Amid the tragedy of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on Thursday,
April 4th, 1968, an extraordinary moment in American political history occurred as
Robert F. Kennedy, younger brother of slain President John F. Kennedy, broke the news
of King's death to a large gathering of African Americans that evening in Indianapolis,
Indiana.
The gathering was actually a planned campaign rally for Robert Kennedy in his bid to
get the 1968 Democratic nomination for president. Just after he arrived by plane at
Indianapolis, Kennedy was told of King's death. He was advised by local police against
making the campaign stop which was in a part of the city considered to be a dangerous ghetto. But
Kennedy insisted on going.
He arrived to find the people in an upbeat mood, anticipating the excitement of a Kennedy appearance.
He climbed onto the platform and inquired as to whether or not the crowd knew – and then, realizing
they did not know, he spoke.
Robert F. Kennedy - April 4, 1968
On the death of Martin Luther King
Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening. Because...
I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people
who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the
cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask
what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who
were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and
white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther
King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has
spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such
an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of
feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.
But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond
these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by
drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of
God."
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we
need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward
one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white
or whether they be black.
So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true,
but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding
and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've
had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it
is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live
together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our
land.
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and
make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for
our people. Thank you very much.
"American Rhetoric: Robert F. Kennedy -- Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr." American Rhetoric: Robert
F. Kennedy -- Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
In his final years, Chief Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustices of U.S. Government
policies and racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples and he held out hope that America's
promise of freedom and equality would one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well.
Equal rights for American Indian peoples was a pretty big dream for our Native ancestors at the
turn of the 20th century (late 1800s) when we stop to consider that most Indians were not even
allowed to become U.S. citizens until Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 was made into law.
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce (1840?1904) was known to his people as
"Thunder Traveling to the Loftier
Mountain Heights." He led his people in
an attempt to resist the takeover of their
lands in the Oregon Territory by white
settlers. In 1877, the Nez Perce were
ordered to move to a reservation in
Idaho. Chief Joseph agreed at first. But
after members of his tribe killed a group
of settlers, he tried to flee to Canada with
his followers, traveling over 1500 miles
through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and
Montana. Along the way they fought
several battles with the pursuing U.S.
Army. Chief Joseph spoke these words
when they finally surrendered on
October 5th, 1877.
Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph – “I Will Fight No More Forver” Thunder Traveling to the Loftier Mountain Heights
- 1877
Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of
fighting. Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Ta Hool Hool Shute is dead. The old men
are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is
cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them,
have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are - perhaps
freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can
find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my Chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick
and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.
"The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: Chief Joseph Surrenders." The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: Chief
Joseph Surrenders. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
Chief Joseph Quotes that demonstrate his eloquence:
"The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough. We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us. Our
fathers gave us many laws, which they had learned from their fathers. These laws were good. I have carried a heavy load on my
back ever since I was a boy. I realized then that we could not hold our own with the white men. We were like deer. They were like
grizzly bears. We had small country. Their country was large. We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief
made them. They were not, and would change the rivers and mountains if they did not suit them."
"Perhaps you think the Creator sent you here to dispose of us as you see fit. If I thought you were sent by the Creator, I might be
induced to think you had a right to dispose of me. Do not misunderstand me, but understand fully with reference to my affection for
the land. I never said the land was mine to do with as I choose. The one who has a right to dispose of it is the one who has created
it. I claim a right to live on my land and accord you the privilege to return to yours."
"Suppose a white man should come to me and say, Joseph, I like your horses. I want to buy them. I say to him, No, my horses suit
me; I will not sell them. Then he goes to my neighbor and says, Pay me money, and I will sell you Joseph’s horses. The white man
returns to me and says, Joseph, I have bought your horses and you must let me have them. If we sold our lands to the government,
this is the way they bought them."
"An Indian respects a brave man, but he despises a coward."
"For a short time we lived quietly. But this could not last. White men had found gold in the mountains around the land of winding
water."
