How to Do Library Research

This page has links to Web pages with speeches and lists printed sources that identify or contain speeches in Morgan Library.

Web Sites with Speeches

• American Memory: Browse Collections by Topic. American Memory.
  In the "Search all collections" box type in "speech" to identify speeches from the collections; type in "audio" to identify audio materials, which will include speeches from the collections.
• American Rhetoric. Michael E. Eidenmuller.
  "Online Speech Bank" has 5000+ speeches; some are available in audio as well as full text. Listing is alphabetical by speaker's first name or first word of organization or collection. "Rhetorical Figures in Sound" has audio clips that demonstrate figures of speech. "Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century" "is a complete index to and partial database of full text transcriptions of the 100 most significant American political speeches of the 20th century, according to 137 leading scholars of American public address." Arranged by rank, women, and decade. More than half have partial or complete audio. Has up-to-date speeches (as of July 2008).
• Attorney General's Speech Archive. 1996-2009. United States Department of Justice.
  Remarks by the Attorney General.
• Commencement Speeches. Humanity.org.
  Over 35 speeches from 1936- .
• Commission Speeches and Public Statements. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  Text of speeches 1929 to the present.
• Federal Trade Commission. Speeches.
  Chronological from 1995- and by name of speaker.
• Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World. Sweet Briar College. Sweet Briar, Virginia.
  Browse by speaker's last name, or chronologically. Search by key word (Boolean operators work).
• Speeches and Audio. History Channel.
  Type in the History Channel's search box (click on gray magnifying glass to get to box) "Speeches and Audio" to find over 4000 speeches. (Site has advertisements and pop-backs.)
• History and Politics Out Loud. WyzAnt.
  LIst of names/documents by date. Click on name for individual speeches.
• Political Speeches. Allan Louden. Political Communication. Communication Department. Wake Forest University.
  Links to collections of speeches. Includes some audio sites.
• Presidential Speech Archive. Miller Center of Public Affairs. University of Virginia.
  Full text of selected U.S. presidential speeches from George Washington to the present. Audio available for some of the more recent ones.
• Say It Plain--A Century of Great African American Speeches. American RadioWorks.
  Gives historical background and photograph along with the text of the speech.
• Secretary of Defense Speeches Archive. U.S. Department of Defense.
  Speeches from 1995 onwards, month by month (not all months have a speech). Some are Q & A format. Current month included in archive.
• Speeches. U.S. Department of Labor.
  A selection from 2000- .

Individual Speeches with Image and Audio

• John F. Kennedy's Moon Speech to Congress - May 25, 1961; also has footage of astronauts on the moon (July 1969).
• JFK - We choose to go to the Moon. YouTube. (17:48)

Morgan Library Sources with Speeches

• Speech Index. AI 3 .S85 Reference
  CSU in-house notebook identifies speeches published in books.
• Vital Speeches of the Day. CSU owns most issues from 1934- . Semimonthly. Current issues in Journal Room, older issues in bound volumes (MORGAN stacks) and/or microfilm in the MICROTEXT area. (PN 6121 .V54 JOURNAL ROOM) Available VSpDonline to CSU affiliates within Academic Search Premier and Business Source Complete from 1934- . Text of contemporary speeches on topics from a wide range of subject areas.

Other Web Sites, Speech related

• Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th Century. University of Wisconsin, Madison
  "Compiled by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Texas A & M University, this list reflects the opinions of 137 leading scholars of American public address." Gives title or context, speaker, date, and place of speech.
• Top 100 Speeches. American Rhetoric (site also above).
  Mp3 player audio of the speeches--entire or excerpted.