We have already covered famous fictional speeches, so it seems a good time to discuss non-fictional ones. This list includes the greatest speeches in all time and I have also attempted to put them into order from great to greatest – this is not an easy task and I expect there will be some debate on the order – but debate is good! If you think there are other great speeches that are not included here, please feel free to say so in the comments. I may add to the “notable omissions” section. Before reading, please note that I have only included one speech per person.
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.
Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1960 and on that day he gave this speech. In the speech he asks all Americans to unite against common enemies of tyranny, poverty, disease, and war. To work toward this end, Kennedy created the Peace Corps in 1961. This speech is only one of the many that Kennedy gave and it shows his great talent for rhetoric.
You can see the second half of this speech here, or you can read it in full here.
The tribute of deeds has been paid in part; for the dead have them in deeds, and it remains only that their children should be maintained at the public charge until they are grown up: this is the solid prize with which, as with a garland, Athens crowns her sons living and dead, after a struggle like theirs.
Pericles was a statesman and orator in Athens during its golden age. He had such a profound influence on society that his contemporary historians called him “the first citizen of Athens”. This speech was delivered as part of the public funeral for those who died at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War. According to Wikipedia, It was established Athenian practice by the late fifth century to hold a public funeral in honour of all those who had died in war. The remains of the dead were left out for three days in a tent, where offerings could be made for the dead. Then a funeral procession was held, with ten cypress coffins carrying the remains, one for each of the Athenian tribes. The procession led to a public grave (the Kerameikos), where they were buried. The last part of the ceremony was a speech delivered by a prominent Athenian citizen (in this case, Pericles).
You can read the rest of the speech here.
You have left it to women in your land, the men of all civilised countries have left it to women, to work out their own salvation. That is the way in which we women of England are doing. Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; we won’t do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death.
Pankhurst was one of the leaders of the British suffragette movement before World War I and her name is the one most commonly associated with the group. She was arrested on a number of occasions and it was between imprisonments that she travelled to America and gave the speech here. It was not until 1928 that women were granted fully equal rights of voting as men in Britain.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
You have thus far waged unjust wars, at one time and another; you have brandished mad weapons to your mutual destruction, for no other reason than covetousness and pride, as a result of which you have deserved eternal death and sure damnation. We now hold out to you wars which contain the glorious reward of martyrdom, which will retain that title of praise now and forever.
Pope Urban II (French born Otho de Lagery) is best known as the Pope who started the first crusade. It is with the speech here that he declared the crusade open at the Council of Clermont. The first crusade was called in order to help the Byzantine Emporer fight against the Islamic rulers in the Holy Land. The crusade was a success and the Kingdom of Jerusalem was created as a result. In addition to starting the first crusade, Pope Urban II created the Roman Curia (a group of Bishops who help in the day to day running of the Church), and was considered a great diplomat.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your roof. You cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you cannot turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly. And then, some day, although this is seldom done, you really ought to return it.
Phelps was an author and a scholar who taught at Yale University in the English department for 41 years. This speech is included because it is a great treatise on books and reading. It was read over the radio one year before the Nazi’s began their systematic destruction of books in Germany which did not match Nazi ideals.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?
Sojourner Truth was a slave woman freed by the abolition of slavery in New York. She became a well known support of the abolitionist cause, traveling around the US. The speech here was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. In 1872 she tried to vote in the presidential election but was turned away at the polling place. She died in 1883.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons 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.
Due to a tip-off from the CIA, Mandela was arrested in 1962 for inciting people to strike and leaving the country without a permit. He was sentenced to five years in prison. In 1964, the government brought further charges including sabotage, high treason and conspiracy to overthrow the government. This speech is his opening statement at the trial.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that 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 the table of brotherhood.
King delivered this speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech is seen as a turning point in the struggle for equality that black Americans were suffering. The speech was ranked Top American Speech by a poll of scholars of public address. The famous part of the speech (“I have a dream”) was not actually written down – King ad-libbed this section.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
The Gettysburg address is the most quoted speech in US history and is the most famous of Lincoln’s. The exact wording of the speech is not known as the five original copies that still exist all differ slightly and differ from contemporary newspaper texts. The speech was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
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[.]
