431 BC: "
Pericles's Funeral Oration" by the Greek statesman
Pericles, significant because it departed from the typical formula of Athenian funeral speeches and was a glorification of Athens' achievements, designed to stir the spirits of a nation at war
399 BC: "
The Apology of Socrates",
Plato's version of the speech given by the philosopher
Socrates, defending himself against charges of being a man "who corrupted the young, refused to worship the gods, and created new deities."
330 BC: "
On the Crown" by the Greek orator
Demosthenes, which illustrated the last great phase of political life in Athens
63 BC: "
Catiline Orations", given by
Marcus Tullius Cicero, the consul of Rome, exposing to the Roman Senate the plot of Lucius Sergius Catilina and his friends to overthrow the Roman government
1601:
The Golden Speech by
Elizabeth I of England, in which she revealed that it would be her final Parliament and spoke of the respect she had for the country, her position, and the parliamentarians themselves.
1858:
A House Divided, in which candidate for the U.S. Senate
Abraham Lincoln, speaking of the pre-Civil War United States, quoted Matthew 12:25 and said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
1860:
Cooper Union Address by candidate for U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln, in which Lincoln elaborated his views on
slavery, affirming that he did not wish it to be expanded into the western territories and claiming that the Founding Fathers would agree with this position.
1861: The
Cornerstone speech by
Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederate States of America, in which he set forth the differences between the constitution of the Confederacy and that of the United States, laid out causes for the American Civil War, and defended slavery.
1861:
Abraham Lincoln's Fourth of July Address, a written statement sent to the U.S. Congress, recounts the initial stages of the American Civil War and sets out
Abraham Lincoln's analysis of the southern slave states rebellion as well as Lincoln's thoughts on the war and American society.
1863: The
Gettysburg Address by
Abraham Lincoln, resolving that government "of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
1865:
Lincoln's Second Inaugural, in which the President sought to avoid harsh treatment of the defeated South.
1890–1900s:
Acres of Diamonds speeches by Temple University President Russell Conwell, the central idea of which was that the resources to achieve all good things were present in one's own community.
1893: Swami
Vivekananda's address at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, in which the Indian sage introduced Hinduism to North America.
1900:
Hun Speech by
Wilhelm II, the emperor's reaction to the
Boxer Rebellion in which he demands to counter the insurgency with brutal force (like the
Huns).
1933:
You Cannot Take Our Honour by Otto Wels, the only German Parliamentarian to speak against the
Enabling Act, which took the power of legislation away from the Parliament and handed it to Adolf Hitler's cabinet.
1939:
King George VI of the
United Kingdom delivers a radio address at the outbreak of World War II calling for his subjects in Britain and the Empire to stand firm in the dark days ahead.
1939:
Reichstag Speech, also known as Hitler's prophecy speech. Amid rising international tensions
Adolf Hitler tells the German public and the world that the outbreak of war would mean the end of European Jewry.
1940: The
Appeal of 18 June, French leader
Charles de Gaulle's radio broadcast from London, the beginning of the Resistance to German occupation during World War II.
1940:
Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat, a phrase used by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in 1897 but popularized by
Winston Churchill in the first of three inspirational radio addresses during the opening months of World War II.
1940: The final speech in The Great Dictator by
Charlie Chaplin in the role of a Jewish barber, in which he demanded solidarity between all people and a return to values like peace, empathy and freedom.
1943:
Do You Want Total War? by Nazi propaganda minister
Joseph Goebbels, who exhorted the Germans to continue the war even though it would be long and difficult.
1947: The
Marshall Plan speech given at Harvard University by U.S. Secretary of State
George C. Marshall, introducing an effort to offer financial assistance to rebuild Europe after World War II.
1947:
Muhammad Ali Jinnah's 11 August Speech on the eve of independence from Britain about the struggle for Pakistan, injustices in partition, future road map for running the country, justice, equality and religious freedom for all.
1951:
Old Soldiers Never Die by U.S. General
Douglas MacArthur in an appearance before Congress after being fired by President Truman as Supreme Commander in the Korean War
1952: The political
Checkers speech by U.S. vice-presidential candidate
Richard M. Nixon, in which he mentioned his family's pet dog of that name.
1953:
The Chance for Peace was an address by U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower shortly after the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that highlighted the cost of the US–Soviet rivalry to both nations.
1956:
On the Personality Cult and its Consequences by Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev, castigating actions taken by the regime of deceased Communist Party secretary Joseph Stalin. Widely known as the "Secret Speech" because it was delivered at a closed session of that year's Communist Party Congress.
