-Front page headlines in newspapers nationwide – Lead story on network TV news
Gettysburg Address
-15,000-20,000 in person
-Printed in newspapers nationwide -Mixed reviews, with some criticizing speech as inadequate
"We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech
-Parliament in person – Radio broadcast to millions
-Printed in newspapers nationwide -Excerpts published internationally -Elevated Churchill‘s stature
Foner, E. (2014). Give Me Liberty!: An American History. W. W. Norton & Company.
Garrow, D. J. (1986). Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. William Morrow & Co.
Hansen, D. D. (2003). The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech that Inspired a Nation. Ecco.
Keegan, J. (1989). The Second World War. Viking.
Manchester, W. & Reid, P. (2012). The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. Little, Brown and Company.
In summary, each of these speeches stands as a turning point in history – through the power of their language, the passion of their delivery, and the lasting significance of their message. From ancient times to the modern era, they exemplify the vital role of oratory in shaping human events. While only a sample of history‘s most important addresses, these speeches had an outsized impact in defining their times and continue to resonate long after their echoes faded away. As a historian, I believe studying the context and impact of these pivotal moments of eloquence and persuasion provides invaluable insight into the tides of history and the human condition.
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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.
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.
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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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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137 leading scholars of American public address were asked to recommend speeches on the basis of social and political impact, and rhetorical artistry. See this news release about the top 100 speeches list for more information.
See also the Oxford University Press anthology by Lucas and Medhurst: Words of a Century: The Top 100 American Speeches, 1900-1999 .
Text, Audio, Video of Address
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. I'm delighted to be here with you this evening, because after listening to George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like."
HeinOnline Blog
The 15 most inspiring presidential speeches in american history.
By Tara Kibler
February 15, 2021
History , Political Science
Over the centuries, millions upon millions of words have been used by U.S. presidents to motivate, caution, reassure, and guide the American people. Whether written in the news, spoken at a podium, or shared on Twitter, all of these words have carried weight, each with the potential to impact the trajectory of our nation. Only a handful of times, however, has the particular arrangement and context of these words been considered truly inspiring.
This Presidents’ Day, join HeinOnline in rediscovering some of the greatest presidential speeches in American history using our U.S. Presidential Library and other sources.
1. Washington’s Farewell Address
Date: September 17th, 1796
Context: Toward the end of his second term as the first U.S. president, George Washington announced his retirement from office in a letter addressed to the American people. Though many feared for a United States without Washington, the address reassured the young nation that it no longer required his leadership. Washington also used the opportunity to offer advice for the prosperity of the country. After witnessing the growing division between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, much of his advice was to warn against political parties, factions, and other animosities (domestic and foreign) that would eventually undermine the integrity and efficacy of the American government.
Notable Quote: “This spirit [of party], unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind … [but] the disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.
“Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions … A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.”
2. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Date: November 19, 1863
Context: Four months after Union armies defeated Confederates at Gettysburg during the American Civil War, President Lincoln visited the site to dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. In what were intended to be brief, appropriate remarks for the situation, Lincoln used the moment to offer his take on the war and its meaning. The ten sentences he spoke would ultimately become one of the most famous speeches in American history, an inspiration for notable remarks centuries later, and even a foundation for the wording of other countries’ constitutions.
Notable Quote: “… from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they heregave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain; that the Nation shall under God have a new birth of freedom, and that Governments of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Inaugural Address
Date: March 4, 1933
Context: The inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt was held as the country was in the throes of the Great Depression, and as such, America anxiously awaited what he had to say. Roosevelt did not disappoint, offering 20 minutes of reassurance, hope, and promises for urgent action.
Notable Quote: “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.”
4. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Fireside Chat
Date: March 12, 1933
Context: Just a few days after his inauguration, Roosevelt instituted what he called “fireside chats,” using the relatively new technology of radio to enter the living rooms of Americans and discuss current issues. In these moments, he could speak at length, unfiltered and uninterrupted by the press, while also offering a reassuring, optimistic tone that might otherwise have been lost in the written word. In this first fireside chat, he crafted a message to explain the American banking process (and its current difficulties) in a way that the average listener could understand.
Notable Quote: “Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith. You must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system, and it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem, my friends. Your problem no less than it is mine. Together, we cannot fail.”
5. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” Speech
Date: January 6, 1941
Context: By 1941, many affected by the Great Depression had experienced economic recovery, but another world-changing phenomenon had reared its head—Hitler and his Nazi regime. World War II was raging in Europe and the Pacific, but the United States had thus far remained largely neutral. In light of the atrocities occurring overseas, Roosevelt sought to change that. He crafted his State of the Union address that January to highlight four freedoms which are deserved by all humans everywhere. The “Four Freedoms” speech, as it was ultimately known, later became the basis for America’s intervention in World War II and significantly influenced American values, life, and politics moving forward.
Notable Quote: “In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peace of time life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction, armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world.”
6. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” Speech
Date: December 8, 1953
Context: During World War II, Roosevelt formally authorized the Manhattan Project, a top-secret U.S. effort to weaponize nuclear energy. By 1945, America had successfully created the atomic bomb , and President Truman had authorized its detonation in Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leveling the two cities and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Following the end of World War II, political and economic differences between the United States and Soviet Union drove the two countries to another war soon after, but this time, the Soviet Union had their own atomic bomb as well. The world was teetering on a frightening ledge built by access to nuclear power, causing President Eisenhower to launch an “emotion management” campaign with this speech to the United Nations about the very real risks but also peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Notable Quote: “… 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. … The United States knows that if the fearful trend of atomic military build-up can be reversed, this greatest of destructive forces can be developed into a great boon, for the benefit of all mankind.”
7. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address
Date: January 17, 1961
Context: As he came to the end of his term, President Eisenhower found himself in a nation much stronger, much richer, and much more advanced than when he began. Prepared as early as two years in advance, his farewell address acknowledged the pride all should have in these achievements, but also served to ground the American people in sobering reality—that how the United States uses this power and standing will ultimately determine its fate. Like Washington, his address was one of caution against dangers such as massive spending, an overpowered military industry, and Federal domination of scientific progress (or vice versa, the scientific-technological domination of public policy). In all things, he stressed the need to maintain balance as the country moves forward, for the preservation of liberty.
Notable Quote: “Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.”
8. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
Date: January 20, 1961
Context: A few days after Eisenhower’s farewell speech, he turned over his office to the youngest-ever elected president, John F. Kennedy. Kennedy now found himself faced with the monumental task of strengthening the United States while also quelling American anxieties about the Cold War and avoiding nuclear warfare. His speech thus focused on unity, togetherness, and collaboration both domestically and abroad.
Notable Quote: “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.”
9. Kennedy’s “We Choose to Go to the Moon” Speech
Date: September 12, 1962
Context: In the name of national security, the United States and USSR set their sights on spaceflight as a top priority during the Cold War. To the surprise (and fear) of people around the globe, the Soviet Union launched the first-ever artificial satellite in 1957, then sent the first human being into space in 1961, signaling to onlookers that its nation was a technological force to be reckoned with. Kennedy was determined to come up with a challenge in space technology that the United States actually stood a chance to win. In the early ’60s, he proposed that America focus on putting a man on the moon. In an uplifting speech at Rice University, Kennedy reminded his listeners of the country’s technological progress so far and of his administration’s determination to continue the pioneering spirit of early America into the new frontier of space.
Notable Quote: “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.”
Read about America’s successful moon landing in this blog post.
10. Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” Speech
Date: May 22, 1964
Context: Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President in 1963, immediately following Kennedy’s assassination . Johnson vowed to continue the former president’s work on poverty, civil rights, and other issues. Inspired in part by FDR’s New Deal, he devised a set of programs intended to completely eliminate poverty and racial injustice. In 1964, he formally proposed some specific goals in a speech to the University of Michigan, where he coined the lofty ideal of a “Great Society.”
Notable Quote: “Your imagination, your initiative, and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.”
11. Lyndon B. Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome” Speech
Date: March 15, 1965
Context: By the 1960s, blacks in areas of the Deep South found themselves disenfranchised by state voting laws, such as those requiring a poll tax, literacy tests, or knowledge of the U.S. constitution. Furthermore, these laws were sometimes applied subjectively, leading to the prevention of even educated blacks from voting or registering to vote. Inspired (and sometimes joined) by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., protests were planned throughout the region. Eight days after racial violence erupted around one of these protests in Selma, Alabama, President Johnson addressed Congress to declare that “every American citizen must have an equal right to vote” and that discriminatory policies were denying African-Americans that right.
Notable Quote: “What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and State of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be our cause too. Because 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 …
“This great, rich, restless country can offer opportunity and education and hope to all, all black and white, all North and South, sharecropper and city dweller. These are the enemies: poverty, ignorance, disease. They’re our enemies, not our fellow man, not our neighbor. And these enemies too—poverty, disease, and ignorance: we shall overcome.”
12. Reagan’s D-Day Anniversary Address
Date: June 6, 1984
Context: During World War II, the Allied forces attacked German troops on the coast of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. A turning point for the war, the day came to be known as D-Day, and its anniversary is forever acknowledged. On its 40th anniversary, President Ronald Reagan honored the heroes of that day in a speech that also invoked a comparison of World War II’s Axis dictators to the Soviet Union during the ongoing Cold War. This reminder to the Allies that they once fought together against totalitarianism and must continue the fight now helped contribute to the ultimate dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Notable Quote: “We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action. We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it. We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.”
13. Reagan’s Berlin Wall Speech
Date: June 12, 1987
Context: With the fall of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II, Western powers and the Soviet Union sought to establish systems of government in their respective occupied regions. West Germany developed into a Western capitalist country, with a democratic parliamentary government, while East Germany became a socialist workers’ state (though it was often referred to as communist in the English-speaking world). Many experiencing hunger, poverty, and repression in the Soviet-influenced East Germany attempted to move west, with the City of Berlin their main point of crossing. Ultimately, the Soviet Union advised East Germany to build a wall on the inner German border, restricting movement and emigration by threat of execution for attempted emigrants. Seen as a symbol of Communist tyranny by Western nations, the Berlin Wall persisted for nearly three decades. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan visited West Berlin and called upon Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to take down the wall as a symbol of moving forward.
