RECORDINGS OF GREAT SPEECHES & HISTORICAL FIGURES

RECORDINGS OF GREAT SPEECHES & HISTORICAL FIGURES

The internet is a marvelous thing. I was pleased to find that there are many websites that offer free  recordings and videos of famous people and historical figures giving speeches. Some offer a text of the speech or in the case of Clarence Darrow the text of his arguments and trials.

 One of my favorite sources is American Rhetoric http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html  At this site you can see a video of Abbott and Costello doing their famous "Who's on First" routine that is still very amusing after all these years. http://www.history.com/video.do?name=culture&bcpid=1886192586&bclid=1729305731&bctid=1628984618

I was impressed with the clarity of the recording of Winston Churchill giving his "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat" speech on May 13,1940: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/winstonchurchillbloodtoiltearssweat.htm While this is off the subject, whenever I hear or read a reference to the famous speech, it is alway incorrectly recalled as "blood,tears and sweat." Communications experts tell us that is because we think most often in terms of three, not more items. That is why PowerPoint experts advise no more then three points per slide and why trial lawyers are told to limit claims of negligence to no more then three main points.

On this website you'll also find one of the most famous speeches in history. The "Cross of Gold" speech by William Jennings Bryant http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/williamjenningsbryan1896dnc.htm This speech is probably one of the most famous speeches in political history. Originally given by Bryan at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 9, 1896, Bryan gave the speech thousands of times on the Brayn Chautauqua lecture circuit. At the convention the speech by the then thirty six yea old former Congressman from Nebraska brought the crowd to its feet with screaming and hat throwing. As a result of that talk, Bryan was nominated for President. He was nominated three times for the office and this talk played a major role in his nominations. The issue was whether the government should allow silver coins at a ratio of silver to gold of sixteen to one. Its popularity was this would have increased the amount of money in circulation and helped the debt burdened farmers and poor.

You can also find radio broadcasts from World War II from American, British and even Japanese radio.  http://www.worldwar2database.com/movies/wwiiradio.swf

Other websites that offer video and audio recordings of famous historical people include History.com  http://www.history.com/video.do?name=speeches  The Free Information Society has speeches and recordings as well. http://www.freeinfosociety.com/media_index.php?cat=8&type=3 Biography.com offers video and recordings of famous historical people http://www.biography.com/video.do?name=historicalfigures   Audio Archievehas radio progam recordings of many famous people http://www.archive.org/details/Biography_in_Sound

As a trial lawyer I had read most of what I could find of Clarence Darrow's speeches, arguments and trials. However, I have never seen a movie of him talking or a recording of what he sounded like. History.com has a short recording of Darrow giving a talk about the cause of crime. If you want to know what he sounded like see http://www.history.com/video.do?name=culture&bcpid=1886192586&bclid=1729305731&bctid=1628984618

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