sweden, to deliver the speech for him. Fortunately we do have this recording from sometime that month of Hemingway reading his speech at a radio station in Havana, Cuba. You can click here to open the full text in a new window .

John Steinbeck, 1962:

The American writer John Steinbeck , author of The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men , was awarded the Nobel in 1962 “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception.” To read along as you watch Steinbeck give his speech, click here to open the text in a new window .

V.S. Naipaul, 2001:

Jumping ahead from 1962 all the way to 2001, we have video of the speech given by the Trinidadian-British writer V.S. Naipaul , author of such books as In a Free State and A Bend in the River . Naipaul was cited by the Nobel committee “for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.” You can click here to open a text of Naipaul’s banquet speech in a new window .

Orhan Pamuk, 2006:

The Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, author of such books as The Museum of Innocence and Snow , received the prize in 2006. The Nobel committee praised the Istanbul-based writer, “who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures.” To read Pamuk’s banquet speech, click here to open the text in a new window .

Mario Vargas Llosa, 2010:

The prolific Peruvian-Spanish writer Mario Vargas Llosa , author of such novels as Conversation in the Cathedral and Death in the Andes , was cited by the Nobel committee in 2010 “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.” To read along with Vargas Llosa as he speaks, click here to open the text in a new window .

by Mike Springer | Permalink | Comments (14) |

Comments (14), 14 comments so far.

One might think from the list you have generated that there are no female writers of note…

David, Of the 108 writers who have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, only 12 have been women. That is the situation as I found it, not as I would make it. As for my list of non-recipients, I should first of all remind you that Virginia Woolf is near the very top of that list. Secondly, I can think of a lot of other notable writers of both genders who were alive after 1901 and whose work I personally love, but my list was meant to reflect writers of towering stature, historically, and not just “writers of note” or writers I personally approve of. (As a matter of fact, I do not like every writer on that list.) So I was aiming at a kind of objectivity. But of course a thing like this is ultimately subjective, so it would be interesting if you (and any others) would offer your own list in the space below. Thanks.

It must be so sad to have a mind warped by mis-education that compels you to regurgitate warped, twisted and meaningless screeds like this in hopes of getting some kind of pellet from your teachers.

Thank you for posting the speech of Steinbeck. It was relevent then and remains relevent now.

Wonderful.

Thanks for this. Steinbeck’s lecture is always haunting. Few of us seem to have his trepidation or his faith in humanity.

Is there anyway one can get them all in CDs or DVDs ?

John hay, it must also be sad to have a mind that attacks rather than educates. Also, your attack doesn’t include your list, therefore your argument falls on it’s face. If you wish to fight mis-education start by communicating information with your mixed metaphors.

How come no one has used the Swedish Chef from The Muppets to deliver their speech? Out of respect for being in Sweden?

It is helpful for visually impaired.

Missing Toni Morrison, Herta Müller and Bob Dylan.

There is black and white, there are men and women, their are writers all over this Planet with Nobel Speeches full of Wisdom, History and Inspiration for young and old, all over the World

Educative lectures

Elie Wiesels speech is one of the most emotional and intense speeches i have ever read. he also brings great points to the table that can be used in today’s world more than ever.

I want to be famous also and one day clinch that prestigious nobel prize in chemistry.

Yes — and you sound like a barrel of laughs yourself

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7 of the greatest public speakers in history

A speech is more than a set of spoken words. It’s a combination of the speaker, the context, the language, and these things working together can make it far greater than the sum of its parts. In that vein, we compiled some of the greatest public speakers of all time, people whose words changed the course of societies and defined eras.

Winston Churchill

When Paris fell to the Nazis on June 14, 1940, England began to steel itself for the brunt of the Axis powers on the Western front. Winston Churchill, who had taken over as prime minister just a month prior, delivered his famous “Our Finest Hour” to a country bracing itself for full-scale attack. In 1953, Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, in part for his speeches, which he wrote himself.

In his history of World War II entitled “The Storm of War,” Andrew Roberts writes :

“Winston Churchill managed to combine the most magnificent use of English — usually short words, Anglo-Saxon words, Shakespearean. And also this incredibly powerful delivery. And he did it at a time when the world was in such peril from Nazism, that every word mattered.”

John F. Kennedy

Few speeches are as oft quoted as John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, which he spent months writing. Kennedy’s ability to speak as if he was having an authentic conversation with an audience, as opposed to lecturing to them, is one quality that made him such a compelling communicator.

Standing accused of crimes including corrupting the youth of Athens, Socrates had a choice: defer and apologize to his accusers for his alleged crimes, or reformulate their scattered accusations into proper legal form (thereby embarrassing his accusers) and deliver an exhaustive defense of the pursuit of truth, apologizing for nothing. He chose the latter and was sentenced to death. Part of Socrates’ “ Apology ” includes:

“How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was – such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth. But many as their falsehoods were, there was one of them which quite amazed me; – I mean when they told you to be upon your guard, and not to let yourselves be deceived by the force of my eloquence.”

Adolf Hitler

Hitler was well aware that mastering the art of public speaking was crucial to his political career. He wrote all of his speeches himself, sometimes editing them more than five times. He practiced his facial expressions and gestures, and he was adept at interweaving metaphor and abstract ideas into his speeches about political policy.

Martin Luther King Jr.

The strong musicality of Martin Luther King Jr.’s rhetoric is perhaps just as recognizable as the words “not be judged on the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King drew inspiration from Shakespeare, the bible, his own past speeches, and numerous civil rights thinkers to write his “I Have a Dream” speech, one of the most famous of all time.

James Baldwin

Until his death in 1987, James Baldwin pushed the conversation about race in America forward with his carefully intense social criticism. He traveled extensively throughout his life, saying that “Once you find yourself in another civilization, you’re forced to examine your own.”

Mister Rogers

Mister (Fred) Rogers spent his life communicating soft-spoken yet direct messages of practical advice to children, ultimately earning him a Peabody Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Rogers was an expert in using rhetoric to effectively communicate with any audience, not just children, a quality best evidenced in his appearance before a senate committee to save his show’s funding in 1969.

15 Greatest Public Speakers of All Time

Hrideep barot.

Public Speaking

“If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.” -Gerald R. Ford (Institute of Public Speaking)

Public speaking is a skill that requires individuals to deliver speeches, lectures, and talks to large groups of people regularly! Since the dawn of time, thousands of people have taken up public speaking and provided content on a wide range of themes, ranging from business to education to self-love and science.

With their delivery and particular flair, some public speakers have been recognized as more remarkable than co-speakers. Today, let’s look at some of the most outstanding public speakers of all time, from historical figures like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi to some contemporary speakers like Brain Tracy and Nick Vujicic.

1. J.F. Kennedy:

John Kennedy, famously known by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States and believed in the miraculous power that words carried. His speeches, therefore, were always crafted with the right words and phrases that stuck with the audience and listeners. He used addresses to motivate and influence people to win elections, make changes, and inspire the country throughout his career.

Some of the effective elements that helped his speech stand out incorporated his use of:

Excellent use of tones that emphasized the message he wished to convey.
Effective repetition of the main message throughout his speech.
Authenticity and Genuineness in the content that he conveyed.

John Kennedy is still regarded as one of the most incredible speakers of his time. Contemporary speakers still take inspiration from and quote many excerpts of his speeches to inspire and encourage people. One of the very famous lines from his speech which still rings in the ears of people is:

“My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

2. Martin Luther King Jr:

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Minister and Civil Rights Activist, is regarded as one of the most provoking speakers of his time. His speeches, especially the “I Have a Dream” speech, are still considered one of the most motivating and etching lessons of time. Martin Luther King often tried to communicate and bring change through his words and peaceful protests. The African-American Activist often stood up for several issues and delivered provocating speeches using:

effective communication and vision sharing with the listeners
repetition of the mean theme throughout his speech
clarity, authenticity and consistency in the goals and ideas he stood for.

Some of his famous speeches include:

“I Have a Dream” on August 28, 1963.
“Our God is Marching On” on March 25, 1965.
“Montgomery Bus Boycott” on December 5, 1955

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – Martin Luther King. (Kidald)

3. Winston Churchill:

Winston Churchill was a British Statesman, Prime Minister, and leader who commanded over the United Kingdom and led the country towards victory in World War II.

Churchill was not a born orator and had initial difficulties delivering speeches and spoke monotonously. However, when he soon realized the power that verbal and visual words carried, he went on to master the art of public speaking and has since then delivered and written speeches and articles that are still considered the greatest of his time.

What often made Churchill’s speech so powerful and striking against the others was that

He often spoke for the audience as against to them. His speeches highlight the “we” aspect he used against the “you” ; which made people understand that he was not only their representative but also with them in the journey.
He spoke in full confidence and authenticity with the audience, enabling an “action” approach to the things that were going on. Besides providing support and inspiration, he also nudged the people to take steps that would be helpful to the nation.
He used the quality of repetition and modulation, often subtly conveying the main theme points via his speech at various intervals.