Notable Quote: “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!”
14. George W. Bush’s Post-9/11 Speech
Date: September 11, 2001
Context: On September 11, 2001, the United States experienced the single worst terrorist attack in human history , where four American planes were hijacked and flown into American buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people. Viewers around the world watched the news as five stories of the Pentagon fell and the World Trade Center buildings collapsed entirely. Later that evening, President George W. Bush addressed the nation with a brief but powerful message that chose to focus not on fear, but on America’s strength in unity.
Notable Quote:
“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”
15. Obama’s “More Perfect Union” Speech
Date: March 18, 2008
Context: While campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama came under fire for his relationship with pastor Jeremiah Wright, who had been heard to denounce the United States and accuse the government of racial crimes. To officially address the relationship and condemn Wright’s inflammatory remarks, Obama crafted a speech that discussed the history of racial inequality in America as well as the dissonance between that history and America’s ideals of human liberty. Importantly, however, he also highlighted the necessity for a unified American people to effectively combat those issues, rather than more racial division.
Notable Quote: “[T]he remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country—a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America ….
“[These] comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems—two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all ….
“The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through—a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.”
Read about Barack Obama’s presidency in this blog post.
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The first amendment, looking at 10 great speeches in american history.
August 28, 2017 | by NCC Staff
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech certainly ranks highly in the pantheon of public speaking. Here is a look at the Dream speech and other addresses that moved people – and history.
King’s “Dream” speech from August 28, 1963 topped the list, followed by John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address and Franklin Roosevelt’s first inaugural address in 1933. In fact, three of King’s speeches were included in the top 50 speeches listed by the experts.
The eclectic list included public speeches from Barbara Jordan, Richard Nixon, Malcom X and Ronald Reagan in the top 10 of the rankings.
Link : Read The List
Public speaking has played an important role in our country’s story. Here is a quick look at some of the landmark speeches that often pop up in the discussion about public rhetoric.
1. Patrick Henry. “ Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death .” In March 1775, Henry spoke to a Virginia convention considering a breakaway from British rule. “The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms,” said Henry, who spoke without notes. “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
2. George Washington’s first inaugural address . In 1789, the First President addressed the First Congress after his inauguration, setting the precedent for all inaugural speeches to follow. Washington enforced the need for the Constitution, concluding that “Parent of the Human Race … has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness.”
3. Frederick Douglass. “ The Hypocrisy Of American Slavery .” In 1852, Douglass was invited to speak at a public Fourth of July celebration in Rochester, N.Y. Instead of talking about the celebration, Douglass addressed the issue that was dividing the nation. “I will, in the name of humanity, which is outraged, in the name of liberty, which is fettered, in the name of the Constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery,” he said.
4. Abraham Lincoln. “ The Gettysburg Address .” The best known of Lincoln’s speeches was one of his shortest. Lincoln was asked to make a few remarks in November 1863 after featured speaker Edward Everett spoke for about two hours. “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” Lincoln said in his opening paragraph. He spoke for two minutes.
5. William Jennings Bryan. “ Cross of Gold Speech .” A lesser-known contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1896, Bryan created a sensation with his speech that condemned the gold standard and held the promise of debt relief for farmers. “We shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold,” Bryan said with his arms spread in a crucifix-like position.
6. FDR’s first inaugural address . In 1933, the new President faced a nation in the grips of a deep economic recession. “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,” Roosevelt said as he opened his powerful speech. The inaugural set the agenda for FDR’s 12 years in office.
7. Richard Nixon’s Checkers speech . Facing controversy as a vice presidential candidate, Nixon showed how television could be used as a powerful communications tool. In a stroke of political genius, Nixon spoke to the nation about his family finances, and then said the only gift he wouldn’t return was Checkers, the family dog.
8. JFK’s first inaugural address . The well-written 1961 speech is considered one of the best inaugural speeches ever. Rhetoric expert Dr. Max Atkinson told the BBC in 2011 what made the Kennedy speech special. “Tt was the first inaugural address by a U.S. president to follow the first rule of speech-preparation: analyze your audience - or, to be more precise at a time when mass access to television was in its infancy, analyze your audiences.”
9. Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech . King’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963, in front of 250,000 people, is also one of the most-analyzed speeches in modern history. But King hadn’t included the sequence about the “Dream” in his prepared remarks. Singer Mahalia Jackson yelled for King to speak about “the Dream,” and King improvised based on remarks he had made in earlier speeches.
10. Ronald Reagan in Berlin . President Reagan appeared at the 750 th birthday celebration for Berlin in 1987, speaking about 100 yards away from the Berlin Wall. Reagan first cited President Kennedy’s famous 1963 speech in Berlin, and then asked, “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!” A Reagan speech writer later said the State Department didn’t want Reagan to use the famous line, but Reagan decided to do it anyway.
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10 Famous Speeches That Shaped History
These powerful speeches continue to linger in the public imagination.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The best speeches have left a mark on society for generations. They reshaped our world, held us accountable, and inspired us to rise against all odds and achieve great things. These speeches transcend time and place, offering wisdom that stirs souls long after the original speakers have been silenced.
A speech can be charismatic and still lack true meaning, but truly great oratories appeal to the audience's hearts, minds, and values. These speeches rise above the rest both because of the passion with which they were delivered, and the very words themselves. Here, we’ve rounded up eight powerful speeches that captured important historical moments and have proven unforgettable.
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“ain’t i a woman”, sojourner truth, 1851.
Born into slavery in 1797, Sojourner Truth became a well-known abolitionist and women’s rights activist. She delivered this powerful speech at the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention held in Akron, Ohio. In it, she laid bare the double standards facing Black women, who were often pushed to the side when it came to conversations about racism and sexism. Her speech received greater publicity during the Civil War, when several different versions were circulated by feminists and abolitionists.
Related: Deepen Your Knowledge of the Past With 8 of the Most Influential Books in History
“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?”
“When They Go Low, We Go High”
Michelle obama, 2016.
Michelle Obama uttered her now-famous catchphrase at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, when speaking in support of Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency. She was referring to the importance of setting a good example for your children and the next generation by staying true to your values and not stooping to the level of those who would demean you. It's a message that's more important than ever in the age of Internet mud-slinging.
“Our motto is: when they go low, we go high. With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models. Let me tell you, Barack and I take that same approach to our jobs as President and First Lady because we know that our words and actions matter, not just to our girls but the children across this country.”
"I Have a Dream"
Dr. martin luther king jr., 1963.
One of the greatest speeches in American history is Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, which was delivered on August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In it, he advocated for an end to racism in prose that continues to strike people’s hearts to this day.
Related: 16 Books About MLK That Reveal the Man Behind the Civil Rights Icon
King—a staunch social activist and Baptist minister—was arguably the most prominent leader of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s. King's speech brought into focus the injustice of racial inequality and police brutality in America. He delivered this speech to over 250,000 civil rights supporters. By the mid-1960s, both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were enacted in part due to King's words and actions.
"I have a dream that my four 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."
The Farewell Address
George washington, 1796.
During George Washington’s time as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and later as the first president of the United States, he wielded a lot of power. He could have managed to overtake control of the nation, much like the king from whom the fledgling nation was determined to break free, and the world was watching to see what would happen.
Related: General George Washington: Before the Presidency
Instead, his modest resignation from his post as the commander-in-chief of the American military in 1783 strengthened the foundation of the republic, and his refusal to accept a third term as president of the nation established a precedent that was later enshrined into law. In the now-famous farewell address that he penned when he stepped down from the presidency, Washington discussed the importance of unity and checks and balances, and warned against the dangers of political factions and despotism.
"However [political factions] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government..."
"Tear down this wall!"
Ronald reagan, 1987.
The Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany into two different nations; one ruled by democracy and one by communism. Echoing many leaders in the international community, President Ronald Reagan demanded that General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev aid in reunifying Germany.
Related: The Best Presidential Biographies For History Buffs
Reagan delivered his speech when the Cold War was at its peak, and his advisors feared his address would anger the Soviet leader. But the President gave his speech nonetheless. Reagan’s words received little attention at the time, but when the Cold War ended a few years later it became one of the most well-known speeches by an American president.
“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!”
"I Am Prepared to Die"
Nelson mandela, 1964.
Nelson Mandela is one of the most controversial and loved figures in history. His speech " I Am Prepared to Die" defined South African democracy. Mandela delivered his three-hour-long address from the defendant dock to testify while addressing the charges that faced him as a result of his fight against South Africa's apartheid. Although his words did not save him from being convicted, his powerful speech struck the minds of the people listening, and it stimulated unrest in the South African people.
Related: Recharge with 10 Books About Inspirational People
Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, but his speech and courage were vital in demolishing the apartheid system in his country. He was later released in 1990, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and became the country's first black head of state and the first leader to be elected in a fully representative democratic election.
"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Address to The United Nations On the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Eleanor roosevelt, 1948.
As the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt was America's First Lady for 12 years. She was described as a dedicated humanitarian and activist throughout her life. After the death of her husband, she was appointed the first U.S delegate to the United Nations by President Harry S. Truman. Eleanor Roosevelt achieved her life's most remarkable work when she drafted and presented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Related: The Fascinating Platforms of 10 First Ladies
The cruelties of World War II inspired the declaration, whose purpose was to ensure that such tragic human rights abuses would not happen again. The most translated document globally, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights lays out the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Roosevelt was instrumental in the adoption of the document, and she explained its significance in a passionate 1948 address to the United Nations.
“At a time when there are so many issues on which we find it difficult to reach a common basis of agreement, it is a significant fact that 58 states have found such a large measure of agreement in the complex field of human rights. This must be taken as testimony of our common aspiration...to lift men everywhere to a higher standard of life and to a greater enjoyment of freedom. Man’s desire for peace lies behind this Declaration.”
Inaugural Address
John f. kennedy, 1961.
