Great American Speeches (1995)

Great video if you can get it

I agree with the other speech teachers who have reviewed this video set. "Great American Speeches" is very well edited and informative. Unfortunately, to get the set for "educational use" you must go through the Films for the Humanities and Science where they areselling it for an obsene amount. January 16, 2001

Primary Source Document for Teaching American History

As a teacher of (high school) 20th century history, this is one of my favorite videos. Use of these speeches is invaluable in teaching history from primary versus secondary documents. Seeing the speaker and his audience as well as hearing the powerful delivery of the speech puts a new spin on the text of the document as presented in a book. I am just so sorry that the video is out of print. October 9, 2000

if it's ever back in print, GET IT

This is one of the very best collections on video of American public address. It also gives an excellent introduction to some of the basic aspects of the history of American public speaking; you can watch the 19th century elocutionary mode give way to the mid-century transtional mode and fade into today's sincere mode. Jody Powell narrates, and you certainly get a clear feeling that this is a Carter Democrat take on history, but if you don't like that, just ignore him and watch the marvelous cuts from the century's best American speakers and speeches. Commentary is mostly about style and delivery rather than about invention and organization, but it's still an excellent introduction to the whole subject of American public speech.

Especially good: Huey Long's "Share the Wealth" kickoff speech (1934, not 35 as the tape says); FDR's First Inaugural and Declaration of War speeches; John L. Lewis's Blood of the Miners testimony before Congress; Douglas MacArthur's joint session of Congress testimony ("Old soldiers never die" .... "Don't scuttle the Pacific"); JFK inaugural; MLK "A Man Dies"; Malcolm X "The Ballot or the Bullet"; Reagan's TV speech in support of Goldwater; RFK impromptu eulogy for MLK (one of the few shown complete); Barbara Jordan's Judiciary Committee speech ("My faith in the Constitution is total ...") -- a small gem of logic and reasoning; Reagan's First Inaugural.

I know of no other popular collection that has more good material for any student of public speaking; it's a crime that this one is not currently available. Whoever owns it, bring it back out! February 19, 2000

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