This speech was given shortly after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. It was the second of the three well known speeches given by Churchill during the Battle of France (the others being “Blood, toil, tears, and sweat”, and “This was their finest hour”). The speech was given in the wake of withdrawal of British forces from from France at Dunkirk. Churchill, a master rhetorician, used anaphora (see item 3), asyndeton (see item 9), and Germanic root words (see item 3 here) throughout the speech to give it more impact.
You can read the rest of the speech here.
Well George, we knocked the bastard off.
This famous line was spoken by Sir Edmund Hilary after he and Sherpa Tenzing had conquered mount Everest. I have included it here (even though it is not truly a speech) because it is such a great line and has the force of a speech!
Notable omissions: Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death”
This article is licensed under the GFDL because it contains quotations from the Wikipedia articles: Gettysburg Address, and Pericles’ Funeral Oration
I’m sorry too, but the best single-phrase speech in history is without a doubt this one:
“It’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Seriously, it was said from the frickin’ moon. You just can’t top that.
MPW: I have sent a support ticket to the hosting admins – hopefully they can resolve it
thanks j
Kreachure, not to be picky but Armstrong forgot to say the “a” He said “It’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It’s funny because leaving out the “a” makes it take on a slightly different meaning.
class list,
I thought Churchill’s speech on the role of the RAF during the battle of britain was a good turn of phrase and showed the importance of the fighters, ‘never in the field of human conflict, was so much, owed to so few, by so many
Great collection here. I havent yet, but will take time to read them.I haven’t gone throught the comments either so….. I wonder what a cut-up of all of these speaches might sound like? That might be interesting to…spoken into a tape recorder by a speed reader.
I will read them, honest.
I think I recall that the Gettysburg address was over, practically before it began. the image of a head over other heads, among the crowd, couldn’t take the picture fast enough.
It must of been something else, to be “there” with one’s own ears..before microphone-cables-speaker systems-tee vees. Can you image being stuck in back (because you woke up late) “Uhh Can You speak up!? Abe! Hey, Abe! I can’t hear you. Can you repeat that!”
In a quick overview of the list I thought of, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
His “Self Reliance” is a piece of work. I’m sure he must have spoken it before a crowd, as he was considered one of the great orators of his time.
great american quotes but not speeches:)
P.S.> From great cheeses to great speeches.
Just putting that out there.
Blodball: No, he said it. There was an audio malfunction. *****ysis has found it, well, part of it. Either way, what if he was just excited. Everyone has had one of those stupid stutter moments. When reading Shakespeare or hitting on that chick on the other side of the room. Sometimes you just over think it.
crimanon, that is cool. i never knew
Hooray for #8!
MPW: Your profile is now fixed
J: Thank you for fixing that.
I had to give a speech in College Speech class. I wish I had known about Ain’t I A Woman? by Sojourner Truth. I can’t remember the speech I did, but I remember it was a man’s speech and I had dressed in my boyfriend’s suit and pulled my hair up and slicked it back. My teacher didn’t even recognize me at first. But Sojourner’s would have a been a much more memorable speech.
Sojourner Truth’s words are so direct, as if she were in the audience; hushed or held down by her Miss, but she shrugged off and stood and spoke. wooden floors creaking and hand held fans wavering.
How was it delivered, I wonder.
well ok, I do read ” delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. ” and that she was free when she spoke it. But damn if the speach isnt’t filled with a sence of urgency.
Just heard on the radio as I write this: Bo Diddley’s dead. R.I.P.
Diogenes: As a matter of fact – she marched herself up to the steps, sat down, and delivered the speech uninvited. So I think you are spot on with your interpretation. Amazing woman and an amazing speech!
I am sure that there were no pictures of William Lyon Phelps, with a huge toothy smile available eh? , His ” Pleasure of Books” isn’t anything that I havent heard or met in someone, or thought myself. It’s a tad dry and yet romantic. But true.
Diogenes: I actually included it so there would be one great speech which was not delivered in a time of trial or for political reasons
Can’t argue with your choices…though many more are worth consideration. Patrick Henry, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, to name just a few Americans. My beef lies in the relevance, or lack thereof, of JFK’s quote vis-a-vis today’s political and social culture.
Kennedy’s “Ask not…” resonates with me, as I am old enough to remember it vividly. Sadly those words seem moot after 47 years of socialist tinkering.
I also remember his stirring words admonishing a world of nations, some cowed by, some enamored with, Soviet style totalitarianism:
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
This quote seems particularly relevant today.