"I believe much trouble would be saved if we opened our hearts more."
"I hope that no more groans of wounded men and women will ever go to the ear of the Great Spirit Chief above, and that all people
may be one people."
"I labored hard to avoid trouble and bloodshed."
"I only ask of the government to be treated as all other men are treated."
"I said in my heart that, rather than have war, I would give up my country."
"I will speak with a straight tongue."
"I would give up everything rather than have the blood of white men upon the hands of my people."
"I would have given my own life if I could have undone the killing of white men by my people."
"It does not require many words to speak the truth."
"It required a strong heart to stand up against such talk, but I urged my people to be quiet and not to begin a war."
"Some of you think an Indian is like a wild animal. This is a great mistake."
"The white men told lies for each other. They drove off a great many of our cattle. Some branded our young cattle so they could
claim them."
"Treat all men alike. Give them the same law. Give them an even chance to live and grow."
"War can be avoided, and it ought to be avoided. I want no war."
"We ask to be recognized as men."
"We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white
faces came to our country."
"We gathered all the stock we could find, and made an attempt to move. We left many of our horses and cattle in Wallowa. We lost
several hundred in crossing the river."
"We gave up some of our country to the white men, thinking that then we could have peace. We were mistaken. The white man
would not let us alone."
"We had good white friends who advised us against taking the war path. My friend and brother, Mr. Chapman, told us just how the
war would end."
"When my young men began the killing, my heart was hurt."
"If you tie a horse to a stake, do you expect him to grow fat? If you pen an Indian up on a small spot of earth, and compel him to
stay there, he will not be contented, nor will he grow and prosper."
"Good words do not last long unless they amount to something. Words do not pay for my dead people. They do not pay for my
country, now overrun by white men. They do not protect my father’s grave. They do not pay for all my horses and cattle.
"Good words cannot give me back my children. Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good
words will not get my people a home where they can live in peace and take care of themselves.
"I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises.
There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk."
"If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian...we can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men alike.... give
them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. You might as well expect the rivers to run backward as that
any man who is born a free man should be contented when penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases. We only ask an
even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. Let me be a free man...free to travel... free to stop...free to
work...free to choose my own teachers...free to follow the religion of my Fathers...free to think and talk and act for myself."
"My son, my body is returning to my mother earth, and my spirit is going very soon to see the Great Spirit Chief. When I am gone,
think of your country. You are the chief of these people. They look to you to guide them. Always remember that your father never
sold his country. You must stop your ears whenever you are asked to sign a treaty selling your home. A few years more and white
men will be all around you. They have their eyes on this land. My son, never forget my dying words. This country holds your
father's body. Never sell the bones of your father and your mother.”
Chief Joseph commented "I clasped my father's hand and promised to do as he asked. A man who would not defend his father's
grave is worse than a wild animal."
"I pressed my father's hand and told him I would protect his grave with my life. My father smiled and passed away to the spirit
land."
"The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: Chief Joseph Surrenders." The History Place - Great Speeches Collection: Chief
Joseph Surrenders. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
"To Kill A Mockingbird" (1962)
Atticus Finch delivers his Closing Argument at the Trial of Tom Robinson
Atticus Finch: To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The State has not
produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took
place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been
called into serious question on cross examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the
defendant. Now there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten
savagely by someone who led, almost exclusively, with his left [hand]. And Tom Robinson now
sits before you, having taken "The Oath" with the only good hand he possesses -- his right.
I have nothing but pity in my heart for the Chief Witness for the State. She is the victim of cruel
poverty and ignorance. But, my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man's life at stake,
which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt. Now I say "guilt," gentlemen, because
it was guilt that motivated her. She's committed no crime. She has merely broken a rigid and timehonored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as
unfit to live with. She must destroy the evidence of her offense. But, what was the evidence of her
offense? Tom Robinson, a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom
Robinson was to her a daily reminder of what she did.