A quote from one of his unpublished essays , The Scaffolding of Rhetoric, in 1897, highlights how vital public speaking was to him:

‘Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king.’ International Churchill Society

4. Nelson Mandela:

A Revolutionary, Political Leader and Country’s First Black President, Nelson Mandela spoke to diverse segments of the population, often spreading and making people aware of the issues faced and their need for freedom and equal treatment. His speeches, whether written or verbalized, were often considered motivating and for the sole reason that he believed in what he wanted to convey.

Mandela was a motivated and dedicated leader whose speeches often followed the lines of inspiration but moreover dedication. Over 30+ years, his core message delivery often remained the same as he shared his vision among the locals.
Not only did he include the key factors of modulation and pauses, he also spoke with the audience, conveying the message of “being there” with them in this journey of freedom.
His speeches are thus often considered strikingly outstanding for not only his impactful voice modulation but his confidence and clarity with which he spoke.

His best-known speech, “An ideal I am prepared to die for,” is still considered as one of the most thought-provoking speeches delivered. Here is an excerpt from the very famous speech:

“.. I have been influenced in my thinking by both West and East. All this has led me to feel that in my search for a political formula, I should be absolutely impartial and objective. I should tie myself to no particular system of society other than that of socialism. I must leave myself free to borrow the best from West and from the East. “

5. Adolf Hitler:

Through his knack for public speaking, Adolf Hitler, a dictator and German Politician often tried to influence people through his persuasive speeches and assured them that he understood and cared deeply for the Germans’ plight. He delivered around 5000+ speeches that marveled the audience, and they often felt like following his advice in terms of the uncertainty that prevailed. He is said to have self-written his speeches and edited them, for he was well aware of the impact and influence it would have.

There is so much once can learn from Hitler’s powerful delivery to understand why his speeches were what they were.

Very importantly, Hitler focused on his powerful voice modulation and body language such as gestures because he felt that they conveyed half of the message that he wished to orally speak.
His speeches also often stood out because he seemed to have all the answers available that the audience was seeking at that point. Thus, they often felt like following him as they felt he guided them in this upheaval.
He also effectively used “rhetoric devices” in his speeches comparing German people’s honesty and virtue to bravery and idealness, which motivated the audience and gave them a way of inspiration.

A quote from his biography “Mein Kampf” in 1925 also shows the importance he placed on vocal delivery:

“I know that men are won over less by the written than by the spoken word, that every great movement on this earth owes its growth to great orators and not to great writers.” (businessinsider)

6. Mahatma Gandhi:

Famously referred to as the “Father of the Nation” in India, Gandhi’s speeches played an essential and persuasive role in the freedom from struggle towards independence.

A peaceful yet powerful leader, Gandhi always preached the idea of ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (truth).
His calm and composed speeches as opposed to the loud and attention driven are said to have had a very influential impact on the population, motivating them to rise for the freedom of their country.
Moreover, in his speeches, Gandhi often tried to help people peacefully understand the importance of their freedom and the necessity of becoming self governed which in turned motivated the people to fight for their rights.
He also called for an action approach and wanted people to take tangible steps towards freedom as it was in their hands only.

Some of his famous and noteworthy speeches include:

“ Round Table Conference ” in 1931
“Quit India speech” in 1942

He often preached the ideology:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi.

7. Margaret Thatcher :

The first female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, was one of the dynamic female speakers and delivered more than 5000+ speeches throughout her tenure.

Not a born orator from the start, she is said to have taken lessons that helped her convey vast knowledge to the audience. She also often practiced voice modulation, emphasis, and medium-paced speaking to deliver her message understandably. Not only that, she also ensured that she effectively repeated her statements throughout the speech to let her message stick with the audience.

Among the many speeches she had given, she once used the phrase “ The lady’s not for turning “ at the conservative party in London, later was recognized as one of her very famous speeches titled the under the same name.

Here is a very provoking excerpt from this speech that shows the strength with which she spoke:

“To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say, you turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning” – Speech at Conservative Party conference, 1980. (Evening Standard)

8. Franklin Roosevelt:

Franklin D Roosevelt as a public speaker

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32 nd President of the United States is said to be one of the masterly communicators who, during his tenure, often delivered speeches and addresses that won thousands of people’s hearts.

Unique enough, Roosevelt actively used radio communication to spread regular verbal messages. Additionally, He often communicated his visions and goals to the people. His self confidence during his delivery stood out and inspired people to believe and follow his guidance. Like others, his inclusion of effective voice modulation and body gestures is particularly visible in all his speech videos.

Among the many others that he delivered, The “Pearl Harbour Speech,” also known as the “Day of Infamy,” addressed at the joint session of the Congress, is said to have been one of the most important.

Some of his other well-known speeches include his “ First Inaugural Address ” in 1933, wherein he quoted the famous line, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” (Washington Speakers Bureau)

9. Barack Obama:

One can never forget Barack Obama, the American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from the list of the most excellent speakers. Throughout his tenure, he stood out as one of the most talented, persuasive, and motivating speakers whose speeches connected deeply with the audience.

He shared his visions among his addresses and communicated what he wished for America with the audience. His constant sharing often helped people develop a common vision and work towards it.
He also subtly used some of the most important tactics, such as repetitions and pauses, that helped his speech stand out and stick with the audience.

To date, Obama’s talks are considered one of the most provoking as they often inspired people to take significant steps in the better direction. Some of his hear worthy speeches include:

A More Perfect Union
Election Victory
50th anniversary of Selma marches

10. Oprah Winfrey:

For years, when Oprah Winfrey, the famous American Host took the stage, her speeches have always amazed the audience.

From her TEDx talks to her stage speeches, she has always swayed the audience within a short period. Like other great speakers mentioned above, she has always ensured used the following tricks to stand out:

She always share her visions with the audience, making them aware of the goal in picture.
She also only talk about the relevant, and repeats her central theme throughout.
Additionally, one can find through multiple videos that she has always practiced thankfulness and gratitude; mentioning the people who got her to this platform.

Among her many others, the most prominent and heard speeches include:

Your Truth is the Most Powerful Tool delivered at the 75 th Golden Globe Gala.
The Golden Globe speech acceptance speech at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
Learn From Every Mistake addressed to the graduates of Harvard at the 362nd Commencement.

11. Tony Robbins:

An entrepreneur, author, coach, and motivational speaker, Tony Robbins has been one of the most influential people guiding millions of people around the globe. His talks primarily focus on personal growth and developing gratitude and meaningful lives.

When one watches and hears Tony Robbins, the qualities and ingredients that make him stand out become evident. While he uses his powerful voice to the right use, he often motivates people but providing simple understandings of the benefits and losses, leaving it on the individual to make an informed decision. His talks inspire people to take control of life and make amends to live it purposefully.

“We can change our lives. We can do, have, and be exactly what we wish.” Tony Robbins (Inc.)

While some of his speeches are available on YouTube, his website also has mediums like the podcast and live events that can be attended online. Head onto his website https://www.tonyrobbins.com/ to find some speeches that will hit you right in your heart.

12. Brian Tracy:

A Canadian-based motivational speaker, Brian Tracy’s career in public speaking extends beyond 30 years. He is the CEO of the Brian Tracy International Organization – which provides training and coaching to people in public speaking skills.

Brian is considered as one of the greatest speakers as his speeches often include a lot of guidance and techniques that one can include to improve public speaking and other areas such as a presentation, goal setting, personal growth and time management. In addition to simply explaining the do’s and don’ts to succeed, he always gives tangible and practical ways to work towards it which the audience enjoys and has been finding helpful for years now.

Besides delivering talks and seminars, his own YouTube is also a one-place for his videos on goal setting, presentations, management, and public speaking skills. Moreover, among his other books on a continuum of topics, “Speak to Win” also guides oneself on how to pursue public speaking and master it. You can find more information on activities, courses, and his videos on https://www.briantracy.com/ .

13. Nick Vujicic:

A well-renowned speaker and one of the bestselling authors, Nick Vujicic is an Australian-American born without limbs.

He has been delivering his talks for years centered around hope, inspiring people to understand that it’s important to be contained within and not compare outside to live a meaningful life. Presently, his speeches work as an incredible source of motivation for millions of people who require hope and guidance in times of adversity. Taking inspiration and stories from his personal life, he connects with the audience and shares how one can choose to make a life despite the many challenges life throws. Primarily coming from the motivational aspect, his talks are simple to understand and very inspiring.

His website https://nickvujicic.com/ is a one-all place to know much more about him, his books, talks, and other contributions!

14. Sadhguru:

Sadhguru, an Indian yogi, guru, and founder of the Isha Foundation, has been one of the most heard and followed Indian speakers worldwide.

A spiritual teacher with years of knowledge, Sadhguru’s speeches work as a guiding factor for millions of people across all age groups. Although not confined to one topic, most of his speeches center around spirituality and knowledge of life. He often takes a calm, understanding, and interactive approach, built with examples to help the audience understand his message. With the idea of helping people better understand the reasons behind various forces in life, Sadhguru often includes scientific and spiritual understanding to his talks. His deliveries on various events, from educational settings to cultural and religious events, have been a significant source of learning.

