Speeches

Looking for articles on a topic related to speeches? Search in the recommended databases listed below.

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NOT PUBLISHED

Useful Websites

Abraham Lincoln Online: Speeches and Writings

Collection of various quotations, speeches, writings, and documents from Abraham Lincoln.

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American Leaders Speak: Recordings from World War I and the 1920 Election

Collection of audio recordings of speakers from the WWI era and the 1920 election conducted by the Nation Forum project.

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American Rhetoric

Database of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events.

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The Avalon Project (Yale Law School)

Collection of documents relevant to the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy and government. Avalon documents have referenced materials in the text linked as well.

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Articles and Speeches (Feminist.com)

A collection of feminist speeches.

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Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World

Non-profit project dedicated to preserving and providing access to speeches from influential, contemporary women around the world. As of 2017, the site provides access to nearly 700 speeches.

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History Channel: Famous Speeches and Audio

Provides access to video clips of speeches from the History Channel website.

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U.S. Presidential Inaugurations: "I Do Solemnly Swear" Resource Guide

Library of Congress resource that provides diaries and letters written by presidents and those who witnessed the inaugurations, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses, broadsides, inaugural tickets and programs, prints, photographs, and sheet music. 

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Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States

Inaugural addresses available from President Washington through President Trump.

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Library of Congress

Homepage for the Library of Congress, the U.S.'s first established cultural institution and the largest library in the world. Provides digital access to many resources.

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Vincent Voice Library

The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library is a collection of over 100,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888. The collection includes the voices of over 500,000 persons from all walks of life. Political and cultural leaders and minor players in the human drama are captured and cataloged to serve the research needs of a local, national and international user base. Clients include students and faculty of Michigan State University, other scholars and researchers, broadcasting networks, news agencies and film, video, and Web production companies.

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MLK Online

Watch, read, and listen to speeches from MLK.

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Searching for Speeches

Speeches other types of oral communicaion can be primary sources of great importance to researchers in the fields of history, communication, religion and related disciplines. This guide identifies and describes some of the most significant indexing tools and full-text sources of speeches.

Suggested searches:

  • "i have a dream"
  • churchill and speech*
  • reagan and challenger and speech*
  • "susan b anthony" and speech*
  • "sojourner truth" and speech*
  • "barbara jordan" and (rhetoric* or speech* or orat*)
  • kennedy and inaugura*
  • "elizabeth i" and armada
  • "martin luther king" and (speech* or rhetoric*)
  • gehrig and (speech* or address*)
  • "malcolm x" and (speech* or rhetoric*)

 

Search this database for transcripts or recordings of important speeches:

Historical Newspapers

This collection of historical newspapers provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. Includes:

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