On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States. His pithy inaugural address on that day was well-written and meaningful, and it has become one of the most famous speeches by an American leader. JFK's speech was a call to service for the "new generation Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage." He issued a direct appeal to American citizens to stand up for their nation at the height of the Cold War and a time of great social change.
"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."
"We Shall Fight On The Beaches"
Winston churchill, 1940.
"We shall fight on the beaches" is the popular title given to the speech delivered by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the UK’s Parliament on June 4, 1940. He gave this speech around the time when Nazi Germany was invading many countries in Europe. In it, Churchill declared that British troops “shall go on to the end” in the face of Nazi aggression.
Related: Inspiring Winston Churchill Quotes That Will Help You Maintain a Stiff Upper Lip
With the threat of a Nazi invasion forthcoming, Churchill promised his nation would fight, alone if need be, and remain resilient. His words were designed to prompt a sense of security in the British people and inspire British troops, without which history would have been different. This strong speech was not just crucial for Churchill but also for the international stage, with America yet to enter the war.
“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...”
Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
Barack obama, 2004.
Rising political star Barack Obama was just a candidate for the United States Senate when he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention on July 27, 2004. However, his speech left a mark in the history of America. At the time, Obama was an upcoming politician gaining popularity in the state of Illinois. His speech that day paved the way for him to become the first Black President of the United States. But why did his address have so much significance?
First of all, it was the quality of the writing, which Obama himself handled. Secondly, it was the message of the keynote address; he reminded Americans of what they had in common rather than their differences.
"Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us...Well, I say to them tonight, 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."
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Influential Speeches
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10 uplifting speeches from history that will inspire you in times of crisis
Throughout history, leaders have made speeches that inspired millions and changed the course of history. Those speeches still inspire us today.
Famous speeches like Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address still resonate today.
Lesser-known speeches like Hillary Clinton's "Human Rights Are Women's Rights" and Nora Ephron's commencement address are considered inspirational.
Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .
While history is no stranger to crises, there are always leaders who come forward to help usher in more hopeful times by crafting and delivering impactful speeches.
Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, and Maya Angelou have all delivered speeches that inspired millions — and some even changed the course of history.
Take a look back at some of the most famous speeches from history that still move us today.
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in 1863 reminds people to honor those we have lost.
President Abraham Lincoln gave a relatively short speech at the deadliest battle site during the Civil War on November 19, 1863. Although it wasn't meant to be monumental, some call it the best speech in history. In it, Lincoln tells his people that they must remember each and every person who fought and died on the battlefield, especially because every human is created equal.
"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here," Lincoln says in the address. "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."
In 1938, Lou Gehrig gave his "Luckiest Man" that celebrated the beauty of life.
On July 4, 1938, Lou Gehrig delivered a speech at Yankee Stadium after it was revealed that the baseball player had ALS. Although he was delivering devastating news to his fans in the speech, he instead focused on everything life has to offer.
"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," he said in the speech. "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."
Winston Churchill delivered the "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech in 1940, showing the strength of the human spirit.
On June 4, 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed Parliament during a particularly difficult time in World War II. Smithsonian Magazine called it "one of the most rousing and iconic addresses" of the era. In the speech, the prime minister told his people that they would fight together and use all their strength to defeat their enemies.
"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," Churchill says in the famous speech .
In 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave his "Quit India" speech, which encouraged peaceful protests.
The day before the Quit India movement started, Mahatma Gandhi delivered an inspiring speech, on August 8, 1942 . In the speech, he told his people to resist the British government but to do so in a peaceful, organized manner. He focused on the benefits of a nonviolent uprising, which became the cornerstone of his beliefs.
The most famous line from the speech is: "I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours."
John F. Kennedy delivered "The Decision to Go to The Moon" speech in 1961, proving humans know no bounds.
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced to Congress and the world that the US was committed to sending an American to the moon. In the inspiring speech , the president explains the ambitious goal as one of necessity.
"Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, 'Because it is there,'" Kennedy said in his speech. "Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked."
Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream Speech" in 1963 reminds people there is always something better on the horizon.
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., delivered what is arguably the most famous and most inspiring speech in American history. Before the historic March on Washington, King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and addressed the 250,000 attendees, calling for the end of discrimination and racism by dreaming about a brighter future.
"I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice," he said in the speech. "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. I have a dream today."
In 1993, Maya Angelou read her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning" at Bill Clinton's inauguration in an attempt to bring the global community together.
On the morning of President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993, poet Maya Angelou delivered a moving speech when she read out her poem "On the Pulse of the Morning." It was the first time a poem had been recited at the ceremony since 1961 . In it, Angelou touched upon topics of equality and inclusion, and she attempted to inspire the world to unite under these principles.
Part of the poem reads:
"The river sings and sings on. There is a true yearning to respond to The singing river and the wise rock. So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew, The African and Native American, the Sioux, The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek, The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh, The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher, The privileged, the homeless, the teacher. They hear. They all hear The speaking of the tree."
Hillary Clinton delivered the "Human Rights Are Women's Rights" speech in 1995, saying those who are suppressed also have a voice.
As the first lady, Hillary Clinton attended the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. She was pressured to water down her message, but instead, she delivered a moving speech that still resonates today. In it, she said women who are held back by sexist governments should be set free and heard.
"If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights once and for all," Clinton said in the speech. "Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely — and the right to be heard."
Nora Ephron encouraged people to break the rules in her commencement address to Wellesley College in 1996.
While Nora Ephron is known for penning some of the most famous films in the '80s and '90s, she also made a legendary speech at the 1996 Wellesley College graduation ceremony . In it, she inspired women to break free of the mold placed on them.
"Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there," Ephron said in the speech. "And I also hope you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women."
She also said, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."
In 1977, Harvey Milk gave his "Give Them Hope" speech, urging people to celebrate their differences and to hold on to messages of hope.
When he was running for local office in California, Harvey Milk delivered his "Give Them Hope" remarks as a stump speech . It was meant to rally supporters behind him, but it quickly became a speech of hope and celebration for the LGBT community.
"And the young gay people in Altoona, Pennsylvanias, and the Richmond, Minnesotas, who are coming out and hear Anita Bryant on television and her story. The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope," Milk said in his speech . "Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right. Without hope, not only are the gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the 'us-es.' The 'us-es' will give up."
8 inspirational speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. that aren't 'I Have a Dream'
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Abraham Lincoln’s Most Enduring Speeches and Quotes
By: Aaron Randle
Updated: February 7, 2024 | Original: January 26, 2022
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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The 15 greatest speeches of all time, by 15 inspirational women
We celebrate the greatest speeches of all time, spoken by women who have changed the world for the better
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Let these greatest speeches of all time empower you as a woman and unite us all in a quest for positive change. Words can be incredibly powerful, as is shown in these insightful, spine-tingling and, at times, revolution-inspiring speeches, spoken by great women throughout history, such as Maya Angelo and Emmeline Pankhurst, as well as modern change-makers like Amanda Gorman and Emma Watson .
It's easy for women's voices to get lost in a sea of historical rhetoric. The most quoted speeches of all time are often those delivered by men, the words of many great women swept under the carpet. Swimming against the current, women have had to speak louder to get their voices heard. In the words of Virginia Woolf, they've had to create a room of their own. So we've rounded up fifteen inspirational women to celebrate those who found a room and encouraged others to do the same.
Many of these speeches remain relevant for women fighting for equality in a social and political landscape where women are still under-represented. Take for example, Emma Watson's UN "He For She" speech— a decade later, we are still fighting for equal pay . Or Hillary Clinton's impassioned delivery of "women's rights are human rights"—a quote that feels more relevant than ever considering the overturning of Roe Vs Wade in the US and ongoing regressive and oppressive policies worldwide.
Now more than ever, women must support other women and not only allow their voices to be heard but help amplify the message they share. To inspire you to do the same, these are fifteen of the greatest speeches of all time.
The greatest speeches of all time by women
1. virginia woolf, "a room of one's own" (1928).
"My belief is that if we live another century or so—I am talking of the common life which is the real life and not of the little separate lives which we live as individuals—and have five hundred a year each of us and rooms of our own; if we have the habit of freedom and the courage to write exactly what we think..."
Based on a series of lectures Woolf delivered in October 1928, A Room Of One's Own has since been heralded as a feminist manifesto. Her words continue to inspire women in 2015 nearly a century after she first spoke them.
The speech strikes at the heart of patriarchy and argues that without financial independence and access to education—ideological, social and creative freedom is out of reach. Virginia knew this truth all too well: her own father believed only boys profited from schooling. As a result, she didn't go. Her strength of spirit defied even her own father: "Lock up your libraries if you like", she said, "but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind."
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2. Emma Watson, "Gender equality is your issue too" (2014)
"I am from Britain and think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights."
In 2014, Emma Watson partnered with UN Women to launch their HeForShe campaign fighting to end gender inequality and it's still relevant nearly a decade later.
"In 1995, Hilary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s rights. Sadly many of the things she wanted to change are still a reality today." Watson continues, and speaking of Clinton...
3. Hillary Clinton, "Women's Rights Are Human Rights" (1995)
"If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely—and the right to be heard."
Five words that said it all: "Women's rights are human rights".
In 1995, Hillary Clinton's speech at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing marked a watershed moment for women's rights. What makes this speech so inspirational isn't just the words she spoke but where she spoke them. Defying both US administration and Chinese pressure to dilute her remarks, she went for the jugular. It was a full-blown attack against policies abusing "unheard" women around the globe—not just China.
4. Malala Yousafzai's "I am here to stand up for their rights, to raise their voice" (2014)
"I am those 66 million girls who are deprived of education. And today I am not raising my voice, it is the voice of those 66 million girls. Sometimes people like to ask me why should girls go to school, why is it important for them. But I think the more important question is why shouldn’t they? Why shouldn’t they have this right to go to school?"
At the age of 17 Malala Yousafzai was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her work fighting for every child to receive an education. As the youngest winner of the prize, the activist's powerful acceptance speech is not one to be forgotten.