His talks are also available on his YouTube channel and are still viewed worldwide.

“Life is never about being better than someone else. It is about allowing yourself to grow to your fullest potential.” Sadhguru (Pinterest)

15. Brene Brown:

A “researcher-storyteller,” as she quoted herself to be in one of her TEDx talks, Brene Brown is much more but also a speaker.

Many of her talks revolve around her studies to understand shame, vulnerability, and empathy. While she takes a scientific approach, backing up her talks with evidence, she often helps people understand how one experiences vulnerability and how it is the turning point in life. Her speeches, often at the university and events, have been helpful, insightful, and a step closer to understanding humanness. She also has a weekly podcast on Spotify under the names: Unlocking Us and Dare to Le ad

A beautiful line from one of her talks has stuck with me for so long, and I couldn’t help but share the beauty of it.

“Maybe stories are just data with a soul.” Brene Brown (TEDx – The Power of Vulnerability)

Many speakers have changed the outlook of public speaking with their grandiosity and charming and swaying words. History shows that words can influence people, for the good or the bad. Several speakers come and go, but some with their deliveries and emotions hit right in the heart and stay there forever! It’s rightly said – the pen is indeed mightier than the sword!

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Speechwriters Deliberately Use Rhythm To Help Make Their Point

Ari Shapiro

President Obama's biggest speeches have a musicality to them. That's not an accident. His speechwriters obsess over rhythm and cadence.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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The Best Presidential Speeches of All Time

Presidential speeches are often remembered for one great phrase, memorable line, or rhetorical flourish that makes its way into the history books. But they should be seen as more than collections of memorable words - in fact, as documents of their time and place. Great presidential speeches are made in the context of crises, challenges, and times of great peril. But they can also inspire, uplift, and encourage. The truly great speeches manage to do both at once.

What's less well-known about many of the great addresses by presidents that they're short. Maybe the most famous speech in American history, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, is just over two minutes long. Many others, rather than being long rambles of adjectives and superlatives, are fewer than one thousand words, and lasted just 10 minutes. They didn't need thousands and thousands of words to make their point, just a few well-chosen ones given by a dynamic speaker.

Here are the greatest and most inspiring presidential speeches of all time, be sure to upvote those that inspire you the most!

George Eastman House

The Gettysburg Address

President Lincoln delivered his most famous speech just five months after the Battle of Gettysburg, at the dedication of the site's military cemetery. There is no existing final copy, and the five surviving manuscripts of the speech all have slightly different word choices. The speech was just 10 sentences long, and took two and a half minutes to deliver.

White House Photographs
National Park Service
Public Domain

Kennedy's Inaugural Address

President Kennedy's only inaugural address was one of the shortest on record, fewer than 1,400 words and taking only 13 minutes and 42 seconds. But it perfectly encapsulated the social change, economic prosperity, and political upheaval Kennedy was walking into.

Wally Gobetz

Washington's Farewell Address

President Washington actually wrote a version of his farewell to the American people after his first term, but decided to run for a second given the precarious state of the country. It was first published in the American Daily Advertiser newspaper, then in papers and pamphlets around the country. Washington never actually gave the address as a speech.

NASA on The Commons

Kennedy's "We Choose to Go to the Moon" Speech

While President Kennedy had declared the United States's intention to put a man on the Moon in May 1961, the idea didn't truly resonate with the American people until his speech in September of the next year. In front of a massive crowd at Rice University, Kennedy managed to make Americans enthusiastic about spending billions of dollars on a prospect with no guarantee of success.

Brett Gullborg

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

President Lincoln gave his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, as the Civil War was reaching its bloody conclusion. With reconstruction between the North and South looming, Lincoln paused to take stock of what had been lost, and what could be gained. It was just 700 words long, and took around five minutes to deliver.

FDR Presidential Library & Museum

FDR's Infamy Speech

President Roosevelt's speech to a Joint Session of Congress the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor served to emphasize the idea of America as the victim of a cowardly sneak attack, rather than as a player in a complicated geopolitical struggle. Lasting just seven minutes, the speech let it be known that isolationism was no longer an option - and less than an hour later, the US declared war on Japan.

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What Is Cinema?

Kamala Harris Needs to Knock Trump in Her DNC Speech—Without Popping the Joy Balloon

Kamala Harris ’s first few weeks as the Democrats’ 2024 godsend have been fun, but the drumbeat to get serious is growing louder. The New York Times: “Trump’s tax plan could add trillions to the national debt. Harris’s is a mystery.” The New Yorker: “Harris’s campaign Web site, meanwhile, does not even have a policy section, or an articulation of beliefs.” The Washington Post: “If she hopes to prevail, Ms. Harris needs to present her ideas.”

Well, as luck would have it, there’s a perfect opportunity just around the corner to satisfy those demands for specifics at an event in which Harris will have the stage to herself and tens of millions of people will be listening to her every word. She is, of course, the star and the closing speaker of the Democratic National Convention and can use the spotlight to explain all the policy details she’d pursue if she were elected president of the United States…

On Friday, before the convention, Harris will lay out a bit of economic policy substance during a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina. But she is unlikely to use the podium in Chicago next week to roll out proposals for changes to marginal tax rates or suggestions for how to end the carnage in Gaza. She will want to come across as serious, but she doesn’t want to puncture the joy balloon that has been energizing Democratic crowds and lifting her up in the polls.

Harris’s main goals next Thursday night will be to introduce herself to that large cross section of Americans who are not obsessive politicos but are just starting to pay attention to the race for the White House, and to sell herself to anyone unsure of her ability to lead the country. She will cite facts and examples from her record in public office to illustrate accomplishments. But Harris will probably lean most heavily on broad themes and visions while trying to forge a personal connection with voters by talking about her own compelling rise from humble roots: the child who grew up in a working-class Berkeley neighborhood as the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants to become California state attorney general, US senator, and vice president. “Telling her story as part of the larger American story and as an example of what is possible in this country is going to be inspiring,” says Jon Favreau, the former top speechwriter for Barack Obama who went on to cofound Crooked Media and cohost Pod Save America. “It’s also going to help inoculate her from the darker charges by Trump and JD Vance that she is other, that she is not like us.”

Retailing her biography for political purposes has not always come easily to Harris. “Men have no problem talking about how great they are,” says Ashley Etienne, who was a senior aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and to Vice President Harris. “Women want to talk about you. She had to get comfortable talking about herself. It’s very different than Barack Obama. I mean, he ran a whole tour talking about himself for two years before he ran for president.” An Obama speechwriting alumnus, Adam Frankel , is leading the drafting of Harris’s convention speech as the Democratic nominee for president. Frankel had already been crafting a convention speech for Harris as the vice presidential nominee. “He’s very good at uplift,” says Favreau, who hired Frankel to work for Obama’s 2008 campaign. “He was close for a long time with Ted Sorensen, so Adam has a lot of JFK, RFK kind of style.” Another Obama veteran, Megan Rooney , who had been on President Joe Biden ’s White House team, was recently hired as the Harris campaign’s director of speech writing. “Megan is, I think, the best in the business at bringing somebody’s humanity through in a speech,” says Dan Schwerin, who was director of speechwriting for Hillary Clinton ’s 2016 run, with Rooney as his deputy. “And having written for Hillary and for Michelle Obama, she knows as much as anyone about how to write for a strong woman leader.”

One tricky choice for Harris will be how much to go after the eminently mockable Donald Trump. Most attacks on the Republican nominee will likely come from the convention’s opening acts, including vice presidential nominee Tim Walz , creator of the Democrats’ “big weirdo” strategy. Yet Harris can’t entirely skip drawing a sharp contrast. “You don’t ever want to look like you’re afraid of taking on your opponent,” says Cody Keenan, Obama’s director of speech writing from 2013 to 2017. “And with somebody like Trump, who is abnormal, basically an overgrown bully, taking him on directly is the most important thing you can do.”

Another challenge is covering a lot of ground without putting everyone to sleep. It’s no accident that the most memorable Democratic convention speeches tend to be delivered by someone other than the presidential candidate. Ted Kennedy’s “the dream shall never die” in 1980, Mario Cuomo’s “a tale of two cities” in 1984, Jim Hightower ’s “born on third base” in 1988, and Obama’s career-making 2004 stem-winder were all part of the undercard, because the lesser figures can stick to a narrower narrative.