Great speeches are great when we can relate to them. I don’t think we’re relating very well… at least not to Kennedy’s.
Keep up the good work. Love The List Universe.
The greatest words spoken were to help others or inspire people to come up to the plate. All thess speeches fulfill that requirement. I agree that MLK Jr speech gives me shivers and makes me cry when I hear it.I show it every year to my students. Their reaction is the same as mine. They have heard of him and his work but the words make all the difference. Now I have video to show the others as well. To be so eloquent and stunning in meaning is a powerful thing that must be used for good. I abhor the fact that people are cheering for Hitler. He was a monster with a perforated brain due to Parkinsens and tirtuary (sp?)syphillis. I don’t “hate” anyone enough to cause them or their family (people) harm.I just don’t get it.
Really no FDR, seriously i thought his, “only thing we have to fear is fear itself” speech would be here.
Nice list, was hoping Lincoln would be on it. I remember going to Washington DC when I was younger and being so in awe of seeing the words carved into the walls of the Lincoln Memorial. It brought a smile to my face after being disappointed when I realized that the statue was too large for me to sit on its lap.
Yeah, I was a weird child.
I really enjoyed the Sojourner Truth speech. So simple yet so powerful.
Ronald Reagan-A Time for Choosing (aka “The Speech”)
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganatimeforchoosing.htm
I don’t think MLK speech is that good. In the end it to much of a “fantasy” i think it would be really hard to have blacks and whites leave together.
the churchill one is good though
First time writing here. I’m from Bangladesh. Very few people know about Bangladesh and it’s freedom struggle. Here’s a link of a freedom Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (7 March, 1971). This speach started our freedom fight literally. If you don’t have patience list to the last part of the speech …… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sKcC_YqzTo
George W. Bush’s post 9-11 “Line in the sand” speech.
While many can and will argue it’s validity as a ‘great’ speech, it can not be argued that it epitomized the anger and patritoism all americans felt after the tragedy of 9-11. Further it propelled President Bush to heights of approval by both americans and congress prior to the close/disclosure of the ‘failure’ of the war iraq.
Nice list, particularly Churchill’s at the end.
Even now, listening to his speech brings a lump to my throat, having been told about how things were for ordinary people back then, my Granddad said that the man brought them hope and steeled their nerves.
Thank God for the man.
I’m not exaggerating this, but no.6, the Pleasure of Books certainly changed my life.
When people asked me, why are you buying so many books? Why aren’t you buying hard cover? And why don’t you just borrow the book? And then they were surprised I read some book as many as 4 times over.
It simply much more satisfying to enjoy reading instead of babysitting a book.
Everybody forgot Clinton’s famous “I did not have *****ual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
Churchill is the correct choice for number one. It was the darkest days of the war, the blitkreig was a wave of shock and awe that was rolling across Europe.
England stood as an island of hope, with its colonial allies on the other sides of the world while America vaccilated and clamoured for distance from the War of Europe.
A nation of shop keepers stood firm against the Boche and Churchill mustered the strength of the few…
How can that not be the best speech of all time?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And no, Im not English (nor American), before everyone jumps on me.
Subash Chandra Bose’s “Give me blood; I’ll give you freedom” speech was an awesome one because it led lot of people to join the Indian National Army to fight against British imperialism in India.
He took few cadets away from Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent path; that requires some conviction and skill.
Alok: (in my best Clinton voice)”That depends on how you define the word ‘forgot.’”
THANK YOU for not placing MLK speech as #1… while it is a great speech of it’s time there are a number of greater speeches that hold more power…One in particular would be “The Speech” by former President Ronald Regan…
I still say leaving out Martin Luther’s (the *original* martin luther
declaration at Worms, and the Sermon on the Mount, is a bit of an oversight.
no bill pullman from independence day? c’mon, i’d like to see obama or clinton step into a f-14 tomcat when they come for us..
How about Adolf Hitler’s speech during the 1936 Summer Olympics games?