"Let us become the first generation that decides to be the last that sees empty classrooms, lost childhoods and wasted potentials. Let this be the last time that a girl or a boy spends their childhood in a factory. Let this be the last time that a girl is forced into early child marriage.
"Let this end with us. Let’s begin this ending . . . together . . . today . . . right here, right now. Let’s begin this ending now."
5. Sojourner Truth, "Ain't I A Woman" (1851)
'I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that?'
Named Isabella Baumfree , it says a great deal about Sojourner that she called herself Truth. She spoke it. An African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist, Truth was born into slavery in New York, sold at auction with a flock of sheep for $100 in 1806, escaping with her baby daughter in 1826.
Oprah Winfrey has recited Truth's inspirational speech many times since.
6. Nora Ephron, "Commencement Address To Wellesley Class Of 1996" (1996)
"Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women."
Nora also spiked her speech with words of caution: "Understand: every attack on Hillary Clinton for not knowing her place is an attack on you," she rallied. Her words still echo today and one sentence rings eternally true: "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."
7. Aung San Suu Kyi, "Freedom From Fear" (1990)
"Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as 'grace under pressure'—grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure."
Burma's "woman of destiny" has inspired millions during her lifetime of political activism and captivity, held under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years in Burma. Receiving the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990, this now-famous speech followed in acceptance appeals to the spirituality of human nature: it's bravery, compassion and conviction.
8. Gloria Steinem, "Address to the Women of America" (1971)
"This is no simple reform. It really is a revolution. Sex and race, because they are easy, visible differences, have been the primary ways of organizing human beings into superior and inferior groups, and into the cheap labour on which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen, or those earned. We are really talking about humanism."
In 1971 Gloria Steinem delivered an inspiring Address to the Women of America . It would soon be regarded as one of the most memorable speeches of the second-wave feminist era. What made her speech so powerful wasn't just its attack on sexism, but its focus on the intersectional issues of racism and class.
9. Greta Thunberg, "We'll be watching you" (2019)
"I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, and yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, people are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth."
Greta Thunberg was only a teenager when she gave one of the most powerful speeches on climate change . Thunberg's United Nations speech in 2019 is the one everyone remembers when the name Greta Thunberg comes to mind. Albeit only a teenager, she has made many a powerful speech since, including asking world leaders to stop delivering ‘empty promises’.
10. Maya Angelou, "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993)
'"Here on the pulse of this new day, you may have the grace to look up and out And into your sister's eyes, Into your brother's face, your country And say simply Very simply With hope Good morning."
Maya Angelou was only the second poet in history to read a poem at a presidential inauguration, and the first African American and woman. Touching upon the themes of change, inclusion and responsibility, it has since been called Angelou's "autobiographical poem".
Maya Angelou was an extraordinarily wise woman . One of her most inspiring quotes to live by?
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."
11. Ruth Bader Ginsberg, "The Value of Diversity" (2009)
"As you leave here and proceed along life’s paths, try to leave tracks. Use the education you have received to help repair tears in your communities. Take part in efforts to move those communities, your Nation, and our world closer to the conditions needed to ensure the health and well-being of your generation and generations following your own."
Ruth Bader Ginsberg delivered this passionate keynote speech to graduates at Sciences Po in 2009. Nicknamed the 'notorious RBG' for her fighting spirit and tireless pursuit towards equality, in terms of both gender and race, this speech emphasises the importance of 'repairing the tears' in communities and coming together to build a stronger world for the generations after us.
She explains earlier in the speech: "We will all profit from a more diverse, inclusive society, understanding, accommodating, even celebrating our differences, while pulling together for the common good."
After her passing in 2020, former President of the United States Barack Obama published a statement that read: “She was someone who believed that equal justice under law only had meaning if it applied to every single [individual].”
12. Julia Gillard "Misogyny speech" (2012)
"I rise to oppose the motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition, and in so doing I say to the Leader of the Opposition: I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not. The government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man—not now, not ever.
"I hope the Leader of the Opposition has a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation, because if he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia he does not need a motion in the House of Representatives; he needs a mirror. That is what he needs."
In an iconic moment in feminist history, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard gave an impassioned speech on misogyny that has continued to hold its power to this day. Julia's speech was in response to opposition leader Tony Abbott accusing her of sexism, calling for her to sack Speaker Peter Slipper following an accusation of misogynistic text messages.
Julia later said of the speech : "After every sexist thing directed at me that I’d bitten my lip on, now I was going to be accused of sexism – the unfairness of that. That anger propelled it.”
13. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie "We should all be feminists" (2011)
“Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?” Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general - but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women. That the problem was not about being human, but specifically about being a female human. For centuries, the world divided human beings into two groups and then proceeded to exclude and oppress one group. It is only fair that the solution to the problem acknowledge that.”
Award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TedTalks is widely regarded as one of the platform’s best-ever speeches. So much so, that it’s been published as a book and translated into 32 languages.
In the thirty-minute talk address, she argued for women’s rights and inclusivity and drew on her own experiences. Oh, and Beyonce sampled the speech in her song Flawless .
14. Amanda Gorman "The Hill We Climb" (2021)
“We are striving to forge our union with purpose.
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colours, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.”
The first person ever to be named National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman — then only 22 — was catapulted to fame after she performed her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden. Her work addresses sustainability, feminism, racism, and inequality.
15. Michelle Obama "The 2018 United State of Women Summit" (2018)
“I wish that girls could fail as bad as men do and be OK. Because let me tell you, watching men fail up, it is frustrating. It’s frustrating to see a lot of men blow it and win. And we hold ourselves to these crazy, crazy standards.”
Speaking to Tracee Ellis Ross at the 2018 United State of Women Summit in Los Angeles, Michelle Obama called on the need for girls to be believed in, invested in, and nurtured the way that boys and men are. “If we want our daughters to dream bigger than we did, then we have more work to do,” she said. The speech launched a global petition calling lawmakers to #LeveltheLaw to “empower girls and women around the world”.
If you're searching for more inspiration on the themes in these speeches, we've rounded up all the best feminist books to add to your reading list and four feminist petitions to sign.
21 Uplifting and Powerful Famous Speeches That You Can’t Miss
Life is not always rainbows and sunshine – we have all had days when nothing seems to be going as planned and when we find ourselves demotivated, bogged down and engulfed in sadness. On such days, when you are unable to motivate yourself, do you know what helps? Listening to great speeches — empowering ones.
Great communicators have this innate power of moving you with their brilliant command over words. Their words echo in your head for days, while filling you with hope and inspiration.
Isn’t it wonderful how just hearing a set of people who you’ve never met or known personally can leave you with such a lasting impression?
Here is a list of 21 famous speeches (and likely the best speeches) that are sure to give you goosebumps :
1. Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address at Stanford University, 2005
The Chairman and Co-Founder of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs delivered an inspiring commencement address at the graduation ceremony of the 114th batch of Stanford University. 13 years later, his speech still holds relevance.
In a span of 15 minutes, Jobs imparted crucial life lessons through 3 stories that were inspired from his personal experiences. From love and loss to the inevitability of death – his words resonated with people of all ages.
Ending on a high note, he advised the audience to “stay hungry, stay foolish” – a phrase that became synonymous with Steve Jobs and till today, drives people to push themselves to become better versions of themselves.
2. J.K. Rowling’s Commencement Address at Harvard University, 2008
Author J.K Rowling who is best known for the Harry Potter book series delivered an empowering speech to the graduating class at Harvard University in 2008. Her speech was centered around two key points.
First being the benefits of failure and how there can be no success without it. Second, was the power of imagination and how we carry all the power in ourselves to change the world.
Even though J.K Rowling might have touched upon topics that we have been listening to or reading about for years, her knack of putting it together so perfectly strikes a chord like nothing else.
3. Jim Carrey’s Commencement Address at Maharishi University, 2014
Jim Carrey, who is known for his splendid comic timing and exceptional performances, took everyone by surprise at the graduation ceremony of the class of 2014 at Maharishi University wherein he delivered an inspiring speech with such aplomb.
In his life-changing advice wrapped in wit and humor, he speaks of fear, failure and the importance of doing what we love.
4. Barack Obama’s Election Victory Speech, 2008
Who doesn’t remember Obama chant “Yes we can!” as the entire world looked on and watched him inspire and instill national pride in the people of the United States of America.
One of the most powerful speeches of recent times, Barack Obama’s election victory speech in 2008 marked a historic moment that brought hope, promised change and responsibility, in the anticipation of a better future.
5. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech, 1963
On 28th August 1963, Martin Luther King delivered one of the most iconic speeches in history during the March on Washington in front of over 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial.
An American activist, Martin spoke with utmost clarity and purpose as he made a plea for racial equality and justice through this speech. The words “I have a dream” reiterated his vision of what America could be – a country that breaks away from the shackles of discrimination.
6. Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Do or Die Speech, 1942
Talking about orators, one cannot leave Mahatma Gandhi out from the list. Gandhi, the pioneer of non-violence launched the Quit India movement to demand India’s freedom from the 200-year British colonial rule wherein he announced the slogan – Do or Die, with determination.
His speech oozed infectious passion which went on to inspire India to fight for freedom or die in the process.
7. Nelson Mandela’s ‘I Am Prepared to Die’ Speech, 1964
The torchbearer of Africa’s freedom, Nelson Mandela fought all his life against apartheid. During his 3-hour long speech as a defendant at the Rivonia trial, he uttered the powerful words “I am prepared to die” which showed how he was willing to go to any length to grant equality to the people of Africa.
Even though he got imprisoned for 27 years shortly after, his speech did leave a tremendous impact.
8. Ellen DeGeneres’ Commencement Address at Tulane University, 2009
The multi-talented Ellen DeGeneres never fails to disappoint with whatever she does and the same can be said about her commencement address at Tulane University, where she shared her experiences and learning with the graduating class.
From quoting Lady Gaga to speaking about the major turning points in her life – Ellen kept the audience hooked with her uplifting speech.
9. Michelle Obama’s Commencement Address at Eastern Kentucky University, 2013
Michelle Obama addressed the 2013 graduating class of Eastern Kentucky University. She challenged the graduates to seek and learn from different perspectives and turn their weaknesses into strengths, just the way she did.