It Ends With Us Drama: An Exhaustive Guide

Harris doesn’t write out her own first draft or outlines for speeches, Etienne says, but instead prefers to brainstorm with her writers and aides and then edit and revise what her staff puts on the page. The basic framework, which Harris has been workshopping in her speeches at enormous rallies around the country, is already fairly clear: a choice between a prosecutor and a felon, between going backward and going forward, between retribution and hope. “I was dreading having to write a speech or read anyone’s drafts trying to advocate for Joe Biden,” a top Democratic speechwriter says. “This will be a lot more fun.” Which doesn’t mean the end result will be lightweight. Schwerin says Harris will probably lead with her values and use policy as proof points. “So, for example, I am virtually certain that she will talk about signing a law to bring back Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” he says. “That’s policy. But you don’t need to add 10 footnotes.” Harris always emphasizes that her speeches need to provide context and foundation, Etienne says. Her speech can’t just be about Trump. “She’s going to wrap it in a bow, asking this question about who we are as a nation and who we want to be.” The messy details, about exactly how Harris proposes to take us there, may need to wait until at least September’s debate.

This story has been updated.

Chris Smith

Contributing editor.

Industry Season 3 Is Dark, Addictive, and Filled With “Beautiful Fuckups”

10 Powerful Literary Devices To Improve Your Writing (And Speaking)

The Speaker Lab
August 13, 2024

Have you ever noticed how certain writers can capture your attention and keep you completely engaged? This magical effect is often due to their skillful use of literary devices. Like secret ingredients in a delicious recipe, these tools can make a piece of writing far more powerful, persuasive, and just plain fun to read. Literary devices are specific techniques writers use to create different effects in their writing. However, they can also be powerful tools for speakers.

Whether you realize it or not, you’ve definitely come across these techniques before. Even everyday speech often involves figurative language. For instance, if you tell someone “time flies,” you’re technically using a metaphor. By studying different types of literary devices, we can deepen our understanding of literature and improve our speaking (and writing).

What Is a Literary Device?

Before diving in, it’s important to first understand what literary devices are. A literary device is anything the writer does to enhance their writing, taking it beyond just a literal recounting of details. They are different from rhetorical devices , which are techniques or language used to convey a point or convince an audience.

Sometimes literary devices refer to the bigger structural elements of a story—like setting or theme—while other times, they get down to the nitty-gritty level of individual sentences or even words. For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on common literary devices found in poems and novels.

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10 Common Literary Devices (with Examples)

To give you a better sense of how these writing tools function “in the wild,” we’ll look at ten of the most common literary devices, along with some examples. As you’ll notice, these techniques often rely on the power of comparison, helping readers see things in a new light.

Let’s start with a really familiar one. When you’re making a comparison using the words “like” or “as,” you’re constructing a simile. These create vivid imagery for the reader. Although we use similes often in everyday speech, they pack a powerful punch in formal writing as well.

For example, take a look at this line from East of Eden by John Steinbeck: “Kate inched over her own thoughts like a measuring worm.” Notice how Steinbeck avoids directly stating how slowly Kate is examining her thoughts. Instead, by comparing her to a measuring worm, he is able to create a much stronger impression.

2. Metaphor

The distinction between simile and metaphor causes a lot of confusion, so let’s clarify. Instead of explicitly stating the comparison, a metaphor says that one thing is another thing, adding a layer of complexity that similes generally avoid. If you’re still struggling to tell the difference, remember that metaphors never use the words “like” or “as.”

You’ll find metaphors at work in tons of famous lines, from Shakespeare’s “all the world’s a stage,” to Sylvia Plath’s iconic “I am a camera, with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.” The metaphor is a popular literary device, but it has to be used with caution. If used too much, both metaphors and similes can reek of clichés and amateur writing.

Are you sensing some common threads here? Many literary devices make use of comparison, but it’s how writers go about that comparison that distinguishes the different tools. This one—analogy—is essentially an argument based on comparison. Writers use analogies when they need to demonstrate how two seemingly unrelated things actually share surprising similarities.

Take this classic example from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet : “That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” This famous quote essentially uses the analogy of a rose to make the case that the name we give something doesn’t actually define what it is. You could swap out “rose” for “cat” or “trashcan,” and Shakespeare’s point would still stand. The format, “A is as B” or “A is to B,” is a common analogy structure.

4. Allegory

Now we’re getting into the truly symbolic literary devices. These techniques can really elevate a story, adding layers of meaning. If the writer is using their complete narrative to symbolize something larger—like a historical event or philosophical concept—then they’re using allegory.

This is probably best explained using a super familiar example, like George Orwell’s dystopian novel Animal Farm . On the surface, it seems like a simple children’s story about talking animals. However, the events of the story actually parallel the lead-up to the Russian Revolution, with animals representing specific historical figures. The pig Napoleon, for instance, represents Joseph Stalin.

5. Allusion

In contrast to an allegory, where the comparison plays out over an entire story, an allusion only requires a quick, indirect reference to another event, figure, or work of art. Because allusions are by definition indirect, the writer assumes you get the reference without explicitly laying everything out.

Poets often use allusion to convey rich meaning in a few words. Take Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” This short poem reads as follows: “Nature’s first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold. / Her early leaf’s a flower; / But only so an hour. / Then leaf subsides to leaf. / So Eden sank to grief, / So dawn goes down to day. / Nothing gold can stay.”

In his poem, Frost makes an allusion to Eden, specifically the Garden of Eden mentioned in the Bible. As described by the author of Genesis, Eden “sank to grief” when Adam and Eve sinned and were barred from ever entering the Garden again. In this way, Frost emphasizes that nothing lasts forever—including paradise.

6. Anachronism

Anachronism is a conflict of time within a single work. For example, you would be using an anachronism by describing a character as “zipping up her dress” if the story is set at a time before the invention of zippers. Oftentimes, the use of anachronism is unintentional . Sometimes, however, an author will purposely use it to make their story more accessible to their audience or for a humorous effect.

Just consider Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar . At one point, the character Cassius remarks that “The clock has stricken three,” even though mechanical clocks weren’t invented until centuries later. Rather than use something that his audience would be less familiar with—like a sundial—Shakespeare opts for an anachronism.

7. Foreshadowing

When done skillfully, foreshadowing deepens the reading experience, giving little hints or clues about what’s to come. It can even prompt readers to reread sections after a shocking plot twist. When poorly handled, it just seems cheesy, even taking away the suspense the writer has tried so carefully to cultivate.

Because foreshadowing generally impacts a longer work of writing, like a novel or screenplay, it can be challenging to provide concise examples here. For a simple example, just consider the title of this Agatha Christie novel: “Murder on the Orient Express.” Thanks to the title, anyone who reads this book already knows what major event occurs. Thankfully, being a murder mystery novel, the real secret is who did it and how, creating a different kind of suspense. Next time you sit down to read, challenge yourself to spot instances where the author hints at future events…you might be surprised how common this really is.

Along with simile, imagery ranks pretty high on the list of super common but essential literary devices. It really boils down to using descriptive writing that speaks to the reader’s five senses. Evoking the world of the senses makes for vivid, memorable writing, drawing readers more deeply into the story you’re telling.

Consider the evocative lines from Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour,” where she writes as follows:

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.”

In these lines, Chopin engages multiple senses such as sight, smell, and hearing. Not only does this passage activate readers’ imaginations, but it also works to describe the setting and the character’s frame of mind. Using imagery of this kind can greatly enrich your writing.

9. Personification

Using personification requires imbuing something non-human with human qualities, whether that’s emotions, desires, or physical characteristics. Writing becomes far more engaging when this literary device is employed. If you describe “the wind whispering secrets through the trees,” your reader is far more likely to actually imagine that scene. Of course, personification doesn’t literally mean an animal can speak or an inanimate object can waltz—that’s a different technique called anthropomorphism.

Personification is a creative way for poets to describe common objects or experiences. Emily Dickinson uses this technique in her poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.” The first few lines of this poem read, “Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me – / The Carriage held but just Ourselves – / And Immortality.” In these lines both death and immortality are personified, allowing Dickinson to creatively imagine life after death.

10. Juxtaposition

Writers often arrange words and phrases in deliberate ways, and when it comes to crafting striking comparisons, few literary devices rival the effectiveness of juxtaposition. Juxtaposition simply means placing two very different (often opposing) elements side-by-side. While contrast is an essential component, the true power of juxtaposition lies in its ability to illuminate a deeper meaning or unexpected connection.

Consider the poem “ A Juxtaposition ” by Kenneth Burke, which juxtaposes a nation and an individual, treble and bass, and loudness and silence. In using this technique, the poem compels readers to see things differently. Other examples of juxtaposition include light and darkness, hope and despair, and beauty and ugliness. This literary device can also appear visually in film.

Other Types of Literary Devices to Elevate Your Writing

There’s no need to use every single literary term in your book, but by knowing what’s available for you to use and how to use it strategically, your writing will become stronger and therefore, more captivating to readers.

You could categorize symbolism as a kind of overarching term. After all, many literary devices could ultimately be described as symbolism. It happens when the writer intends for a specific thing in the story—an object, person, situation, even just a recurring word—to stand in for some bigger idea. To grasp the significance of what symbols add to stories, consider what literary devices, or even storytelling as a concept, would be like without them.

