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American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People
Author(s): Suzanne McIntire
- Publisher: Jossey-Bass
- Publication Date: 15 Aug. 2001
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 304 pages
- ISBN-10: 9780471389422
- ISBN-13: 9780471389422
Book Description
The American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for YoungPeople includes over 100 speeches by founding fathers, patriots,Native American and African American leaders, abolitionists,women’s suffrage and labor activists, writers, athletes, and othersfrom all walks of life, featuring inspiring and unforgettablespeeches by such notable speakers as:
Patrick Henry * Thomas Jefferson * Tecumseh * Frederick Douglass *Sojourner Truth * Abraham Lincoln * Susan B. Anthony * Mother Jones* Lou Gehrig * Franklin D. Roosevelt * Albert Einstein * Pearl S.Buck * Langston Hughes * John F. Kennedy * Martin Luther KingJr.
These are the voices that shaped our history. They are powerful,moving, and, above all else, uniquely American.
Editorial Reviews
Review
The major problem with historic orations, students have always complained, is that they are dry. American Heritage, one of the foremost magazine about this nation’s culture, has collected an eclectic set of speeches given not only by politicians, but also by people in many walks of life, from sports figures to “ordinary”people in extraordinary circumstances.
The Book of Great American Speeches for Young People contains over 100 discourses on a myriad of topics. Some classics can be found within, such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” On a lighter political note, there’s the “Checker’s Speech,” in which Richard Nixon swore that the only gift he received during 1952 campaign was a little cocker spaniel and that “we’re gonna keep him.”
Other orators in The Book of Great American Speeches for Young People include Malcolm X, Langston Hughes, John F. Kennedy, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Mark Twain, just to name a few. Speechesare used to influence and encourage, so there are several “declamations” which consider the struggles for women’s suffrage, civil right and the evils of slavery. And since the nation wasfounded on free speech, there are also numerous discourses of protest and dissent.
The less earthshaking fare, though no less dramatic, is also here. Lou Gehrig paid an emotional farewell to baseball, in which, though stricken with the terminal illness that would one day bear his name, he considered himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
One of the more poignant speeches, to which young readers willrelate, was given by 10-year old Samantha Smith in 1983 to the Children’s Symposium on the Year 2001, after her impassioned letterto Soviet Premier Yuri Adropov made world news. The letter stated her fears nuclear war between his country and American, proving that young people can make that difference.
In addition to its generous collection, The Book of Great AmericanSpeeches for Young People encourages readers to speak out for what they believe in. Its concluding chapter on how (and why) to make aneffective speech will give the reader a boost of confidence and a skill which will prove useful long after school days are over. (BookPage, October 2001)
Gr7 Up―A useful compendium of more than 100 speeches that spannearly 400 years of American history, from Powhatan (1609) to Senator Charles Robb (2000). Prominent orators include Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. Two indexes allow readers to find aselection by its speaker or its theme. Black-and-white photos andreproductions accompany many of the entries. Alongside the Founding Fathers and patriots are athletes, authors, and media celebrities.The speeches inform readers and provide examples of how the spoken word has affected Americans throughout our past.
―David M.Alperstein, Queens Borough Public Library, NY (School LibraryJournal, December 2001)
From the Author
The book opens with Chief Powhatan’s address to English Captain John Smith in 1609; Chief Big Mouth’s warning to the British governor of New York in 1684; and Chief Canasatego’s amusing 1774 observations on the white man’s schools. There is Scottish lawyer Andrew Hamilton’s 1735 courtroom defense of a newspaper publisher arrested for libel by the royal governor of New York, William Cosby, which set important precedent for freedom of the press under British rule.
In the Revolutionary War era: John Hancock on the anniversary of the 1770 Boston Massacre (when the king’s troops fired on local citizens); Patrick Henry assembling evidence for the coming show of force by George III, and urging the militia to arm; a Stockbridge chief promising support for the colonists but declining to fight English-fashion; Sam Adams (of the Boston Tea Party) exhorting his countrymen to war.
There are Red Jacket, who got his name from the red coat he was given by British officers; Tecumseh, who urged numerous tribes to join the British against the Americans in the War of 1812; a speech in 1846 by an escaped slave on reaching freedom in Canada; and Frederick Douglass’ first speech (his liberty bought by English friends) after returning to the US, referring to his escape to freedom in Britain.
