+
Primary
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: William Jennings Bryan "Cross of Gold" Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the famous Cross of Gold speech given by William Jennings Bryan, Democratic party presidential candidate in 1896. The party platform was against the establishment of the gold standard.
+
Primary
National Center for Public Policy Research

National Center: Acceptance Speech: 1964 Republican National Convention

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the text of Barry Goldwater's acceptance speech for the presidential nomination at the 1964 Republican National Convention.
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Ronald Reagan: Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate

For Students 9th - 10th
This is Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down the Wall" speech delivered on June 12, 1987, at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin. It is offered in YouTube video, mp3 audio, and text. [4:52]
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Woodrow Wilson: The League of Nations

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text of Woodrow Wilson's speech explaining the content and purpose of The League of Nations.
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Jimmy Carter: "A Crisis of Confidence"

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a speech by Jimmy Carter addressing the country about uniting the country to solve the Engergy Crisis on delivered July 15, 1979. It is offered in YouTube video, mp3 audio, and text [4:16].
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm: The Equal Rights Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text of Shirley Chisholm's speech to the House of Representatives on August 10,1970, supporting the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Elie Wiesel: "The Perils of Indifference"

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the audio and text of Elie Wiesel's speech "The Perils of Indifference" delivered on April 12, 1999, Washington, D.C. He discusses his experience in German concentration camps during the Holocaust and the dangers on indifference.
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Gerald R. Ford: Address Pardoning Richard M. Nixon

For Students 9th - 10th
This is mp3 audio and text of Gerald R. Ford's speech to the nation pardoning Richard M. Nixon for his part in the Watergate coverup. It was delivered on September 8, 1974, Washington D.C.
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Lyndon Baines Johnson: "Let Us Continue"

For Students 9th - 10th
This is Lyndon Baines Johnson's speech "Let Us Continue," on the occasion of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 27, 1963; it is offered in a You Tube Video, an mp3 audio, and in text. [6:11]
+
Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Robert F. Kennedy: Day of Affirmation at Cape Town University

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the audio mp3 and text of Robert F. Kennedy's speech on June, 6, 1966 on the occasion of Affirmation day for South Africa.
+
Handout
Fact Monster

Fact Monster: Famous Presidential Speeches

For Students 3rd - 8th
Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and others have their famous presidential speeches captured in this database.
+
Article
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Trials of Giordano Bruno (1592 1600)

For Students 9th - 10th
In the early morning light of Ash Wednesday, the primary day in the Church calendar for Christian penance, Giordano Bruno, one of the most original minds of the sixteenth century, rode into Rome's Campo de' Fiori on a mule. Stripped...
+
Lesson Plan
New Zealand Ministry of Education

Nz Ministry of Education: Speech Making

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
This instructional activity focuses on speech making including watching famous speakers and noting their language choice, diction, body language, pauses, etc. This is followed by group work practicing the "hamburger" method of writing a...
+
Article
Seeker

Seeker: Mlk Tested 'Dream' Speech as a Teen

For Students 9th - 10th
Article reports on a speech given by a teen Martin Luther King, Jr. and its similiarities to his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Includes a video.
+
Handout
Other

Disabled World: Famous People With Disabilities

For Students 9th - 10th
This site offers a list of well-known people with a disability or mental condition who have overcome their barriers to achieve and contribute to society. Divided by disability category and include actors, world leaders, singers, and...
+
Primary
Nobel Media AB

The Nobel Prize: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986 Award Ceremony Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
Text from a speech introducing Wole Soyinka before he accepted the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature. Contains biographical information and discussion of his literary works.
+
Lesson Plan
University of Maryland

Voices of Democracy: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, "Inaugural Address" January 1961

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Teachers can use this activity to teach Language Arts standards, as well as Social Studies standards. This lesson plan includes pre-reading ideas,...
+
Primary
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Khrushchev's Secret Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides some excerpts from a translation of Khrushchev's famous Secret Speech denouncing Stalin policies.
+
Primary
Other

Fieldston School United States History Survey: Rugged Individualism Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
Herbert Hoover closed his 1928 presidential campaign with this speech, an expression of the Republican Party's philosophy of rugged individualism.
+
Primary
The History Place

The History Place: Abraham Lincoln: "House Divided" Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from The History Place provides Abraham Lincoln's famous speach given at the close of the republican state convention - "A House Divided". It is the full text of the speech.
+
Interactive
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Site Search

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the search engine for American Rhetoric, a site that offers thousands of primary source speeches. Just type in the name of the speech or the speaker and select from the choices.
+
Primary
Wyzant

Wyzant: History and Politics Outloud: Winston Churchill and the Sinews of Peace Address

For Students 9th - 10th
Resource provides "The Sinews of Peace Address," which is regarded as Winston Churchill's most important speech as Leader of the Opposition. In audio, also.
+
Website
University of Maryland

Voices of Democracy: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "How Long? Not Long" 1965

For Students 9th - 10th
On March 25, 1965, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on a flatbed truck and delivered his "How Long? Not Long?" speech. The speech was delivered at the conclusion of the Selma-to-Montgomery march. Included are the full text...
+
Website
University of Maryland

Voices of Democracy: John F. Kennedy, "Address: "The President and Press" 1961

For Students 9th - 10th
Read President John F. Kennedy's speech, "The President and the Press," which he delivered before the American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA) on April 27, 1961. In this speech, he attempted to explain and justify the Bay of Pigs...

Other popular searches