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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: George C. Marshall: The Marshall Plan

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text and audio of George C. Marshall's speech "The Marshall Plan," a plan to help Europe recover from the devastation of WW II, delivered on June 5, 1947, at Harvard University.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Eleanor Roosevelt: The Struggle for Human Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text of Eleanor Roosevelt's speech "The Struggle for Human Rights," on the preservation of human freedom delivered on September 28, 1948, in Paris, France.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Carrie Chapman Catt: "The Crisis"

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text of Carrie Chapman Catt's speech "The Crisis" on the topic of Woman's Suffrage delivered on September 7, 1916, in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Newton N. Minow: "Television and the Public Interest"

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text and audio of the speech "Television and the Public Interest" by Newton N. Minow, from the Federal Communications Commission, delivered on May 9, 1961, at National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, DC.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Richard M. Nixon: Cambodian Incursion Address

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text, audio. and video [21:54] of President Nixon's speech explaining the conditions in Vietnam and the need to remove the enemy sanctuaries along the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. It was delivered on April 30, 1970, from...
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Lyndon Baines Johnson: On Vietnam and Not Seeking Reelection

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text, audio, and video [2:52] of President Lyndon Johnson's speech concerning the Vietnam War and his not seeking re-election.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: William Jennings Bryan: Imperialism (Flag of an Empire)

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text and audio of William Jennings Bryan's speech "Imperialism" (Flag of an Empire) delivered on August 8, 1900, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Theodore Roosevelt: "The Man With the Muck Rake"

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text of Theodore Roosevelt's "The Man with the Muck-rake" speech on April 14, 1906.
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Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: I Pod Inspired Writing Lessons: I Say to You Today I Have a Dream!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Inspired by MLK's passionate "I Have a Dream Speech," the mentor text "Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.", by Doreen Rappaport, and U2's Pride (In the Name of Love)", students will write speeches that detail...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Collaborative Exploration of the Gettysburg Address

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This lesson plan engages learners in a study of the collaborative elements of Lincoln's famous speech. Included in the lesson plan is an overview, practice, objectives, resources, preparation, and more.
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Website
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Colonial Williamsburg: Politics in Colonial Virginia

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the politics involved in Colonial Williamsburg, leading up to the American Revolution. Content focuses on famous speeches, documents, and influential people.
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Handout
US Senate

U.s. Senate: The Caning of Senator Charles Sumner

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes Preston Brooks' attack on Senator Charles Sumner, May 22, 1856, in the Senate after Sumner's famous speech, "Crimes Against Kansas."
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Primary
University of Oklahoma

Univ.of Oklahoma: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"

For Students 9th - 10th
This site presents the full text of Patrick Henry's famous speech, "Give me liberty or give me death!"
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Primary
The History Place

The History Place: Frederick Douglass Speech

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from The History Place provides a brief biography of Douglass and the text to his famous Fourth of July speech. The information is medium in length and worth checking out on the subject.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg Address

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the text of Abraham Lincoln's famous speech, "The Gettysburg Address," delivered November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This page also offers audio readings by six famous people: Johnny Cash, Jeff Daniels, Jim Getty,...
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Sojourner Truth

For Students 9th - 10th
Easy to read biography of anti-slavery activist, abolitionist and feminist, Sojourner Truth. Article covers her early life as a slave, her Civil War years, and her famous speeches.
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Article
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Lincoln at Cooper Union

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An essay about Lincoln's speech in 1860 at Cooper Union which brought him to the attention of the national Republican Party.
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Primary
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Testimony of Bobby Seale in Chicago Conspiracy Trial

For Students 9th - 10th
This page contains a transcript of the court testimony and questioning of Bobby Seale, Chairman of the Black Panther Party, concerning his involvement in the Chicago Riots in 1968. Also included is a transcript of the Seale's speech in...
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Handout
Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Digital Library: Historical Paradigms in Demosthenes' Speeches

For Students 9th - 10th
An interesting article on the subjects the famous Greek orator Demosthese discussed in his public speeches. For example, Demosthenes talked about King Philip in many of his political speeches.
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Activity
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Supreme Court: Landmark Cases: Schenck v. u.s. (1919)

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS offers a summary of the landmark Supreme Court case of Schenck v. U.S. which dealt with when an individual's free speech rights under the First Amendment presented a "clear and present danger." This case has since been overturned.
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Texas v. Johnson (1989)

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court's decision that burning the American flag is a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment. Students learn about the First Amendment freedom of speech and the...
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Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: America in 1850: Daniel Webster: Speech to the u.s. Senate, March 7, 1850

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Links to Senator Daniel Webster's famous plea, amidst the turmoil of sectional conflict, for national unity and his support of the Compromise of 1850.
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream"

For Students 9th - 10th
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to hundreds of thousands of Americans at what is known as the March on Washington. This now-famous speech was both an apex and catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement in...
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Statement at the Smith Act Trial

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text of the testimony of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a member of the USA Communist Party, who spoke in her own defense at her trial for being a Communist on April 24 1952, in New York.

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