She also highlighted the importance of volunteering in community services and the impact it has on our lives.
10. Sheryl Sandberg’s Commencement Address at Harvard Business School, 2012
Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg imparted wisdom to the graduating class of 2012 of Harvard Business School.
While drawing parallels to her own experiences, Sheryl shared observations and precious advice with the students. She ended the speech on a humorous note as she said,
“Tomorrow, you get something that Mark Zuckerberg does not have. A Harvard degree.”
11. Oprah Winfrey’s Commencement Address at Harvard University, 2013
Oprah Winfrey is known to stir people’s emotions and motivate them with her powerful words. During her commencement address at Harvard, she emphasized on learning from mistakes and embracing failure, while reflecting on the setbacks she faced. Her encouraging words serve as a reminder to never let failure bog you down.
12. Bill Gates’ Commencement Address at Harvard Business School, 2007
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates addressed Harvard Business School’s class of 2007, urging them to change the world, eradicate poverty and tackle inequality. He emphasized on the role of technology in putting an end to global issues and encouraged students to take risks and not get intimidated by ‘complexities’.
13. Malala Yousafzai’s Address at the UN Youth Takeover, 2013
Activist Malala Yousafzai is an inspiration to many and her speech at the first ever UN Youth Takeover further reinforces that.
Malala, who was just 16 years old then, stunned the audience with her powerful and moving take on the right to quality education. Having seen difficult times during her childhood, she was determined to fight for what she believed in and inspire a change.
14. Winston Churchill’s ‘We Shall Fight on the Beaches’ Speech, 1940
Another famous speech is that delivered by Winston Churchill, on 4th June 1940 to the House of Commons. The speech was meant to instill courage in the people during World War II, while the threat of Nazi invasion loomed over England.
He kept his speech concise, realistic and to the point as he reminded everyone about the strength and perseverance England has always exhibited.
15. Hillary Clinton’s Address at the Women in The World Summit, 2015
Calling women the ‘agents of change’, Hillary Clinton delivered a passionate speech at the Women in the World summit, speaking about the struggles women face in all walks of life due to unequal rights.
While remaining optimistic about seeing a positive change in future, she spoke about issues that often go overlooked such as equal pay, reproductive rights, paid maternity leave, living wage, LGBTQ rights, affordable child care among others.
16. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, 1863
The Gettysburg Address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, is known as one of the greatest speeches in the world and makes a fundamental part of American history.
In just 272 words, Lincoln made valid arguments surrounding equality and concluded with the famous line,
“government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
17. Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Your Elusive Creative Genius’ TED Talk, 2009
Known for the international bestseller, ‘Eat, Pray, love’, Elizabeth Gilbert gave an inspiring TED Talk wherein she shared her wisdom on creativity.
She spoke about the pressures it comes with and how one can go beyond what society says and connect with the ‘genius’ that resides in each one of us.
18. Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ Speech, 1947
The first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru addressed India on the eve of independence with the speech, Tryst with Destiny. This historic speech celebrated the non-violent victory, acknowledging the struggle that had gone behind it and the belief he has in India, as a powerful, independent nation.
19. Mark Zuckerberg’s Commencement Address at Harvard University, 2017
The Founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg addressed the 2017 graduating class of Harvard University.
Being a Harvard dropout, Mark commenced the speech by recalling his times spent at Harvard and how they shaped him. His thought-provoking talk highlighted the importance of purpose – finding our own and creating one for others. He left the audience with practical advice that ranged from tackling global issues to building communities.
20. Gloria’s Steinem’s Women’s March Speech, 2017
Feminist icon, Gloria Steinem, addressed over 500,000 women who gathered at the Women’s March in Washington DC, with fearlessness and conviction.
She took on topics plaguing the society such as the role of women in the world and equal rights, while sending a bold message to the government to not undermine the power of women.
21. Denzel Washington’s Commencement Address at University of Pennsylvania, 2011
“Fall forward,” – the two words that encompassed Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington’s commencement address at University of Pennsylvania in 2011. He encouraged students to take failure in the right spirit and never let it discourage them. He beautifully summarized why we must embrace failure, while recalling experiences during his growing up days.
Final Thoughts
Even though these best speeches stem from different premises, what binds them together is the wonderful feeling they leave you with.
Each of these famous short speeches contains the power to strike an emotional chord and help you find your feet amidst all the chaos. So, take a page from their books and let their words inspire you to keep going and never lose hope.
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Top 10 Greatest Speeches
As the political season heats up, TIME takes a tour of history's best rhetoric
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Patrick Henry
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Historyplex
7 of the Most Profound and Famous Short Speeches Ever Heard
There are many famous short speeches that have been a turning point in history. Here is a list of some of the most notable speeches ever.
Speech is power: Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. – Ralph Waldo Emerson This quote brilliantly summarizes the power of a good speech. There is no dearth of famous short speeches that have irrevocably influenced mankind and history.
Although the list may seem endless, and there will always be some or the other disagreement of which of these should figure in the list of popular speeches of all time, given below is a compilation of famous speeches by famous people including former presidents, politicians, a great visionary, and a world-renowned dramatist.These have gone down in history as something that people find relevant and influential even today. It is not necessary for a speech to be long to be famous, even a short one can be great, if it has an ability to mesmerize and inspire the audience. What follows, is a list of some of the most notable short speeches of all time. These were given at historical junctions, and had a significant impact at that time, and hold true even today. As these speeches continue to inspire many, they will go down in the annals of time.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address
One of the most famous speeches given by a sitting American President, although it lasted just a little over seven and a half minutes, it managed to stir a nation’s patriotism to the very bone and was a significant point in American history. President Roosevelt gave the famous speech to a joint session of Congress, the day after the Japanese bombing of the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. An excerpt from the speech is as follows:
December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy… 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 ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
Ronald Reagan’s Speech Following the Challenger Disaster
American President Ronald Reagan made his famous short speech on national television following the disastrous explosion of the Challenger Space Shuttle. On 26 January, 1986 after only 73 seconds into its flight, the space shuttle broke apart, causing the death of all the seven crew members on board, including a classroom teacher who had been chosen to be the first ever non-astronaut classroom teacher to travel into space. President Reagan spoke of the traumatic accident saying:
Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all people of our country. This is truly a national loss… Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we’ve never lost an astronaut in flight. We’ve never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together. One of President John F. Kennedy’s most famous speech, was given on 26 June, 1963, to consolidate United States’ support for West Germany a little less than two years after the Communist East Germany erected the Berlin Wall. One of the most famous phrases in history “ Ich bin ein Berliner “, was in fact a last-minute brain child of Kennedy, who came up with the idea of saying it in German, while he was walking up the stairs at the Rathaus (City Hall). It was a great motivational speech for West Berliners, who lived in the constant fear of a possible East German occupation. Given below is an excerpt from this historic speech:
Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was ‘Civis Romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]’. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’
Bill Clinton’s “I Have Sinned” Speech
The famous, or rather infamous “I have sinned” speech, was delivered by President Bill Clinton at the annual White House prayer breakfast on September 11, 1998, in the presence of several ministers, priests and his wife, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. It was hand-written by the President Clinton himself and was delivered on the day of the publication of the first report by Independent Counsel Ken Starr, which threatened to impeach the President Clinton on the grounds of perjury and his sexual affair with former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
I agree with those who have said that in my first statement after I testified I was not contrite enough. I don’t think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned. It is important to me that everybody who has been hurt know that the sorrow I feel is genuine: first and most important, my family; also my friends, my staff, my Cabinet, Monica Lewinsky and her family, and the American people. I have asked all for their forgiveness… But I believe that to be forgiven, more than sorrow is required – at least two more things. First, genuine repentance – a determination to change and to repair breaches of my own making. I have repented. Second, what my bible calls a ”broken spirit”; an understanding that I must have God’s help to be the person that I want to be; a willingness to give the very forgiveness I seek; a renunciation of the pride and the anger which cloud judgment, lead people to excuse and compare and to blame and complain…
Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
“I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr., which was delivered on 28 August, 1963 at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , was a path-breaking moment for the Civil Rights Movement in America. Given to an audience of more than 200,000 people, this speech was ranked as the top American speech by a 1999 poll of scholars.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, 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 one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four 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. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, 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.
William Shakespeare’s Speeches
The Bard has left behind his legacy in ways more than one. Most of the non-political popular speeches have been written by William Shakespeare. While there are many, like Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…”, and Portia’s speech in Merchant of Venice “The quality of mercy is not strain’d…” to name a few, the Bard’s most famous speech till date is the speech by Jaques in “As You Like It”, which goes as…
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
Steve Jobs ‘Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish’ Speech
One of my personal favorites, and a speech that today’s youth identify themselves with, is the Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ commencement speech on 12 June, 2005 at Stanford, which was replete with inspirational quotes. His last words in the address “ Stay hungry, stay foolish ” is one of the most famous quotes and is echoed the world over even today, and spurred on a bestselling book of the same name. It summed up his life in three parts, which he narrated in the form of three stories. This is a small excerpt from this notable short inspirational speech:
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories… When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960s’, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
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This Actor’s Acceptance Speech Is the Reason the Oscars Cut Off Winners
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Speeches make up a big part of any award show, including the Academy Awards . When an artist's name is called, they go up on stage to express their gratitude, inspire others, and maybe even advocate for a cause they are passionate about — these moments are understandably very impactful, with many even going viral shortly after. Some big winners have made speeches that impacted the community, further pushing the significance of celebrating their talents and love for the craft. Nowadays, however, winners have to make their speeches very concise . And if you are curious why award shows decide to do this, we have to go back to the 15th Academy Awards, when Greer Garson won the Best Actress award for Mrs. Miniver and gave perhaps one of the longest speeches in any award show.
Who Is Greer Garson?