Symbolism makes the core ideas of your writing concrete and also allows you to manipulate your ideas. For instance, by including a dove in your story, you could symbolize peace without saying it outright. In J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (and The Hobbit ), it is said the ring of Sauron symbolizes evil, corruption, and greed, which everyday people, symbolized by Frodo, must strive to resist.

While less common than something like imagery, this tool proves valuable when you need to create a certain mood or foreshadow thematic elements without overtly spelling things out for the reader. Essentially, an epigraph involves incorporating a quote at the beginning of a work (and sometimes even chapters within a longer work) that sets the tone in subtle but effective ways.

An epigraph is almost always written by a different writer (with credit given) and is used as a way to introduce overarching themes or messages in the work. Some pieces of literature, such as Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick , incorporate multiple epigraphs throughout. Just imagine you’ve decided to open your newest chapter with a line from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein . Chances are, that would cast your narrative in a completely different light.

Ekphrasis refers to a piece of writing that describes another piece of art. This literary device, while obscure nowadays, used to be more common. A classic example of ekphrastic literature is John Keats’ poem “ Ode on a Grecian Urn .”

Want to try this challenging form for yourself? If you’re looking to stretch your creative writing skills, check out the monthly ekphrastic challenge that Rattle Poetry runs.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia refers to a word which actually resembles the sound of that thing, with animal noises representing prime examples. Just think of how we say a bee “buzzes”—that buzzing imitates the sound bees make.

Here’s an onomatopoeia example from the poem “Piddle-Paddle” by Jaymie Gerard: ““Piddle-paddle, piddle-paddle, splash, splash, splash / Into the pool with a great big dash!” Here, the words “piddle-paddle” and “splash” are meant to imitate the actual sound of moving through water. This type of word choice helps to create a more vivid and immersive experience for the reader. By using onomatopoeia, Gerard helps the reader to feel as if they are right there in the pool.

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FAQs On Literary Devices

What are some literary devices with examples.

Literary devices are techniques writers use to create specific effects in their writing. Some examples include metaphors (direct comparisons, like “He’s a bull in a china shop”), similes (using “like” or “as,” like “She’s as tough as nails”), and imagery, which engages the senses (“The cool fall wind made her shiver”).

What is a literary device?

Simply put, a literary device is any technique used in writing to enhance it and move it beyond just literal descriptions. These devices range from large-scale structural choices (like using an unreliable narrator) to the arrangement of individual sentences.

What is the difference between literary terms and literary devices?

Sometimes we refer to literary devices as “literary terms,” but essentially, they mean the same thing. They’re terms describing all those tools that elevate writing, such as allusions (references to something outside the story), or personification (giving something nonhuman human characteristics.)

If you want to strengthen your skills as a writer (or a speaker), then it’s important to analyze how literary devices function. Consider the effect the writer is creating, then try your hand at creating similar effects. This may seem a little overwhelming at first, but as you experiment with various approaches, you’ll likely find yourself drawn to some literary devices far more than others.

By studying various examples and experimenting in your writing, you’ll better understand how these tools shape a story’s emotional weight. Just remember that literary devices represent a single element in the writer’s toolkit. When an author combines them with plot, character, and word order, that person can create truly great literature.

Last Updated: August 6, 2024

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32 Most Inspiring Speeches In Film History

There's nothing better to fire you up than an inspiring speech.

A lot of great speeches come from sports movies, but that's not the only genre that can make us want to run through walls. Some speeches are so good it has us rooting for the bad guys. Most are by the good guys though, and we'll follow those good guys anywhere. Here is our list of the most inspiring speeches in film history.

Independence Day - President Witmore

President Thomas J. Whitmore's ( Bill Pullman ) speech in Independence Day has become one of the most iconic film moments of the last 50 years. While the movie can be polarizing, some people can't get enough of it, others hope to never see it again. Still, it's hard to find anyone who truly hates the speech and that moment in the film. If you ever find yourself fighting against annihilation by a bunch of E.T.s, this is the speech for you.

Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October

The Hunt For Red October - Captain Ramius

If you thought you could never get fired up about the Soviet Union picking a fight on the United States during the Cold War, check it out. When Captain Marko Ramius ( Sean Connery ) tells his crew that the salad days of the Cold War are not behind them, and the United States will "tremble again - at the sound of our silence," it makes you want to stand up and fight for communism. At least for a brief moment.

Any Given Sunday (Coach D'Amato)

It's used at almost every professional football game in America, almost every Sunday, because in Any Given Sunday , Coach D'Amato implores his team and the rest of us to claw for every inch we can. It might not be Pacino's most award-winning role, but that scene... that scene is some of his finest and most enduring work.

Gladiator (Maximus)

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius." If those words don't immediately fire you up, it's time to check for a pulse. Audiences spend most of Gladiator waiting for Maximus ( Russell Crowe ) to finally get his revenge on that conniving Commodus ( Joaquin Phoenix ) and finally we get it. Maximus will have his vengeance, in this life or the next.

Billy Bob Thornton in Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights (Coach Gaines)

In Friday Night Lights , Coach Gaines ( Billy Bob Thornton ) tells us how to be perfect. It has nothing to do with the final score, or winning. It's about how we treat each other and ourselves. It's about telling the truth and not letting anyone down. Live in the moment, "with joy in your heart." That's what makes us perfect. The swelling music by Explosions in the Sky only adds to the drama of the moment.

While he doesn't say "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose," (that comes from the TV show), he does mention his clear eyes and his full heart and afterward, none of us lose.

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Henry V (Henry V)

It's not just one of the most inspiring speeches in film history, it's one of the most famous speeches in human history. When William Shakespeare wrote the words to the famous St. Crispin's Day Speech in Henry V , he could not have known that it would be used for centuries afterward to inspire men. For we few, we lucky few, we can watch the speech brilliantly delivered by Kenneth Branagh in one of his finest roles , in his film version from 1989.

John Belushi in National Lampoon's Animal House

Animal House (Bluto)

"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" Of course it wasn't! Bluto (John Belushi) does a lot to inspire the brothers of the Delta house in Animal House but nothing more so than his speech after "Wormer dropped the big one" and suspended the fraternity. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, the men of Delta are inspired to have the best time of their lives, and Wormer? He's a dead man! Marmalard? Dead! Niedermeyer...

Gone With The Wind (Scarlett O'Hara)

Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) is not the most sympathetic movie character of all time. In fact, she ranks close to the bottom in that category, but you can't deny the power of her speech just before the end of the first part of the movie. Her family's plantation, Tara, is in shambles, her mother is dead, and her father has lost his mind. When all hope is lost, she promises herself she will fix it, and she will "never be hungry again."

Barbie (Gloria)

It's truly a show-stopping moment in Barbie when Gloria ( America Ferrera ) lays out what it's like to be a woman in today's world. The entire essence of the movie's message is summed up in that brilliant speech. It makes everyone want to jump up on their feet and applaud. It's a moment that will forever live in cinema history.

Robin Williams as Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting screenshot

Good Will Hunting (Sean Maguire)

It's not just the words that matter. It takes a special actor to deliver a speech like Sean Maguire's in Good Will Hunting . Thankfully there was the great Robin Williams. In a speech that is meant to devastate and inspire Will (Matt Damon), Williams tells him everything he is doing wrong but manages to show him how he can fix it, and open up an entirely new world for himself. It's cutting and loving. And brilliant. "Your move, chief."

Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (Aragorn)

Like so many other battle scenes in movies, Aragorn's (Viggo Mortensen) speech at the Black Gates in Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King has us willing to fight to the death with our fellow soldiers. There is nothing like a leader riding back and forth on horse inspiring his troops.

Braveheart (William Wallace)

Always remember, that no matter how badly you are treated by a tyrannical English king, he can never take your freedom! William Wallace (Mel Gibson) brilliantly reminds us of that in Braveheart . While it's easy to mock the poor history telling in the movie (and we argue if it was really one of the best movies of 1995 ), you can never say that the speech Wallace gives before the biggest battle in the movie won't have you ready to take on the entire British Empire.

Keira Knightly in Pirates of the Caribbean : At World's End

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Elizabeth)

Speeches made by leaders to inspire men in battle aren't unique in movies. What makes the speech unique in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is that the speech is made by a woman. Elizabeth's (Keira Knightly) speech isn't a lot different than a lot of its ilk, but it's more inspiring to hear it from a woman because we've never heard that before. So hoist the colors!

Stripes (John Winger)

John Winger (Bill Murray) is the biggest misfit in a platoon filled with them in Stripes . He's the least likely to inspire the rest with a razzle-dazzle speech firing them up, yet that's exactly what he does before their graduation from boot camp. Bill Murray has some of the best lines in movie history, and this speech is near the top of them.

Miracle (Herb Brooks)

"Great moments are born from great opportunity." That is something we can all stand to remember. In Miracle , Herb Brooks inspires his rag-tag team of college kids to defeat maybe the greatest hockey team ever assembled in the Soviet National Team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. The movie is based on a true story and while it's impossible to know exactly with the real Brooks said, if it was anywhere close to what Russell delivers, it's no surprise we all believe in miracles today.

