American Speeches: Political Oratory from Abraham Lincoln to Bill Clinton

by Ted Widmer (Editor)

The history of American oratory exhibits, in the words of William F. Buckley, “powerful ignition points for hot flashes of indignation, contempt, rage, veneration and yearning.” This volume (the second of an unprecedented two-volume collection) gathers the unabridged texts of 83 eloquent and dramatic speeches delivered by 45 American public figures between 1865 and 1997, beginning with Abraham Lincoln’s last speech on Reconstruction and ending with Bill Clinton’s heartfelt tribute to the Little Rock Nine. During this period American political oratory continued to evolve, as a more conversational style, influenced by the intimacy of radio and television, emerged alongside traditional forms of rhetoric.

Included are speeches on Reconstruction by Thaddeus Stevens and African-American congressman Robert Brown Elliott, Frederick Douglass’s brilliant oration on Abraham Lincoln, and Oliver Wendell Holmes’s “touched with fire” Memorial Day Address. Speeches by Robert Ingersoll and William Jennings Bryan capture the fervor of 19th-century political conventions, while Theodore Roosevelt and Carl Schurz offer opposing views on imperialism. Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell denounce the cruelty of lynching and the injustice of Jim Crow; Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Carrie Chapman Catt advocate the enfranchisement of women; and Woodrow Wilson and Henry Cabot Lodge present conflicting visions of the League of Nations.

Also included are wartime speeches by George Patton and Dwight Eisenhower; an address on the atomic bomb by J. Robert Oppenheimer; Richard Nixon’s “Checkers Speech;” Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet;” Barry Goldwater’s speech to the 1964 Republican convention; Mario Savio urging Berkeley students to stop “the machine;” Barbara Jordan defending the Constitution during Watergate; and an extensive selection of speeches by Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.

Each volume contains biographical and explanatory notes, and an index

LIBRARY OF AMERICA  is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History

875 pages, Hardcover

Published October 5, 2006

About the author

Edward (Ted) Ladd Widmer (born 1963) is a historian, writer, and librarian, who served as a speechwriter in the later days of the Clinton White House.

His parents were Eric G. Widmer and Ellen B. Widmer. As of 1992, his father was working as Dean of Admissions and financial aid at Brown University, and his mother was an Associate Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures at Wesleyan University. Ted Widmer obtained an A.B. in the history and literature of France and the United States, an A.M. in history, and a Ph.D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University.

Widmer was appointed lecturer on history and literature at Harvard University from 1993 until 1997. He then spent a few years working with Bill Clinton, both during and after Clinton's presidency. He was the special assistant to the president for national security affairs, writing foreign policy speeches, and subsequently was the senior advisor to the president for special projects, advising on history and scholarship related issues. He conducted interviews with Clinton while Clinton was writing his autobiography.

He was the first director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and an associate professor of history at Washington College from 2001. On July 1, 2006 he was appointed director and librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection provides a good look at the issues that concerned people between the Civil War and the end of the Cold War. And although the speeches are restricted to political oratory, the editor defines this broadly, because not all the speakers are politicians. Included in this collection is a particularly moving speech by Ida B. Wells on lynching, an earthy speech by General Patton given to the troops as they move to invade Normandy in WWII, the speech MLK gave the night before his assassination (I may not get there with you . . . .), and Bill Clinton's speech honoring the Little Rock Nine closes out the collection. I recommend this to anyone interested in American History.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt a bit more diverse in both the included oraters and the subjects covered than the previous volume. Many of these are more directly relevant to our current environment which makes for a more interesting read than volume 1 too.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a wonderful book. The speeches were powerful and illuminating. I could imagine what it would be like to have been present to have heard them spoken. You don't hear speeches like that anymore.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these are just excruciating to sit through. Nothing has changed. We've learned nothing. Oh god, we've learned nothing.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class I took in college. I found it very interesting. I do enjoy reading about history and these speeches touch on the various issues and concerns our country faced throughout the years.

[Brenden · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Speeches: Political Oratory from Abraham Lincoln to Bill Clinton (Library of America) by Ted Widmer (2006)