Garson was a British-American actress who crafted an impressive filmography during her career. But before stepping into the limelight, she studied French and 18th-century Literature at King’s College London and later pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Grenoble. The actress wanted to be a lecturer early on. However, she slowly became interested in the acting world and joined the popular Birmingham Repertory Theatre where she acted in some plays, such as Street Scene by Elmer Rice . Once she made her way to the prestigious West End , she started to get more attention from the public and industry people. Not long after, she was discovered by MGM head Louis B. Mayer and was eventually offered a contract. This was the start of her Hollywood career.
Despite suffering from a back injury during her first year in Hollywood, she was able to dip her toes in small roles, such as Goodbye, Mr. Chip (1939). This film was the push forward for her career once more, and the number of projects she was given multiplied after that. Some of her notable roles were Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (1940), Blossoms in the Dust (1941), and Madame Curie (1943), among others. During the height of her career, Garson became known for playing graceful yet strong-willed characters and was continuously praised for her performances.
Only One Actor Has Been Nominated for an Oscar Twice After Their Death
A bittersweet reminder of the career that could have been.
Because of her incredible performances, Garson bagged multiple nominations and awards. Apart from b eing a seven-time nominee for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, she also made history by having five consecutive nominations under that category — a feat she shares with Bette Davis . One of Garson’s nominations led her to a Best Actress win in 1942, specifically for her role in Mrs. Miniver . And her inspiring speech for this award also made Oscars history.
Greer Garson Made Oscars History With Her Acceptance Speech for 'Mrs. Miniver'
At the 15th Academy Awards, when the Best Actress category came up, it was announced that Greer Garson won. She, like previous winners, made a speech. However, this speech was one for the books as it was (and still is) considered the longest speech in Academy Awards history as it ran for over six minutes long . Her speech was like any other. There, she expressed her gratitude towards the awarding body and acknowledged the other winners and nominees for their performances. Garson insisted that there was no competition because everyone in the room won. Other than that, she thanked the armed forces (World War II was happening around that time). Although the speech was confirmed to be over six minutes long, the newsreel footage from the big night was only able to preserve about four minutes of it, so no one could find out what Garson said in full.
Still, due to her long speech, awarding bodies opted to set a time limit for winners' speeches; this is usually 45 seconds . Of course, it is understandable that some actors go beyond the set limit because the time given is often insufficient to cover what they want to say. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is aware of this, and so their solution is whenever someone does not follow the time limit, they would have the orchestra play louder than usual to let the winners know that their time is up. This can be observed when Parasite (2019) w on Best Picture . While the crew was taking turns speaking into the mic, the Oscars turned the spotlight off because it went beyond 45 seconds, though the seated actors fought for them. Overall, while limiting speeches to a shorter time is quite understandable in terms of pacing, it limits the winners, and even urges them to speak faster, adding pressure to an already nerve-wracking moment.
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
A British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.
Mrs. Miniver is currently available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.
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James Earl Jones, legendary actor known for unmistakable baritone voice, dies at 93
One of the most famous voices of all time has gone silent.
James Earl Jones, whose prodigious acting talent was often overshadowed by his distinctive baritone over a seven-decade career both onstage and on the screen, died Monday, his representative said. He was 93.
A contemporary of Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, Jones didn’t land the same coveted leading roles at a time when there were few to go around for Black actors in Hollywood, but he earned unmatched longevity as a character actor, from his first movie credit in 1964’s “Dr. Strangelove” to his reprisal of his role as King Joffer in the 2021 sequel to “Coming to America.”
“James Earl Jones doesn’t get enough credit for being a path-blazer for actors like Denzel Washington who came after him,” said Rae Dawn Chong, his co-star in the 1986 comedy “Soul Man.”
It was treading the boards of Broadway and beyond where Jones forged his place at the top of the marquee. Of his turn as the title character in the 1964 production of “Othello” in Central Park, The New York Times gushed : “Mr. Jones commands a full, resonant voice and a supple body, and his jealous rages and frothing frenzy have not only size but also emotional credibility.”
It was, of course, that resonant voice that would eventually become his trademark.
While he earned two Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, an honorary Academy Award and a Grammy over his long career, he may be best remembered for an uncredited role in “Star Wars” — supplying the voice for Darth Vader, which has reverberated far beyond that galaxy far, far away.
“I’m a journeyman,” Jones told “TODAY’s” Al Roker in a 2017 interview. “I wandered into some interesting situations.”
Making his journey all the more remarkable is that one of the most recognizable voices in Hollywood history had to overcome a severe stutter during his childhood in Mississippi and Michigan before he could take the first step.
Jones, born Jan. 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi, said he grew up as a shy and quiet child, wary of speaking and drawing attention to his speech impediment. With his father, Robert, a boxer turned actor, having left home to establish a theater career in Chicago, Jones was shipped to his maternal grandparents’ farm in rural Michigan at age 5.
There, the trajectory of his life changed in high school, when an English teacher taught him how to sound out each word carefully. “I [could] now say things that great writers wrote. I would never have thought of it myself,” Jones told “TODAY” years later.
Jones discovered a love of acting at the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1955 after a two-year tour of duty in the Army.
That’s when he moved to New York City, as his father had years earlier, to break into acting. He worked as a janitor part time to pay the bills while he studied at the American Theatre Wing, according to Biography.
With his booming baritone and stage presence, Jones didn’t have to wait long to get noticed, making his Broadway debut in the late 1950s in the play “Sunrise at Campobello.”
In 1961, he gained acclaim for the U.S. premiere of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks” at the St. Mark’s Playhouse , which co-starred a cast of then-unknowns, including Cicely Tyson, Maya Angelou and Louis Gossett Jr.
Having reconnected with his father, the younger Jones appeared in several stage productions with him in New York, including “Infidel Caesar” and “Moon on a Rainbow Shawl” in 1962 and “Of Mice and Men” five years later.
The younger Jones became a regular in the Shakespeare in the Park program in 1962, with his lauded performance in “Othello” two years later catapulting him to stardom in the New York theater scene.
The production earned him more than critical accolades: Jones would ultimately marry his Desdemona, co-star Julienne Marie. The marriage, which lasted from 1968 through 1972, caused a mild stir at the time given the era’s racist taboos surrounding interracial marriage.
Being in New York, then also the center of the TV universe, had advantages for a working actor. Jones scored his first Emmy nomination in 1964 for a guest-starring turn in the drama “East Side/West Side.”
But national audiences would get their first exposure to him the same year in a small role in “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.”
Jones hit the pinnacle of any Broadway veteran’s career with the play “The Great White Hope,” in which he starred as a fictionalized version of the real-life boxer Jack Johnson. His performance earned him the Tony for best actor in a play in 1969, breaking the color barrier of the most important acting awards in theater.
“When he was ‘The Great White Hope,’ it was shortly after [Martin Luther] King’s assassination, and there were riots in the streets of the United States,” said Dominic Taylor, a professor of African American theater at UCLA. “And here is this Black man who wins for this role in which he’s Jack Johnson, basically. I don’t think people today are aware of how earthshaking that was.”
Jones would go on to star in the 1970 cinematic adaptation of the play, a turn that would earn him a Golden Globe and his only Academy Award nomination. Jones would lose the best actor Oscar to George C. Scott (“Patton”).
That early success, however, didn’t seem to translate into many more high-profile film roles in the 1970s, although he did star opposite Diahann Carroll in the 1974 dramedy “Claudine.”
“Hollywood back then only had room for a certain number of Black actors,” said Wilson Morales, the founder and editor of blackfilmandtv.com. “He never really got the big roles compared to Sidney Poitier.
“Almost all the roles that he had over the years, they were largely supporting roles,” Morales said of Jones.
Jones would win a Grammy for best spoken word recording in 1977, an early sign of the recognition for his voice.
His most visible on-screen role may have been playing author Alex Haley in the landmark 1977 television miniseries “Roots,” based on Haley’s family history.
Despite the estimated 130 million viewers who tuned in for “Roots,” it would turn out to be just the second-highest-profile gig he booked that year.
Director George Lucas tapped Jones to do some voiceover work for a quirky space opera called “Star Wars” to dub over Darth Vader actor David Prowse’s heavy British accent, made worse by the muffle effect of the mask.
Jones later said he asked to keep his name out of the credits because Prowse did all the work, but such humility wouldn’t keep him from being enshrined as part of the biggest pop culture phenomenon in modern history.
Jones married the actor Cecilia Hart in 1982, the same year he starred opposite budding action star Arnold Schwarzenegger as an evil sorcerer in “Conan the Barbarian.” The marriage would produce a son, Flynn, the same year, and it would last until Hart’s death of ovarian cancer in 2016.
Now a father, Jones continued to work steadily through the 1980s.
Chong remembered the first day she met Jones on the set of “Soul Man,” then intimidated as a girl who grew up with “Star Wars.”
“All the cast was a little afraid of him, not just because he was this towering great of an actor who was Othello in New York and his history,” Chong said. “But in fact, he [turned out to be[ a gentle giant, extremely generous. He’s very kind and soft-spoken.”
Settling into his 50s and past the expiration date for the leading man parts of the era, Jones piled together an impressive run of supporting parts, including roles in “Field of Dreams” (1987), “Matewan” (1987) and “The Hunt for Red October” (1990), a role he would reprise for two sequels.
Perhaps his most famous role of the decade — not counting “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” (1983), of course — was as Eddie Murphy’s father in the 1988 comedy “Coming to America.”
“You have to remember ‘Coming to America’ was the biggest Black film of its time,” Morales said. “It was the ‘Black Panther’ of the era.”
He also kept one foot on the boards, earning his second Tony award in 1987 for August Wilson’s “Fences” — a role that Denzel Washington would play in a movie version 29 years later.
In 1990, Jones was cast as the lead in the TV drama “Gabriel’s Fire,” the type of signature role that might have been better appreciated had the series run on a premium cable network two decades later. At the time, however, TV execs considered the material too dark and canceled the show after one season.
Show co-creator Jacqueline Zambrano remembered being called to meet with Jones about a script during a break in shooting. In most cases, that meant the star would have diva-like demands for rewrites. “I sat down and immediately opened my notebook and I had my pen poised,” Zambrano said. “He started talking about a particular scene and asking me questions. Then we went on to another scene, and, you know, we talked as long as we could until they were ready for him on set.