Rocky IV (Rocky Balboa)

The Cold War inspired a lot of movies, even sports movies like Rocky IV . Early in the Rocky series, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) wasn't a man of many words, but at the end of Rocky IV , he finds some of the most inspiring words of the whole series, imploring all of us to get along, despite our differences.

Swingers (Trent)

What's a good friend if not someone to pep you up when you're feeling low? That's exactly who Trent (Vince Vaughn) is to Mike (Jon Favreau) in Swingers . Not only does he take him to Vegas for a night of fun, on the way home, after the trip doesn't pep Mike up as much as it should, Trent explains exactly why Mike is so money, and he doesn't even know it.

Peter Finch stands in the newsroom, looking mad as hell, in Network.

Network (Howard Beale)

It's scary just how much a movie like Network , released almost 50 years ago is still so relevant. We don't need Howard Beale (Peter Finch) to tell us just how bad things are, we just need to him to inspire us to go to the window, open the window and yell to the world that we're not going to take it anymore!

The Goonies (Mikey)

"The Goonies never say die!" When all seems lost in the Goonies quest to rescue their neighborhood from developers, Mikey (Sean Astin) reminds them all exactly how far they've come in the quest for One-Eyed Willie's gold. We don't get a lot of inspirational speeches from kids, but when we do, we love them.

Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz in Clueless, classroom monologue

Clueless (Cher)

When Cher (Alicia Silverstone) compares her garden party to a refugee crisis, your inclination is to think she's an airhead. But like so many before and after her, there is kind of a subtle brilliance to her thought process. She takes what she knows and uses that to find the emotion we should all feel for her side of the argument.

Sean Penn stands smiling in a doorway in Milk.

Milk (Harvey Milk)

Milk , based on the true story of Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), is inspiring in and of itself, but Milk's speech on the steps of San Fransisco City Hall at the Gay Pride Rally is a masterpiece.

Troy (Achilles)

In another classic example of a military leader inspiring his troops, Achilles' (Brad Pitt) speech reminding his men that they are lions, is enough to get anyone to storm the beaches of Troy. There's a reason the story has been told for thousands of years.

Norma Rae (Norma Rae)

The best thing about Norma Rae's (Sally Field, in one of her best roles ) speech in Norma Rae is that the most important word isn't spoken at all. She simply holds up a sign that says "Union" in the middle of her sweatshop. That's all she needs to "say" to get everyone in the textile mill to agree. It's brilliant.

We Are Marshall (Jack Lengyel)

We Are Marshall tells the tragic and heroic story of the 1971 Marshall University football team. At the end of the 1970 season, a plane carrying most of the team and its coaches crashed in North Carolina. Before the start of the next season, the new coach, Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) makes a speech at a memorial for some of the lost players and what he says about never forgetting the past but looking to the future will bring a tear to anyone's eyes.

Legally Blonde (Elle Woods)

More than 20 years after the first Legally Blonde movie was released Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) continues to inspire us. With an address like the one she makes at the end of the movie, as she's graduating, it's easy to see why. "You must always have faith in people. And most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself."

Avengers: Endgame (Captain America)

In a room full of superheroes, leave it to Captain America to make the hype speech. In Avengers: Endgame , that's exactly when Cap (Chris Evans) psyches the cadre up for their mission to reverse the Snap. "Whatever it takes."

Hoosiers (Norman Dale)

When tiny Hickman High School makes it to the Indiana State Basketball Finals, they are facing a huge school, in a huge arena. Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) takes only a minute or so to lay out what will make them successful, and a minute is all he needs. It's why Hoosiers one of the best sports movies ever made.

Rudy (Rudy)

The speech in Rudy is a little different. Rudy really has no audience, save for one person, but that doesn't stop him from delivering a first-rate speech that any Notre Dame alum gets goosebumps when they hear it, including the parts he lifted from the great Knute Rockne.

Juno (Mac MacGuff)

When Juno MacGuff (Elliot Page) is wondering what her future holds, her father Mac MacGuff (J.K. Simmons) explains simply and succinctly, "The best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Stand And Deliver (Jaime Escalante)

Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) is a no-nonsense math teacher who is determined to get the most from his students. He decides he needs to raise the level of expectations inside and outside of the classroom and he starts by breaking down when he is going to be so hard on his students, to get the most out of them. All they need is ganas – motivation.

Rocky Balboa (Rocky)

Leave it to Rocky to make a speech in 2006's Rocky Balboa meant to inspire his son to inspire all of us together. It's pure Rocky, leave it all out, don't accept things you don't like, and never make excuses, no matter how hard it is. And it seems like this was advice he took to heart when it became a struggle to make the film .

300 (Dilios)

Dilios (David Wenham) fires up the Spartans like no other person could. It's truly one of the great hype speeches in film history. It's exactly what you would expect from a civilization of warriors. Whether it really happened or not is irrelevant. The message is the same, "Remember us."

From sports to war, love to education, and beyond, a great speech raises goosebumps like nothing else in film can. These examples are some of the best speeches we've used to inspire us.

Hugh Scott is the Syndication Editor for CinemaBlend. Before CinemaBlend, he was the managing editor for Suggest.com and Gossipcop.com, covering celebrity news and debunking false gossip. He has been in the publishing industry for almost two decades, covering pop culture – movies and TV shows, especially – with a keen interest and love for Gen X culture, the older influences on it, and what it has since inspired. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Political Science but cured himself of the desire to be a politician almost immediately after graduation.

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Trump keeps losing his train of thought. Cognitive experts have theories about why

By Olivia Goldhill Aug. 7, 2024

A screen shows former president Donald Trump's mouth as he speaks — politics coverage from STAT

I n a speech earlier this year, former President Trump was mocking President Biden’s ability to walk through sand when he suddenly switched to talking about the old Hollywood icon Cary Grant.

“Somebody said he [Biden] looks great in a bathing suit, right? When he was in the sand and he was having a hard time lifting his feet through the sand, because you know, sand is heavy. They figure three solid ounces per foot. But sand is a little heavy. And he’s sitting in a bathing suit. Look, at 81, do you remember Cary Grant? How good was Cary Grant, right? I don’t think Cary Grant — he was good. I don’t know what happened to movie stars today,” he said at a March rally in Georgia. Trump went on to talk about contemporary actors, Michael Jackson, and border policies before returning to the theme of how Biden looks on the beach.

This shifting from topic to topic, with few connections — a pattern of speech called tangentiality — is one of several disjointed and occasionally incoherent verbal habits that seem to have increased in Trump’s speech in recent years, according to interviews with experts in memory, psychology, and linguistics.

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The 10 best free ai tools for writers in 2024.

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Not too long ago, AI burst into our writing universe like a tech tornado, reshaping how we create, scale, and tailor content for different platforms.

Companies everywhere jumped on the AI bandwagon, and guess what? It paid off big time!

Today, 43.8% of businesses that use AI content generation tools reported experiencing a very successful content strategy.

Yes, and it’s not just any content – we’re talking about high-quality, engaging pieces that have supercharged the productivity and creativity of different teams.

In fact, a recent survey by McKinsey revealed that companies leveraging AI saw a 20% increase in content production and a 15% uptick in audience engagement. Impressive, right?

So, if you’re a writer, marketer, or just someone who loves to create , you’re in for a treat. Today, we’re unveiling the 10 best free AI writing tools that can transform your writing game.

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We’ve categorized these tools by their key features, standout functionalities, pricing, availability of free versions, user feedback, and limitations.

Ready to dive in? Let’s get started!

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that offers real-time grammar and punctuation checking, style and tone suggestions, and plagiarism detection. It’s designed to help users improve their writing quality across various platforms, including emails, documents, and social media posts.

With both free and premium versions available, Grammarly is an essential tool for anyone looking to enhance their writing skills and ensure error-free communication.

Key Features:

Grammar and punctuation checking: Grammarly scans your text for grammar and punctuation errors, suggesting corrections to ensure your writing is grammatically sound.

Style and tone suggestions: It provides recommendations to improve the style and tone of your writing, making it more engaging and appropriate for your audience.

Plagiarism detection: Grammarly checks your text against billions of web pages to ensure it is original and free from plagiarism.

Contextual spelling corrections: It identifies context-specific spelling mistakes, such as commonly confused words.

Hero Feature:

Real-time writing feedback: Grammarly offers instant suggestions as you type, helping you correct mistakes and improve your writing on the fly.

Limitations:

Can be overly prescriptive, sometimes suggesting changes that alter the writer’s voice.

Free version is available with basic features.
Premium version: $11.66/month.

Free Version:

Yes, with limited features.

User Verdict:

Users love Grammarly for its user-friendly interface and accurate corrections.

It’s often praised for its detailed explanations and suggestions that help improve writing skills over time. However, some users feel the premium version is necessary for comprehensive feedback.

2. Jasper AI

Jasper AI is a versatile content generation tool that uses artificial intelligence to create high-quality written content for blogs, ads, emails, and more.

