Communication

The speeches in this collection are examples of the powerful expressions of both famous and lesser-known African Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries on issues including slavery and racial equality, women's rights, education, religion, immigration, socialism and war.

Part of the series entitled The Reference Shelf, the types of speeches reprinted include lectures, sermons, eulogies, welcomes, farewells, inaugurals, as well as speeches at commencements, conventions, conferences, and awards. Topics vary, but cover representative subject areas. There is an index, sometimes cumulative, in each volume.

Speeches from colonial times to 1968. Each speech is introduced with extensive information on the speaker and the occasion and is followed by suggested further reading.

An excellent anthology published in 1940, selections are arranged by time period throughout history, which include Greek, Roman, Patristic, Mediaeval, Reformation, French Revolution, British, American, and World War I.

"Her first anthology for students, Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson's Masterpieces of Negro Eloquence (1914) is a compilation of addresses and speeches by both her contemporaries and prominent African Americans of the past. Represented here are such figures as Alexander Crummell, Booker T. Washington, Fanny Jackson Coppin, and W. E. B. Du Bois in a volume dedicated "To the boys and girls of the Negro race ... with the hope that it may help inspire them with a belief in their own possibilities.""--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Drawing upon nearly two hundred years of recorded African American oratory, The Will of a People: A Critical Anthology of Great African American Speeches, edited by Richard W. Leeman and Bernard K. Duffy, brings together in one unique volume some of this tradition's most noteworthy speeches, each paired with an astute introduction designed to highlight its most significant elements. Arranged chronologically, from Maria Miller Stewart's 1832 speech "Why Sit Ye Here and Die?" to President Barack Obama's 2009 inaugural address, these orations are tied to many of the key themes and events of American history, as well as the many issues and developments in American race relations. These themes, events, and issues include the changing roles of women, Native American relations, American "manifest destiny," abolitionism, the industrial revolution, Jim Crow, lynching, World War I and American self-determination, the rise of the New Deal and government social programs, the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation, the Vietnam War, Nixon and Watergate, gay and lesbian rights, immigration, and the rise of a mediated culture. Leeman and Duffy have carefully selected the most eloquent and relevant speeches by African Americans, including those by Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Booker T. Washington, Mary Church Terrell, W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Barbara Jordan, Jesse Jackson, and Marian Wright Edelman, many of which have never received significant scholarly attention. The Will of a People is the first book to pair the full texts of the most important African American orations with substantial introductory essays intended to guide the reader's understanding of the speaker, the speech, its rhetorical interpretation, and the historical context in which it occurred. Broadly representative of the African American experience, as well as what it means to be American, this valuable collection will serve as an essential guide to the African American oratory tradition.

Until recently, scholars assumed that women stopped speaking after they won the vote in 1920 and did not reenter political life until the second wave of feminism began in the 1960s. Nothing could be further from the truth. While national attention did dissipate after 1920, women did not retreat from political and civic life. Rather, after winning the vote, women's public activism shifted from a single-issue agenda to the myriad social problems and public issues that faced the nation. As such, women began to take their place in the public square as political actors in their own rights rather than strictly campaigning for a women's issue. This anthology documents women's activism during this period by introducing heretofore unpublished public speeches that address a wide array of debated topics including child labor, international relations, nuclear disarmament, consumerism, feminism and anti-feminism, social welfare, family life, war, and the environment. Some speeches were delivered in legislative forums, others at schools, churches, business meetings, and media events; still others before national political organizations. To ensure diversity, the volume features speakers of different ages, races, classes, ethnicities, geographic regions, and political persuasions. The volume editors include short biographical introductions as well as historical context for each selection.

Boldly breaking the mold of previous anthologies, Words of a Century: The Top 100 American Speeches, 1900-1999 contains the complete--and authentic--texts of the best American speeches of the twentieth century as delivered to their immediate audiences. It features a remarkable array of speakers, from Woodrow Wilson, Clarence Darrow, and Carrie Chapman Catt to Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and Barbara Jordan. As diverse in type as they are in subject matter, the speeches open a unique window on the twentieth century, and many continue to resonate in our own time. Each is preceded by a headnote with background on the speaker, the occasion, and the impact of the speech. More than 2,000 annotations identify people, events, and textual references that help bring the speeches to life for today's readers. This exceptional anthology is ideal for courses in rhetoric, political communication, and twentieth century American history, as well as for anyone interested in the artistry and impact of the spoken word.

Contains statements, messages, and other Presidential materials released by the White House during the preceding week.
Paper copies for 1985- located on 1st floor under the Superintendent of Documents number of AE 2.109: (1965 – 1984 is in closed stacks; 1993 - is online at Compilation of Presidential Documents and is also full text in several electronic databases.