“We both left, and I looked down at my notebook, and I had nothing written down. He didn’t have any notes. He didn’t want to tell me, ‘I want to fix this.’ He just wanted to understand the text. He just wanted to understand the character better.”
Jones shined enough in that limited time to earn his first prime-time Emmy for outstanding lead actor. (He won a second Emmy that night for his supporting turn in the TV movie “Heat Wave,” about the 1965 Watts race riots.)
In 1994, Jones lent his voice as Mufasa in Disney’s animated blockbuster “The Lion King.” He would return to the role in the live-action version 25 years later, the only actor from the original voice cast to return.
Over the ensuing three decades, Jones continued to work continuously — even after he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1995. He racked up Emmy nominations with guest-starring appearances on “Picket Fences,” “Under One Roof,” “Frasier” and “Everwood.” On Broadway, he notched two more Tony nominations — for a 2005 production of “On Golden Pond” and for a revival of Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man” seven years later.
In 2011, Jones was awarded an honorary Academy Award for his career as a whole. That he never won an Oscar for a specific movie role, denying him the coveted EGOT, is a lingering symbol of just how much he was underappreciated over a prolific and profound career.
Taylor, the UCLA professor, always includes a clip of Jones in the 1987 production of “Fences” in his master class on acting.
“He was a gargantuan presence but such a fine, precise, attuned actor onstage,” Taylor said. “It was beautiful to watch him work.”
CORRECTION (Sept. 10, 2024, 10:25 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the name of “The Lion King” character. It was Mufasa, not Mustafa.
Ethan Sacks writes for NBCNews.com.
Former President Trump Speaks in Potterville, Michigan About the Economy
2024 Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump delivered remarks on the U.S. economy at a steel plant in Potterville, Mi… read more
2024 Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump delivered remarks on the U.S. economy at a steel plant in Potterville, Michigan. He talked about protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF) reproductive treatments, promising to have the government of insurance pay for them because “we want more babies.” He also pledged to “allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes.” Joining former President Trump onstage for brief remarks was the founder of Auto Workers for Trump 2024, Brian Pannebecker . close
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Tim Walz celebrates Shepard family in HRC National Dinner speech
Minn. governor detailed his and running mate’s pro-LGBTQ records
In a speech Saturday night at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner, Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz discussed how he came to know the Shepard family when working in Congress to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
“When the final vote was coming up in the House, it was going to be close,” he said. “I walked through the House floor, through the tunnels, from the Longworth House Office Building over to the Capitol, and I made that walk with Matthew’s mom, Judy Shepard, and the sheriff who found Matthew’s body tied to that fence post in Wyoming, and I remember walking with a mother who lost her son and hearing the sheriff tell me the only place he wasn’t bloody was where the tears ran down Matthew’s eyes.”
“I watched a mother and the unbelievable pain that I couldn’t even fathom, to lose a child this way, walk with her head held high to make sure that none of the rest of us ever have to get a call from someone,” Walz said.
The governor invited the crowd to applaud for Judy and Dennis Shepard, who were in attendance, adding that the room was full of “heroes” like them who had, in ways both big and small, endeavored “to make people’s lives a little bit easier.”
Walz began his speech by highlighting the many ways in which Vice President Kamala Harris has fought “every single day on the side of the American people,” relentlessly working to expand rights and protections for the LGBTQ community throughout her career and promising to build on this legacy if she is elected president in November.
“As the DA of San Francisco, Vice President Harris took one of the toughest stances in the nation against hate crimes,” he said. “She led the fight against the hateful gay and transgender panic defense.”
Walz continued, “she went on to become the attorney general of the largest state in the country, and the moment it arrived, to defend marriage equality. And she threw her whole self into that fight. You know Kamala Harris. She doesn’t just pick these fights when she talks about it, and this is the thing to keep in mind: All she does is win. All she does is win.”
“As a U.S. senator, she fought hard for the Equality Act, introduced a bill to make sure you had access to PrEP, and as vice president, and I say this, it is not a stretch, and the facts are there, this is the most pro LGBTQ+-administration in American history,” the governor said.
“She helped President Biden pass the landmark Respect for Marriage Act requiring every state and territory to fully honor same sex and interracial marriage,” Walz said. “She helped stop the ignorant and Byzantine practice of banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood.”
Harris has worked to improve mental healthcare for LGBTQ youth, he added, and “she made human rights for LGBTQ+ individuals around the world a top priority in this nation’s foreign policy” while working with the president on “historic executive orders protecting folks from discrimination.”
Walz then turned to his own record, beginning with his career as a schoolteacher and football coach before his election to Congress. He said, “some of my students, and this is in the late 90s, we’re concerned about an uptick in bullying amongst the gay lesbian community in our school.”
When one of those students, who was in the audience Saturday, had asked him to serve as faculty advisor for the gay straight alliance club, Walz recalled, “I said ‘absolutely.’ I understood what it meant to be that older, strange, white guy” standing up for the school’s LGBTQ students in such a public manner.
In 2006, when running for Congress as a Democrat in a deep-red district, “I was in a state that advanced same sex marriage for a decade,” Walz said. “But I knew I was right, and I ran on a platform that supported equality.”
The notion that he won despite taking pro-LGBTQ and pro-choice positions is misleading, the governor said — he won because of those reasons.
Walz then detailed how he fought for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, operating under the maxim that “you don’t get elected to office to bank political capital so you can get elected again” but rather “you get elected office to burn political capital to improve [people’s] lives.”
As governor, he said, the “first thing we did is we banned conversion therapy,” and throughout his first and second terms in office, “we protected the transgender community.”
“We banned banning books,” he said, pushing back against efforts to target and remove content with LGBTQ characters and themes, a preoccupation of Republicans including the 2024 GOP presidential and vice presidential nominees Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
“This is what these folks are focusing on, spending all their time, like reading about two male penguins who love each other is somehow going to turn your children gay,” Walz said, setting up a contrast between the Democratic and Republican tickets.
The other side believes “the government should be free to invade every corner of our lives, our bedrooms, our kids’ schools, even our doctor’s office,” Walz said, and they have laid out a “playbook” to make that happen with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s governing blueprint for a second Trump administration.
“This Project 2025 that’s out there to restrict freedoms, demonize this community, bully vulnerable children, the message is simple from all of us, and here in about 59 days, you’re going to get a chance to send that message: leave our kids the hell alone.”
Walz then pivoted to Trump’s ban on transgender military service members. “We’ve had thousands of brave transgender troops, decorated warriors, who served this country. When Donald Trump was commander-in-chief, he belittled them and he banned them from service. Thankfully, President Biden and vice president Harris rescinded that stupid, bigoted policy.”
He added, “If you want to serve this nation, you should be allowed to, and what we should do is respect that service. They should not get incoming fire from their commander-in-chief, attacking their basic dignity, humanity, and patriotism. And I will say this, I didn’t serve for 24 years in this to have those guys diminish another troop’s service.”
“We’re not going back to the discrimination,” Walz said. “We’re not going to force our children into situations where they become suicidal. We’re not going to continue to demonize people because of who they are, and we’re not going to continue to allow people in this country to go hungry or to be shot dead because we don’t make decisions that can improve that.”
Va. lawmakers Roem, Ebbin, Henson headline Out for Harris launch party
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ARLINGTON — LGBTQ Democratic Virginia state legislators Danica Roem, Adam Ebbin, and Rozia Henson headlined an Out for Harris coalition launch party on Thursday at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant in Arlington, Va.
Following remarks by Freddie Lutz, owner and namesake of the landmark 23-year-old LGBTQ establishment, the speakers highlighted Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s extensive track records of advancing LGBTQ rights while also stressing the urgency of get-out-the-vote efforts with just a few weeks remaining before early ballots will be cast in Virginia.
The lawmakers also shared reflections on their time as LGBTQ officeholders who each has made history with their elected positions: Roem, as the country’s first transgender state legislator, Ebbin, as the first LGBTQ representative in the Virginia house of Delegates, and Henson, as the Virginia General Assembly’s first gay Black man.
“A historic first is first but not the last,” Roem said, adding that these wins often come with challenges, too — as Ebbin, her colleague in the state senate, experienced in the time between his groundbreaking election in 2003 and the LGBTQ representation seen in the state house today, with a total of nine out lawmakers now comprising Virginia’s LGBTQ legislative caucus.
“When you put yourself out there, you wonder at what point the reinforcements are going to arrive,” she said, adding, with a smirk, “or if the closeted members who you’re serving with would just come out already.”
Roem then shared her own coming out journey, starting with her coming of age in Northern Virginia. Freddie’s was the only spot that welcomed LGBTQ young people in the ’90s and 2000s, she said, and “the first place that I felt safe to be out in public as her .”
Later, in 2004, Roem explained how she was venturing out with her hair swept across her face because, at the time, she thought, “I don’t want to be recognized; I don’t want anyone to know.” Meanwhile, Roem said, “across the country, there was a newly elected district attorney” who learned the mayor of San Francisco had blessed same-sex marriage and volunteered herself to help however she could.
Kamala Harris officiated some of the first gay and lesbian weddings, “putting herself right out there,” Roem said — stressing that John Kerry and John Edwards, the Democratic Party’s 2004 presidential ticket, were opposed to same-sex marriage, as was the rest of the party.
However, she said, “For those folks in elected office who put themselves out there, people like Kamala Harris did it 20 years ago, not because it was politically popular. Prop 8 would pass four years later. Not because it was convenient, but because it was right.”
After she became a state legislator, Roem first met Harris, then a U.S. senator, at a Human Rights Campaign event, and “she tells me, hey, just remember, keep shoulders down, chin up, and remember you are exactly where you’re meant to be.”
“Five years later,” Roem said, “I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, because I’m here with y’all at Freddie’s, and this face is not being hidden by my hair unless I am head-banging” to heavy metal music “because I am not going back.”
“ We are not going back,” she added, “and we sure as hell are not going back to a time when the Trump administration was kicking transgender military members out of the service, banning trans troops who displayed more courage and sense of self of service than their then- commander-in-chief ever has or ever could.”