It offers customizable tone and style options and integrates with popular platforms for SEO optimization.

Although it lacks a free version, Jasper AI’s powerful capabilities make it a valuable resource for marketers, writers, and businesses looking to generate compelling, long-form content efficiently.

AI-generated content for blogs, ads, and emails: Jasper can create high-quality content based on your inputs, saving you time and effort.

Customizable tone and style: You can adjust the tone and style of the generated content to match your brand or personal voice.

Integration with various platforms: Jasper integrates with popular tools like SurferSEO to help optimize your content for search engines.

Long-form content generation: Jasper excels at generating detailed, long-form content with minimal input from the user.

The quality of generated content may require additional editing.

Free trial available.
Starter plan: $29/month.

Not yet, but offers a free trial.

Jasper AI is highly regarded for its efficiency in generating content quickly. Users appreciate its versatility and the quality of the content it produces. The main drawback is the cost, as it can be pricey for those needing continuous access.

3. ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a comprehensive writing assistant that provides in-depth grammar and style checking, readability reports, and writing style suggestions.

It integrates seamlessly with popular writing platforms like Microsoft Word and Google Docs, offering detailed feedback to help users improve their writing.

With a free version available, ProWritingAid is an excellent choice for writers seeking to enhance their text’s clarity, engagement, and overall quality.

In-depth grammar and style checking: ProWritingAid analyzes your writing for grammatical errors and stylistic improvements.

Readability reports: It provides detailed reports on the readability of your text, helping you make it more accessible to your audience.

Writing style suggestions: It offers suggestions to enhance your writing style, making it more engaging and effective.

Integrations with popular writing platforms: ProWritingAid works with tools like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Scrivener.

Detailed writing reports: ProWritingAid generates comprehensive reports that help you understand and improve your writing style and readability.

The free version offers limited reports.
The interface can be complex for new users.
Free version available.
Premium version: $20/month.

ProWritingAid is favored for its comprehensive writing reports and suggestions. Users appreciate the depth of feedback, though some find the interface slightly overwhelming due to the abundance of features.

4. Hemingway Editor

Hemingway Editor is a user-friendly tool focused on improving readability by highlighting complex sentences, passive voice, and adverbs.

It offers real-time readability scoring and formatting options for web writing, making it ideal for bloggers and content creators.

The free online version provides essential features, while the desktop app is available for a one-time fee, helping writers produce clear, concise, and engaging content.

Readability analysis: Hemingway highlights complex sentences and suggests simpler alternatives to improve readability.

Suggestions for simplifying complex sentences: It helps you shorten and clarify your sentences, making your writing more concise.

Highlights passive voice and adverbs: Hemingway identifies passive voice and excessive adverb usage, recommending changes to make your writing stronger.

Formatting options for web writing: It provides basic formatting tools to prepare your text for publication on the web.

Real-time readability scoring: Hemingway scores your text’s readability, helping you ensure your writing is clear and easy to understand.

Desktop app requires a one-time purchase for offline use.

Free online version.
Desktop app: $19.99 (one-time fee).

Yes, the online version is free.

Hemingway Editor is praised for its simplicity and effectiveness in making writing more concise. It’s a favorite among bloggers and writers looking to enhance readability. However, some users find the lack of advanced grammar checks a limitation.

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Copy.ai leverages artificial intelligence to generate high-quality marketing copy for various purposes, including social media posts, ads, and email campaigns.

It offers a wide range of templates and collaboration features, making it a versatile tool for different writing tasks.

With a free plan available, Copy.ai is especially useful for brainstorming and overcoming writer’s block, helping users create effective and targeted copy quickly.

AI-generated marketing copy: Copy.ai generates high-quality marketing copy for various purposes, including social media posts, ads, and email campaigns.

Blog and social media post generation: It creates engaging blog content and social media updates tailored to your needs.

Various writing templates: Copy.ai offers templates for different types of content, making it versatile for various writing tasks.

Collaboration features: Teams can collaborate on content creation within the platform.

Wide range of templates: Copy.ai provides numerous templates for different content types, making it easy to generate targeted, effective copy.

The free version has usage limits.
Sometimes, it requires significant editing for tone and accuracy.
Free plan available.
Pro plan: $35/month.

Copy.ai is appreciated for its ability to generate marketing copy quickly and efficiently. Users find it especially useful for brainstorming and overcoming writer’s block. However, the free version’s limitations can be a drawback for some.

Elevate Your Podcast Game: Discover the 17 Best Podcast Tools to Create Awesome Podcast Content

6. Writesonic

Writesonic is an AI-powered content generation tool designed to produce high-quality blogs, ads, and product descriptions.

It features SEO optimization and a unique AI article summarizer, along with multi-language support.

The free plan offers limited features, but Writesonic’s versatility and ease of use make it a valuable tool for writers and marketers looking to enhance their content creation process and improve search engine rankings.

AI-powered content generation for blogs, ads, and product descriptions: Writesonic generates various types of content tailored to your specifications.

SEO optimization: It helps you create SEO-friendly content that ranks well in search engines.

AI article summarizer: Writesonic can condense long articles into shorter summaries without losing key information.

Multi-language support: It supports multiple languages, making it useful for non-English content.

AI article summarizer: Writesonic’s summarizer condenses content while retaining key points, making it easier to digest.

Quality can vary depending on the topic complexity.

Premium plans start at $15/month.

Writesonic is well-received for its multi-language support and SEO features. Users appreciate its ease of use and the quality of content produced. However, some feel the free version is too restrictive for regular use.

7. Quillbot

Quillbot is an advanced paraphrasing tool that helps users rephrase text to avoid plagiarism while maintaining the original meaning.

It also offers grammar checking, summarizing capabilities, and a citation generator.

The free version provides basic features, making Quillbot an excellent resource for students, writers, and professionals who need to reword content, enhance clarity, and ensure originality in their work.

Paraphrasing tool: Quillbot rephrases your text to make it unique while maintaining the original meaning.

Grammar checker: It checks for grammatical errors and suggests corrections.

Summarizer: Quillbot condenses long articles and documents into concise summaries.

Citation generator: It helps you create accurate citations for your references.

Advanced paraphrasing tool: Quillbot’s paraphrasing tool rephrases content while preserving its original meaning, making it a valuable tool for avoiding plagiarism.

Paraphrasing can sometimes result in awkward phrasing.

Premium version: $9.95/month.

Quillbot is highly valued for its paraphrasing capabilities. Users find it especially useful for rewording text and avoiding plagiarism.

The main criticism is that the free version has limited functionality, especially for larger texts.

8. ShortlyAI

ShortlyAI is a powerful content generation tool that assists with long-form article creation and creative writing projects.

It features content expansion capabilities and a user-friendly interface, allowing users to turn short prompts into comprehensive articles.

While it lacks a free version, ShortlyAI’s ability to generate detailed and high-quality content quickly makes it an invaluable tool for writers seeking inspiration and efficiency.

AI-generated content for long-form articles: ShortlyAI helps you create detailed, long-form articles with minimal input.

Creative writing assistance: It assists with creative writing projects, providing inspiration and content generation.

Content expansion features: ShortlyAI can expand on your ideas, turning short prompts into comprehensive articles.

Easy-to-use interface: Its simple interface makes it easy to generate content quickly.

Content expansion tool: ShortlyAI’s expansion tool helps you lengthen articles by adding relevant content and details.

No free version, only a trial period.

Monthly plan: $79/month.

No, only a free trial.

ShortlyAI is praised for its ability to expand and generate long-form content. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and creativity in writing assistance.

The main downside is its high cost, making it less accessible for some.

Rytr is an AI writing assistant that generates content for emails, blogs, and ads. It includes a built-in plagiarism checker and SEO-friendly content generation, with support for multiple languages.

The free plan offers limited monthly character counts, but Rytr’s affordability and quality make it a popular choice for writers and marketers looking to produce original and optimized content efficiently.

AI writing assistant for emails, blogs, and ads: Rytr helps you create various types of content quickly and efficiently.

Built-in plagiarism checker: It checks your content for originality, ensuring it is free from plagiarism.

SEO-friendly content generation: Rytr generates content optimized for search engines.

Multiple language support: It supports various languages, making it versatile for different writing needs.

SEO-friendly content generation: Rytr’s ability to generate SEO-optimized content helps improve your content’s visibility on search engines.

Generated content may need significant editing for quality.

Saver plan: $9/month.

Rytr is well-liked for its affordability and quality of content. Users find it useful for generating SEO-friendly content and appreciate the built-in plagiarism checker.

However, some feel the AI-generated content sometimes lacks depth and requires additional editing.

Scribe offers transcription services, note-taking assistance, and speech-to-text capabilities, integrating seamlessly with platforms like Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

It converts audio and video files into written text accurately, making it ideal for creating transcripts and notes.

With a free version available, Scribe is a valuable tool for professionals and students who need efficient and precise transcription and note-taking solutions.

