Greatest Recorded Speeches in American History (1933-2008)
America's major events told through the words of its leaders, since the widespread adoption of the film camera as a communication tool. Through the speeches of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to Martin Luther King, Jr. to Barack Obama, a look at the major moments that have defined the modern history of the United States.
Watch the full speeches:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
March 4, 1933
“The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself”
FDR
December 8, 1941
Pearl Harbor, “A Date Which Will Live In Infamy”
Harry Truman
August 6, 1945
Hiroshima
Dwight Eisenhower
January 17, 1961
The Military Industrial Complex
John F. Kennedy
January 20, 1961
JFK's Inaugural Address
JFK
June 26, 1963
“Ich Bin Ein Berliner”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
August 28, 1963
“I Have A Dream”
Lyndon Baines Johnson
March 15, 1965
LBJ’s Voting Rights Speech
LBJ
January 12, 1966
Vietnam War
MLK
April 3, 1968
“I’ve Been To The Mountaintop”
Robert F. Kennedy
April 4, 1968
RFK Announces MLK’s Passing
Richard Nixon
August 9, 1974
Nixon Resigns Amid Watergate
Ronald Reagan
January 28, 1986
Challenger Disaster
Ronald Reagan
June 12, 1987
At the Berlin Wall: “Tear Down This Wall”
George H.W. Bush
January 17, 1991
The Gulf War Against Saddam Hussein and Iraq
Bill Clinton
January 27, 2000
The 2000 State Of The Union
George W. Bush
September 14, 2001
9/11
Barack Obama
November 4, 2008
2008 Grant Park Victory Speech