“And now, on the ballot this fall, we have friends,” Roem said. “We aren’t where we were 20 years ago, where we’re having to vote strategically; we have our allies on the ballot for president and vice president this fall, with Vice President Harris and with Governor Walz.”
Ebbin began his remarks by acknowledging the “large number of LGBTQ appointees in the administration” who were in attendance in their personal capacity. “I want to thank them for their work every day,” he said.
“When I first ran for office 21 years ago, we were not nearly as visible, we were not nearly as organized, and above all, we didn’t have leaders who always had our backs,” Ebbin said. “There were no other LGBT people in the General Assembly building when I got there, and now, with the help of Delegate Henson, we have a nine-member LGBTQ caucus.”
“You can understand why, as a Virginian, I feel passionately about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” he said. “They will carry our pro-LGBT Virginia values not just across the country, but all the way to the White House.”
During Ebbin’s remarks, an audience member interrupted with questions about the U.S. Senate Democrats who voted for the National Defense Authorization Act despite the funding package’s inclusion of anti-LGBTQ riders, and the Kids Online Safety Act, legislation sponsored by U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
He replied, “I’m in the Virginia Senate. I’m going to not do questions right now,” offering to talk after he stepped off the stage. The heckler persisted, raising that $30 billion was allocated for weapons, likely a reference to the supply of arms to Ukraine, when Ebbin said, “I’m not in the U.S. Senate.”
Ebbin continued, “before any state in the union legalized gay marriage, San Francisco D.A. Kamala Harris took the bold step of officiating LGBT weddings back in early 2004 — and keep in mind, this was at a time when here in Virginia, we’re fighting off some horrific” legislation including efforts to ban adoption by same-sex parents and the formation of gay-straight alliance clubs in schools, which were ultimately defeated.
“Over Kamala Harris’s entire career, she’s been a national leader for LGBTQ rights,” Ebbin said. “She marched in Pride parades not just in San Francisco, but as a U.S. senator and as vice president of the United States, several times, and that is powerful.”
“And then when we turn to her running mate, in 1999, Tim Walz was a teacher and a football coach at Mankato West High School, and he stepped up to advise the Gay Straight Alliance to protect gay kids from being bullied,” Ebbin said.
Walz was “there for high school kids in a red rural place, and in 2006, when he stepped up to run for Congress, he was advised not to pick a position on gay marriage, but he stepped up and he did,” he said. “He was there for us. Then on the flip side, we look at Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, who’ve not only shown us who they are but they’ve written a whole playbook, Project 2025, which is one of the most anti-LGBTQ agendas ever published.”
Ebbin added, “as Maya Angelou reminded us, “the Republican ticket is telling us exactly who they are. So, we should believe them and make sure our friends and neighbors believe them.”
The state senator was also heckled by pro-Palestine protesters who were kicked out for the disruption.
Henson began his brief remarks by telling the audience, “my job here is just to make sure we emphasize the importance of you organizing together, getting in your community, hosting teas, hosting events just like this, in order to make sure we get Kamala Harris to the White House.”
“Without you all setting the expectations and doing the groundwork, I probably would not have been the first openly gay Black state representative,” he said.
Henson thanked Ebbin for his mentorship and friendship, and for his leadership as the first out member of the Virginia General Assembly in its 400-year history. Introducing the state senator, Henson added that but for his help and guidance, “marriage equality would not be in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Trump recycles anti-trans right-wing talking points at Moms for Liberty Summit
The 2024 GOP nominee did not discuss his anti-trans policy agenda
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump recycled right-wing anti-trans talking points, in many cases with statements that were false or misleading, during a discussion with Moms for Liberty Co-Founder Tiffany Justice at the group’s summit in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
They did not address specific anti-trans policies Trump promised to enact if he is elected in November, which would include sweeping restrictions of the rights of, especially, transgender youth, including through heavy-handed government intervention in healthcare and education.
Nor did Trump say much about his opponents’ positions or records on trans issues, apart from a remark about how Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic 2024 nominee, might “flip-flop” on the issue, a charge that his campaign has often leveled against her.
Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have strong records of expanding freedoms and protections for the trans and LGBTQ communities, in many cases long before taking those actions or positions would have conferred any political advantage.
Trump did not directly address a question from Justice about Walz’s move as governor to install feminine hygiene products in all of the state’s public school restrooms and facilities. Shortly after Harris chose him s her vice presidential nominee on Aug. 8, conservative opponents have sought to attack him on this basis, using the nickname “tampon Tim.”
Formed in 2021 to push back against Covid-era mask mandates and other school policies, Moms for Liberty has since shifted its focus almost entirely to curbing the rights of LGBTQ students, teachers, and staff as well as banning educational materials, books, and classroom discussion addressing matters of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The group, considered an anti-LGBTQ extremist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is closely allied with the Republican Party and staunchly supportive of Trump.
The bulk of Trump’s remarks during his conversation with Justice, however, addressed unrelated topics ranging from foreign policy to reality television programs.
However, the anti-trans rhetoric used by Trump was extreme. For instance, he repeated a debunked conspiracy theory that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is transgender, a lie that was spread following her victory over Italy’s Angela Carini during the 2024 Olympic Games.
Later, he suggested without any evidence that children are going off to school and coming home a few days later having had “an operation” to change their gender without the knowledge or consent of their parents.
Md. Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus slams Hogan’s LGBTQ rights record
Former Maryland governor faces a competitive race for U.S. Senate seat
Five Democratic lawmakers of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing a majority of the state’s nine-member legislative LGBTQ caucus, will issue a statement on Friday criticizing Republican former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s record on LGBTQ rights.
Hogan is currently running against Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic county executive of Prince George’s County, to represent Maryland in one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races of the 2024 election cycle.
Over the course of his two-term, eight-year tenure as governor, “Hogan has made it clear that he is not an ally for the LGBTQ+ community,” the Maryland legislators wrote in their statement, per an advance copy previewed by the Washington Blade on Thursday.
The authors, out state Dels. Kris Fair, Anne Kaiser, Joe Vogel, Ashanti Martinez, and Bonnie Cullison, also objected in their statement to the “dismissive” manner in which Hogan addressed criticism of his governing record vis-a-vis LGBTQ rights, as witnessed during a recent virtual town hall event organized by his Senate campaign.
The exchange, which was first reported by the Advocate on Saturday, was kicked off when a caller said, “I am a gay Marylander, and I’m very aware that as an ex-governor, there were many LGBTQ rights bills that passed without your signature, including laws that outlawed the LGBTQ panic defense.”
Other examples of pro-LGBTQ legislation that Hogan declined to sign after they were passed by the state house’s Democratic majority include a measure expanding hate crimes protections to cover victims who are targeted over their gender identity, an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination bill focused on medical providers and facilities, and a proposal to establish gender identity as a protected characteristic under Maryland law. The governor did, however, manage to sign a ban on medical interventions for transgender youth.
Hogan responded to the caller first by arguing the issue was moot because each of the bills is now law, and then by denying that he ever opposed them, and then by pleading ignorance: “Bills passed, and they became law, and I did not oppose them, and so I don’t know exactly which bills you’re referring to or when they passed.”
In their statement, the delegates said the former governor’s answer was not just “an overt over-simplification of the meaning behind refusing to sign legislation” but also “shameful and a slap in the face to our community.”
“This is why it is critical that we protect the Democratic majority in the Senate by electing Angela Alsobrooks this November,” they wrote. “If Republicans get a majority in the Senate they will continue to not only ignore the needs of our community, but could roll back the protections we fought so hard for.”
Criticism of Hogan’s track record on LGBTQ rights predates his time in the governor’s mansion. For example, during his 2014 gubernatorial campaign, he came out against a trans-inclusive bill prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations.
As Axios reported in May, the messaging strategy deployed by Hogan’s Democratic opponents has focused to a significant extent on chipping away at the Republican candidate’s reputation as a political moderate — which, to some extent, is buttressed by his public disagreements with Donald Trump, including over some of the hardline immigration policies that came out of his administration.
Along with their efforts to draw attention to Hogan’s record on LGBTQ rights, Democrats have sought to highlight right-wing actions and positions he has taken on other matters, such as issues involving reproductive freedom — again, in hopes of sowing doubt among voters about the Republican’s centrist bonafides.
For example, the Maryland Democratic Party has pointed to the former governor’s decision to veto measures that were designed to expand access to abortion as well as his refusal to release funding that would have been used to train abortion providers in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the protections established with Roe v. Wade in 1973.
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COMMENTS
A curated list of speeches that lifted hearts, inspired courage, and changed history. From Roosevelt to Churchill, from Lincoln to King, from Socrates to Jesus, discover the style, substance, and impact of great oratory.
Learn from the best speeches in history by leaders, writers, activists and revolutionaries who changed the world with their words. Explore speeches by MLK, Queen Elizabeth I, Woodrow Wilson, Churchill and more.
Learn about the best speeches in history from various orators and occasions, such as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Churchill's wartime speeches, and King's I Have a Dream. Discover how these speeches shaped history, moved audiences, and inspired change.
Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century by Rank
Learn about the power and meaning of great speeches from history, from Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' to Churchill's 'We Shall Fight on the Beaches'. See excerpts, context, and analysis of these oratorical masterpieces.
Learn about the speeches that shaped history and inspired change, from ancient Greece to modern America. Discover the rhetorical brilliance, historical significance, and lasting impact of these 10 orations by famous leaders and reformers.
Explore a gallery of speeches from around the world that shaped history, from Maya Angelou's inaugural poem to Yasser Arafat's UN address. Learn about the context, impact, and legacy of these influential orations.
A collection of transcripts of interesting and insightful speeches by various presenters on topics such as creativity, leadership, success, and more. Learn from the wisdom and experience of mathematicians, engineers, writers, entrepreneurs, and others.
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2024 Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump delivered remarks on the U.S. economy at a steel plant in Potterville, Michigan. He talked about protecting IVF reproductive ...
In a speech Saturday night at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner, Minnesota governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz discussed how he came to know the Shepard ...