“The sportive, knightly battle awakens the best human characteristics. It doesn’t separate, but unites the combatants in understanding and respect. It also helps to connect the countries in the spirit of peace. That’s why the Olympic Flame should never die.” -Adolf Hitler, 1936
_____________________________________________________________
Also Dwight’s speech from The Office.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=THOJAWZD-vE
“Blood alone moves the wheels of history! Have you ever asked yourselves in an hour of meditation which everyone finds during the day, how long we have been striving for greatness? Not only the years we’ve been at war, the war of work. But from the moment as a child when we realized that the world could be conquered. It has been a lifetime struggle, a never-ending fight, I say to you, and you will understand that it is a privilege to fight!” -Dwight K. Schrute, 2006
Yeah, Churchill’s career was a landmark in the history of the English language. And speaking of English oratory, it’s a shame the St. Crispin’s Day speech from (iirc) Henry the Vth is fictional (the dialog anyway).
Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook!” speech were he defended the honesty[yeah,right] of the Office of the President. – (I heard that “I am not a crook” is a misquote.)
“were” should be where or …in which…
I used to hear the lincoln speech alot as a kid (even though I’m Canadian). It would be on tv shows constantly.
Although, I’ll never forget the speech Clinton made about “not having *****ual relations” with Monica Lewinsky *snicker*
Read the following bearing the ‘war on terror’ in mind…
Hermann Goering:
Naturally the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6ring
Last time I checked, The Sermon on the Mount had more effect that any of the speeches on the list.
I don’t suppose it would hurt to correct the record. The segment of speech attributed to Pope Urban II was actually given by Guibert, Abbot of Nogent, in “Historia quae dicitur Gesta Dei per Francos.”
Scroll up from Pope Urban’s speech to read what Guibert had to say.
Here are Pope Urban’s striking words…
On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy learned of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and gave a heartfelt, impromptu speech in Indianapolis’s inner city, in which Kennedy called for a reconciliation between the races. Riots broke out in 60 cities in the wake of King’s death, but not in Indianapolis, a fact many attribute to the effect of this speech.
This should be in the top 10.
Does it have to be an authentic speech, because Henry V’s speech rocks on.
If we are mark’d to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God’s will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian.’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day
Ha! Sorry – first time here and just saw another spot for fictional speeches. My bad, folks
John F. Kennedy was ELECTED in 1960 and inaugurated on January 20, 1961, NOT 1960.
as a stern brit i would have to put Rev Ian Paisley on there somewhere solely because when he could give a speech better than anyone, regardless of wether he was right or wrong
Great collection. But one of the greatest speech ever made was by the first Indian Prime minister Mr J Nehru on the eve of Indias independence. This is titled “A tryst with Destiny”
Please include this.
Queen Elizabeth I speech at Tilbury was a good’un too! That was the one right before the Spanish Armada.
I like the inclusion of Sir Ed there, priceless!
I am a bit surprised that the “history will absolve me” speech by castro isnt here. Or the Castro “angola” speech to the UN
Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech, on the eve of Indian independence from the British Colonial rule, is worthy of being in the TOP 10 list.
“Mr. Gorbechev tear down this wall.” – that was a great speech too. i like the mt. everest speech, to bad he didnt have a higher mtn to climb after that.
Ahh Emmeline Pankhurst was a feisty little cow
God love her xD
I thought that this was an interesting list. I am absolutly certain no political bias was involved in creating it. It seems interesting to me the Pericles’ Funeral Oration, Freedom or Death, Urban II Speech at Clermont, and Pleasure of Books all rank higher than Regan’s “Mr. Gorbechev Tear Down This Wall!” I have never heard of the speeches I just mentioned.
I doubt that Perecles’ Funeral Oration would ever have the impact that Regan’s “Mr. Gorbechev Tear Down This Wall!” speech did! This whole list was put together just to poke a finger in the eye of conservatives. It doesn’t work we know the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
”in the end we will not remember the words of our enemys, but the silence of our friends”.
-martin luther king JR
Pericles Funeral Oration should be number one.
MLK Jr. would be a close second.
And Mike-
Seriously? Reagan? Come ooooonnnnnnn…really?
Did you ever READ Funeral Oration?
I would also argue that future President Barack Obama’s speech on race given in March in PA will certainly go down in history as being one of the best political speeches ever.
One of the greatest speeches of all time was by Jawaharlal Nehru on the eve of Indian Independence from the British. A couple of lines worth noting:
At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.
That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.
Gee… I wonder if it was an American that compiled this list?
Apparently half of the world’s greatest speeches, going back thousands of years happened in the last 200, in the USA.