Transcription services: Scribe converts audio and video files into written text, making it easy to create transcripts.

Note-taking assistance: It helps you take notes efficiently during meetings or lectures.

Integration with various writing platforms: Scribe integrates with tools like Microsoft Word and Google Docs for seamless writing.

Speech-to-text capabilities: It converts spoken words into text in real-time, perfect for dictation.

Accurate speech-to-text conversion: Scribe’s speech-to-text feature provides highly accurate transcription and note-taking capabilities.

The free version has limited transcription minutes.

Premium version: $29.99/month.

Scribe is highly appreciated for its accuracy in transcribing and note-taking. Users find it particularly useful for turning spoken content into written text efficiently. However, the cost of the premium version and the limitations of the free version are common criticisms.

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COMMENTS

Famous Speechwriters
These famous writers of speeches, like Ben Stein and Pat Buchanan include images when available. Featuring presidential speech writers, political speech writers, and more, this list has it all. ... California) is an Armenian-American political consultant, speechwriter, and attorney. He is best known for being a longtime aide to President ...
The 5 Best Speechwriters of All Time
One of the most famous speechwriters of recent times, Favreau (same name as, but not the well-known actor or filmmaker) began working for Barack Obama during his time as a senator and became known for writing the speeches largely responsible for Obama's successful presidential election campaign. Favreau met Obama backstage at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (while Favreau was working ...
Toastmasters International -Famous Speechwriters
Peggy Noonan. An author and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan staked her claim to speechwriting fame as a primary writer for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.Her notable speeches include Reagan's "Boys of Pointe du Hoc" address, given on the 40 th anniversary of D-Day—the day Allied troops invaded Normandy in World War II—as well as the former president's ...
3 Famous Speech Writers Throughout History: What They Teach You About
A great speech writer knows how to write an effective speech by implementing the following: Creating a quality speech structure; Knowing when to repeat keywords and phrases; Presenting the core idea in a concise manner; The execution of a speech is left up to the speaker. A great speech writer trusts the speaker to voice their final draft with ...
10 famous speeches in history that continue to stand the test of time
1963 'I Have a Dream' speech. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. 's I Have a Dream speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, is one of the finest pieces of oratory in human history. It blended ...
40 Most Famous Speeches In History
Eventually against all odds, she led England to victory despite their underdog status in the conflict with her confident and masterful oratory. 3. Woodrow Wilson, address to Congress (April 2, 1917) "The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty.
10 of the Most Famous and Inspirational Speeches from History
And when Martin Luther King stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, he was addressing a crowd who, like him, were marching for justice, freedom, and civil rights for African Americans. Let's take a closer look at ten of the best and most famous speeches from great moments in history. Abraham Lincoln, ' Gettysburg Address ' (1863).
Dick Goodwin, the Kennedy-LBJ Speechwriter Who Changed the '60s—and the
Goodwin is best known as a speechwriter, who wrote perhaps the single greatest presidential oration of the post-FDR era: Lyndon Johnson's 1965 speech on the Voting Rights Act (video here), which ...
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The best talk ever given at TED, judging by the length of the standing ovation, was the human-rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson's "We Need to Talk About an Injustice.". In the 10 minutes after ...
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Jon is the brains behind the great speeches President Obama made during his time in 2008. He led the speechwriting team that saw the president make his way to become the first black president of America. He was the primary writer for the speech that President Obama made in 2009 during his inaugural ceremony. Ronald Miller
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Theodore C. Sorensen. Abraham Lincoln, the greatest American president, was also in my view the best of all presidential speechwriters. As a youngster in Lincoln, Nebraska, I stood before the ...
Famous Speeches: A List of the Greatest Speeches of All-Time
Famous Speeches and Great Talks. This list is organized by presenter name and then speech topic. Click the links below to jump to a specific speech. On each page, you'll find a full transcript of the speech as well as some additional background information. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "The Danger of a Single Story"
Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century by Rank
Speech Bank: Top 100 Speeches: Great New Speeches: Obama Speeches: GWB Speeches: Movie Speeches: Rhetorical Figures: Christian Rhetoric: 9/11 Speeches: News and Research: For Scholars: Rhetoric Defined: Corax v. Tisias: Plato on Rhetoric: Aristotle on Rhetoric: Comm Journals: Comm Associations: Cool Exercises: Rodman & de Ref: Speech Quiz #1 ...
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1 Franklin D Roosevelt's inaugural address, 4 March 1933 by Various authors. 2 John F Kennedy's inaugural address, 20 January 1961 by Various authors. 3 Laurence Olivier's Oscar Acceptance Speech (1979) by YouTube video. 4 Dr Martin Luther King, Jr's 'I Have a Dream' speech, 28 August 1963 by Martin Luther King Jr.
Jon Favreau (speechwriter)
Jonathan Edward Favreau [1] (/ ˈ f æ v r oʊ /; born June 2, 1981) [2] is an American political commentator, podcaster, and the former director of speechwriting for President Barack Obama. [3] [4] [5]After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross as valedictorian, [6] Favreau worked for the John Kerry presidential campaign in 2004, working to collect talk radio news for the campaign and ...
100 of the Greatest Speeches of the 20th Century
Stacker covers some of the greatest 20th century speeches from American presidents and political figures, international leaders, civil rights activists, celebrities, artists and ordinary citizens. ... Journalist, filmmaker, and writer Nora Ephron returned to her alma mater, Wellesley College, to discuss all the ways the world had changed for ...
Abraham Lincoln's Most Enduring Speeches and Quotes
One day in court, another lawyer quoted a legal maxim in Latin, then asked Lincoln to affirm it. His response: "If that's Latin, you had better call another witness.". So captivating and ...
35 Greatest Speeches in History
These famous speeches lifted hearts in dark times, gave hope in despair, refined the characters of men, inspired brave feats, gave courage to the weary, honored the dead, and changed the course of history.. How did we compile this list? Great oratory has three components: style, substance, and impact. Style: A great speech must be masterfully constructed.
7 Nobel Speeches by 7 Great Writers: Hemingway, Faulkner, and More
Jumping ahead from 1962 all the way to 2001, we have video of the speech given by the Trinidadian-British writer V.S. Naipaul, author of such books as In a Free State and A Bend in the River.Naipaul was cited by the Nobel committee "for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence ...
7 of the greatest public speakers in history
James Baldwin. Until his death in 1987, James Baldwin pushed the conversation about race in America forward with his carefully intense social criticism. He traveled extensively throughout his life ...
15 Greatest Public Speakers of All Time
14. Sadhguru: Sadhguru, an Indian yogi, guru, and founder of the Isha Foundation, has been one of the most heard and followed Indian speakers worldwide. A spiritual teacher with years of knowledge, Sadhguru's speeches work as a guiding factor for millions of people across all age groups.
Speechwriters Deliberately Use Rhythm To Help Make Their Point
NPR's Ari Shapiro has heard a lot of speeches having covered the White House for four years. He has this story on the role that rhythm plays in President Obama's political speeches. ARI SHAPIRO ...
The 20 Best Presidential Speeches Of All Time
Famous quote: "With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes." 554 votes.
Kamala Harris Needs to Knock Trump in Her DNC Speech—Without Popping
Rooney, who had been on President Joe Biden's White House team, was hired as the Harris campaign's director of speech writing. "Megan is, I think, the best in the business at bringing ...
10 Powerful Literary Devices To Improve Your Writing (And Speaking)
These techniques can really elevate a story, adding layers of meaning. If the writer is using their complete narrative to symbolize something larger—like a historical event or philosophical concept—then they're using allegory. This is probably best explained using a super familiar example, like George Orwell's dystopian novel Animal ...
Kamala Harris shuts down rally hecklers in Michigan: "I'm speaking"
Vice President Kamala Harris shut down hecklers attempting to interrupt her speech during a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday night.. The Democratic presidential nominee was ...
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The best thing about Norma Rae's (Sally Field, in one of her best roles) speech in Norma Rae is that the most important word isn't spoken at all. She simply holds up a sign that says "Union" in ...
Experts: Trump speech patterns hint of potential cognitive decline
In a speech earlier this year, former President Trump was mocking President Biden's ability to walk through sand when he suddenly switched to talking about the old Hollywood icon Cary Grant ...
The 10 Best Free AI Tools for Writers in 2024
Today, we're unveiling the 10 best free AI writing tools that can transform your writing game. If you're a writer looking to set up a US LLC from anywhere in the world, ... Scribe offers transcription services, note-taking assistance, and speech-to-text capabilities, integrating seamlessly with platforms like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. ...
Celebrating 78th Independence Day: 10 slogans that inspired India's
India Independence Day 2024: On August 15, 2024, India will commemorate its 78th Independence Day, a momentous occasion that marks the end and freedom from about 200 years of British colonial rule. This year, in 2024, it will be falling on a Thursday, August 15, under the theme, 'Viksit Bharat,' reflecting the current government's vision of transforming India into a developed nation by ...