Studying Great Speeches

(updated 17 March 2023)

Studying famous historical speeches is an excellent way to improve your own skills in speech writing and public speaking, as well as to gain insight into history.

By examining the logical flow, imagery and emotional appeal of great speeches — and noting sentence length, pauses and short phrases — you can learn techniques to make your own delivery more effective. The speeches below are listed by the date they were given, and many include audio.

About Historical Speeches

Reasons to Study Historical Speeches

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The Speeches (by date)

Abraham Lincoln – Gettysburg Address (1863)

Mark Twain – Our Fellow Savages (1866)

Oliver Wendell Holmes – The Soldier’s Faith (1895)

Winston Churchill – Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat (1940)

Winston Churchill – Never Give In (1941)

Harry S. Truman – Inaugural Address (1949)

Fidel Castro – Address to the U.N. (1960)

John F. Kennedy – Inaugural Address (1961)

Martin Luther King – I Have a Dream (1963)

Ronald Reagan – First Inaugural Address (1981)

Bill Clinton – Second Inaugural Address (1997)

George W. Bush – 9-11 Attack (2001)

Donald Trump – Inaugural Address (2017)

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Also see

• Speech Writing
• Public Speaking
• History
• Biographies