A 1941 speech by Harold Ickes counsels aiding Britain, and Eisenhower addresses the D-Day allied troops leaving England’s coast. There are JFK and Reagan at the Berlin Wall, and speeches by Lincoln and Martin Luther King. Plus humorous addresses by Mark Twain and Dr. Seuss. You’ll find examples of political and protest speeches, sermons, addresses before battle, eulogies, and courtroom addresses. The speeches were selected and edited to interest young people, and are suitable for ages 11 to 111. I hope you enjoy the book. –Suzanne McIntire
From the Inside Flap
The history of the United States has been characterized by fervent idealism, intense struggle, and radical change. And for every critical, defining moment in American history, there were those whose impassioned voices rang out, clear and true, and whose words compelled the minds and hearts of all who heard them. When Patrick Henry declared, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, when Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream”, Americans listened and were profoundly affected. These speeches stand today as testaments to this great nation made up of individuals with bold ideas and unshakeable convictions.
The American Heritage® Book of Great American Speeches for Young People includes over 100 speeches by founding fathers, patriots, Native American and African American leaders, abolitionists, women’s suffrage and labor activists, writers, athletes, and others from all walks of life, featuring inspiring and unforgettable speeches by such notable speakers as:
Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Tecumseh Frederick Douglass , Sojourner Truth, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Mother Jones, Lou Gehrig
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Albert Einstein , Pearl S. Buck
Langston Hughes , John F. Kennedy , Martin Luther King Jr.
These are the voices that shaped our history. They are powerful, moving, and, above all else, uniquely American.
AMERICAN HERITAGE® is well known for its magazine on American history, as well as many highly acclaimed books, including the American Heritage® History of the United States and the American Heritage® Illustrated History of the Presidents.
From the Back Cover
The history of the United States has been characterized by fervent idealism, intense struggle, and radical change. And for every critical, defining moment in American history, there were those whose impassioned voices rang out, clear and true, and whose words compelled the minds and hearts of all who heard them. When Patrick Henry declared, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, when Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream”, Americans listened and were profoundly affected. These speeches stand today as testaments to this great nation made up of individuals with bold ideas and unshakeable convictions.
The American Heritage® Book of Great American Speeches for Young People includes over 100 speeches by founding fathers, patriots, Native American and African American leaders, abolitionists, women’s suffrage and labor activists, writers, athletes, and others from all walks of life, featuring inspiring and unforgettable speeches by such notable speakers as:
Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Tecumseh Frederick Douglass , Sojourner Truth, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Mother Jones, Lou Gehrig, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Pearl S. Buck, Langston Hughes, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr.
These are the voices that shaped our history. They are powerful, moving, and, above all else, uniquely American.
AMERICAN HERITAGE® is well known for its magazine on American history, as well as many highly acclaimed books, including the American Heritage® History of the United States and the American Heritage® Illustrated History of the Presidents.
About the Author
SUZANNE MCINTIRE has been collecting great speeches for many years. She is a freelance writer and the mother of two.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People
Jossey-Bass
Copyright © 2001 Suzanne McIntire
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-471-38942-2
Chapter One
Powhatan, Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy To Captain John Smith
Jamestown, Virginia 1609
The first colonists in Jamestown, Virginia, arrived from England in 1607. Building homes and finding food in the New World was difficult, and those who survived the first winters owed their lives to the help they received from the many tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy. However, the settlers took lands for their own use that the Indians considered theirs, and disputes arose over the trading of food and weapons. Chief Wahunsonacock (called Powhatan by the colonists), the father of Pocahontas, warned Captain John Smith against abusing the Indians’ friendship.
I am now grown old, and must soon die; and the succession must descend, in order, to my brothers, Opitchapan, Opekankanough, and Catataugh, and then to my two sisters, and their two daughters. I wish their experience was equal to mine; and that your love to us might not be less than ours to you.
Why should you take by force that from us which you can have by love? Why should you destroy us, who have provided you with food? What can you get by war? We can hide our provisions, and fly into the woods; and then you must consequently famish by wronging your friends. What is the cause of your jealousy? You see us unarmed, and willing to supply your wants, if you will come in a friendly manner, and not with swords and guns, as to invade an enemy.
I am not so simple, as not to know it is better to eat good meat, lie well, and sleep quietly with my women and children; to laugh and be merry with the English; and, being their friend, to have copper, hatchets, and whatever else I want, than to fly from all, to lie cold in the woods, feed upon acorns, roots, and such trash, and to be so hunted, that I cannot rest, eat, or sleep. In such circumstances, my men must watch, and if a twig should but break, all would cry out, “Here comes Captain Smith”; and so, in this miserable manner, to end my miserable life; and, Captain Smith, this might be soon your fate too, through your rashness and unadvisedness.
I, therefore, exhort you to peaceable councils; and, above all, I insist that the guns and swords, the cause of all our jealousy and uneasiness, be removed and sent away.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People Copyright © 2001 by Suzanne McIntire. Excerpted by permission.
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