1960: Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association" by then-candidate
John F. Kennedy in Houston, Texas, to address fears that his being a member of the
Catholic Church would impact his decision-making as President.[3]
1960:
Congolese Independence speech by Congolese independence leader and its first democratically elected Prime Minister
Patrice Lumumba in South Africa, in which he described the suffering of the Congolese under Belgian colonialism and the negatives that lay behind the pageantry and paternalism of the Belgian "
civilising mission" begun by
Leopold II in the
Congo Free State.
1961:
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, the inaugural address of U.S. President
John F. Kennedy, in which he advised his "fellow Americans" to "ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."
1961: The
Vast Wasteland speech by
Newton Minow, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, in which he asserted that "when television is bad, nothing is worse."
1962:
Richard Nixon turned his concession speech in the California gubernatorial election into a 15-minute monologue aimed mainly at the press, famously (though as it turned out, prematurely) stating "...you don't have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is
my last press conference."
1963:
I Am Prepared To Die by South African leader
Nelson Mandela at his trial in which he laid out the reasoning for using violence as a tactic against apartheid.
1963:
American University Speech by U.S. President
John F. Kennedy to construct a better relationship with the Soviet Union and to prevent another threat of nuclear war after the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
1963:
I Have a Dream, Lincoln Memorial speech by
Martin Luther King Jr. in which the civil rights leader called for racial equality and an end to discrimination.
1964:
The Ballot or the Bullet by Nation of Islam leader
Malcolm X, urging African-Americans to exercise their right to vote but warning that if they were prevented from attaining equality, it might be necessary to take up arms.
1964:
A Time for Choosing, the stock campaign speech that
Ronald Reagan made on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.
1966:
Day of Affirmation by U.S. Senator
Robert F. Kennedy, speaking to South African students about individual liberty, apartheid, and the need for civil rights in the United States.
1967: Vive le Québec libre ("Long live free Quebec"), a phrase ending a speech by French President
Charles de Gaulle in Montreal, Canada. The slogan became popular among those wishing to show their support for Quebec sovereignty.
1971:
Address to the Women of America by feminist leader
Gloria Steinem. Not only did the speech address the issues of sexism and misogyny, but also those of racism and social class.
1975:
No More Than a Piece of Paper, the Israeli response to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, that Zionism is "a form of racism and racial discrimination," delivered by Ambassador
Chaim Herzog.
1979: A speech on U.S. energy policy by President
Jimmy Carter speaks of a "crisis of confidence" among the country's public, and comes to be known as the
"malaise" speech, despite Carter not using that word in the address.
1983:
Evil Empire, a phrase used in speeches by U.S. President
Ronald Reagan to refer to the Soviet Union.
1987:
Tear Down This Wall, the challenge made at the Brandenburg Gate by U.S. President
Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall.
1987:
Today and Forever, Quebec Premier
Robert Bourassa's reaction to the failure of the Meech Lake Accord on the Canadian Constitution.
1991: A speech by U.S. President
George Bush to the Ukrainian parliament, encouraging Ukraine to remain in the then-disintegrating Soviet Union, caused an uproar among Ukrainian nationalists and American conservatives, with commentator William Safire dubbing it the
Chicken Kiev speech.
1992–2000 Post Cold War years
1992:
Culture War speech by U.S. conservative Presidential candidate
Pat Buchanan, in which he described "a religious war going on in our country for the soul of America."
1995: The concession speech of Quebec Premier
Jacques Parizeau after the narrow defeat of the 1995 Quebec independence referendum, in which he blamed the loss on "money and ethnic votes," mistranslated into English as "
money and the ethnic vote."
1996:
I Am an African by South African Vice-President
Thabo Mbeki on the adoption of a new Constitution for the country.
1999:
State of the Union Address by United States President
Bill Clinton, in which he became the first president to use the words "sexual orientation" in a State of the Union Address.
1999:
Elie Wiesel's: "The Perils of Indifference" Speech, which he gave in front of President of the United States
Bill Clinton.
2004:
Pound Cake speech by African American entertainer
Bill Cosby, in which he criticized several significant aspects of modern African American culture.
2006: The
Őszöd speech, a strident and obscenity-laden speech made by Hungarian Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány to fellow members of the Hungarian Socialist Party in Balatonőszöd. The speech, intended to be confidential, was leaked to the media and led to mass protests.
2008:
A More Perfect Union, in which U.S. Presidential candidate
Barack Obama responded to controversial remarks made by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor.
2009:
A New Beginning, a speech made by U.S. President
Barack Obama which was designed to reframe relations between the
Islamic world and the
United States after the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the U.S.-led
war in Iraq. The President gave this speech in Cairo, Egypt, outlining his personal commitment to engagement with the
Muslim world, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect, and discusses how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them.
2015:
State of the Union Address by United States President
Barack Obama, in which he became the first president to use the words "lesbian", "gay", "bisexual", and "transgender" in a State of the Union Address.