I Dare Say: Inside Stories of the World's Most Powerful Speeches

Ferdie Addis

• Publisher: Trusted Media Brands
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9781606524701
• eBook ISBN:
  9781606524725
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

Sticks and stones may break bones, but words can inspire an angry mob to pick up those clubs in the first place. This collection of fifty speeches reveals how men and women throughout the ages changed the course of history. Featuring classical orators, wartime heroes, and contemporary icons, from Elizabeth I to Abraham Lincoln, from Margaret Thatcher to Nelson Mandela, right up through Barack Obama, I Dare Say: Great Speeches that Changed the World tells the great stories of human history, including: · The Ancient World: Public speaking became an art in ancient Greece and Rome, and the records of speeches written by philosophers and teachers such as Homer and Cicero form the bedrock for modern philosophical thought and epic literary works.· European History: The bloody Crusades, fractious divisions among the European powers, and a political philosophy of terror redraw the maps of Europe.· Early American History: The dynamic speeches that rallied thousands to join arms against their motherland—and their brothers—from the American Revolution to the Civil War.· Slavery, Suffrage, and Civil Rights: Impassioned and eloquent speeches from luminaries such as Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Hillary Rodham Clinton document the struggle for equal rights that shapes the modern world.· World Wars I and II: The rallying cries to protect, defend, and conquer that defined the twenty-first century—from both the winners and losers of the great World Wars.· Colonialism and Apartheid: The calls for peace and equality from leade

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 8th–1st Centuries b.c.: The Classical Orations
• C.A.D. 26 The Sermon on the Mount: Jesus of Nazareth
• 1096 The Council of Clermont: Pope Urban II
• 1653 Dismissing the Rump Parliament: Oliver Cromwell
• 1794 The Political Philosophy of Terror: Maximilien Robespierre
• 1796 Farewell Address: George Washington
• 1814 Farewell to the Old Guard: Napoleon Bonaparte
• 1851 Aren’t I a Woman?: Sojourner Truth
• 1863 The Gettysburg Address: Abraham Lincoln
• 1877 I Will Fight No More Forever: Chief Joseph
• 1913 Freedom or Death: Emmeline Pankhurst
• 1916 There Is No Salvation for India: Mohandas Gandhi
• 1918 The Fourteen Points: Woodrow Wilson
• 1925 Scopes Trial: Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan
• 1939 Farewell to Baseball: Lou Gehrig
• 1939 First Soldier of the German Reich: Adolf Hitler
• 1940 Three Wartime Speeches: Winston Churchill
• 1941 Anniversary Celebration of the October Revolution: Joseph Stalin
• 1941 A Date Which Will Live in Infamy: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• 1947 A Tryst with Destiny: Jawaharlal Nehru
• 1949 The Chinese People Have Stood Up: Mao Zedong
• 1960 Wind of Change: Harold Macmillan
• 1961 Inaugural Address: John F. Kennedy
• 1963 I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr.
• 1974 Today I Am an Inquisitor: Barbara Jordan
• 1980 The Lady’s Not for Turning: Margaret Thatcher
• 1987 Tear Down This Wall!: Ronald Reagan
• 1990 Freedom from Fear: Aung San Suu Kyi
• 1992 A Whisper of AIDS: Mary Fisher
• 1994 Let Freedom Reign: Nelson Mandela
• 1995 Women’s Rights Are Human Rights: Hillary Rodham Clinton
• 1996 American Family Values: Christopher Reeve
• 201 Declaration of War on the United States: Osama bin Laden
• 202 The Axis of Evil: George W. Bush
• 208 Victory Speech: Barack Obama
• Sources
• Acknowledgments
• Index of Famous Lines
• General Index