Best Speeches of the Past and Present
There’s always something to be learned from listening to some of the best speeches. Find them here!

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, text.

St. Francis of Assisi, Sermon to the Birds.

Patrick Henry, to the Virginia House of Burgesses, text.

George Washington’s Farewell Address, text.

Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, text.

Fredrick Douglas, The Hypocrisy of American Slavery, text.

Winston Churchill, “We Shall Fight on Beaches,” read the text here, listen to the audio here.

Martin Luther King, “I Have A Dream,” read the text and watch the video here.

Ronald Regan, Tear Down This Wall text and video.

Just to prove that you don’t have to be a professional speaker or politician to give a compelling speech, here’s a few speeches from people we don’t usually think of as eloquent, stirring speakers:

Babe Ruth’s, Farewell to Baseball.

Lou Gehrig’s Farewell to Yankee Fans. Hear it read in its entirety here or watch a video segment.

Bono’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, text. Watch the video here.

See and hear more inspirational speeches: 

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Speeches-Century-Various-Artists/dp/B0000032HG

http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/speeches-of-winston-churchill/128-we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches

http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm

http://www.famous-speeches-and-speech-topics.info/famous-short-speeches/index.htm

http://www.ifc.com/blogs/2008uncut/2008/07/top-10-important-presidential.php

Ashley Barrett is a professional writer, editor, and researcher for ProProducts™