Now what did she do? She tempted a negro. She was white and she tempted a negro. She did
something that in our society is unspeakable: She kissed a black man. Not an old uncle, but a
strong, young negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down
on her afterwards.
The witnesses for the State, with the exception of the sheriff of Lincoln County, have presented
themselves to you gentlemen -- to this Court -- in the cynical confidence that their testimony
would not be doubted; confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption,
the evil assumption, that all negroes lie; all negroes are basically immoral beings; all negro men
are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that one associates with minds of their
caliber, and which is in itself, gentlemen, a lie -- which I do not need to point out to you.
And so, a quiet, humble, respectable negro, who has had the unmitigated TEMERITY to feel sorry
for a white woman, has had to put his word against two white peoples. The defendant is not guilty.
But somebody in this courtroom is.
Now, gentlemen, in this country our courts are the great levelers. In our courts, all men are created
equal. I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and of our jury system. That's
no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality!
Now I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence that you have
heard, come to a decision, and restore this man to his family.
In the name of God, do your duty. In the name of God, believe Tom Robinson.
"American Rhetoric: Movie Speech: To Kill A Mockingbird - Atticus Finch Delivers Closing Argument in Robinson
Trial." American Rhetoric: Movie Speech: To Kill A Mockingbird - Atticus Finch Delivers Closing Argument in Robinson
Trial. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation
delivered 8 December 1941, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was
suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation
with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu,
the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal
reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the
existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately
planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has
deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued
peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military
forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have
been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of
yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their
opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long
it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will
win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only
defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again
endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests
are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the
inevitable triumph -- so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday,
December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
"American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation (12-08-41)." American Rhetoric: Franklin
Delano Roosevelt - Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation (12-08-41). Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
David McCullough, Jr. Wellesley High School Commencement Address
delivered 1 June 2012
Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates,
ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I'm honored
and grateful. Thank you.
So here we are, commencement, life’s great forward-looking ceremony. And don’t say, "What about weddings?" Weddings are
one-sided and insufficiently effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable
demands, the groom just stands there -- no stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession; no being given away; no identitychanging pronouncement.
And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy
and disbelief; their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing
procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent -- during halftime, on the way to the refrigerator. And then there’s the frequency
of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced. A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American
League East. The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.
But this ceremony, commencement, a commencement works every time. From this day forward, truly, in sickness and in health,
through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati (parents get that),
through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever
graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.
No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for
example, this -- for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés
like the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field. That matters. That says
something. And your ceremonial costume -- shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or
slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same; and your
diploma, but for your name, exactly the same.
All of this is as it should be -- because none of you is special.
You’re not special. You're not exceptional.
Contrary to what your U9 soccer trophy suggests, your -- your glowing 7th grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain
corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader
has swooped in to save you -- you’re nothing special.
Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have
held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to
you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you, and encouraged you again. You have been nudged, cajoled, wheedled, and
implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called "sweetie pie." Yes, you have. And certainly, we’ve been to your games,
your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight
at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman. And now you’ve conquered high school; and,
indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent
new building.
But do not get the idea you’re anything special -- because you’re not.
The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick -- I'm allowed to say
Needham, yes? -- that has to be 2000 high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood N’s.
Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000
valedictorians; that’s 37,000 class presidents, 92,000 harmonizing altos, 340,000 swaggering jocks, 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs.
But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: Even if you’re one in a million, on a planet
of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street
on Marathon Monday watching 6800 "yous" go running by.
And consider for a moment the bigger picture: Your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system; your solar system
is not the center of its galaxy; your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no
center; therefore, you cannot be "it." Neither can Donald Trump, which someone should tell him, although the hair is quite a
phenomenon.
"But Dave," you cry, "Walt Whitman tells me...I’m my own version of perfect." "Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus." And
I don’t disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus.
You see, if everyone is special, then no one is.
If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless.
In our unspoken but not-so-subtle Darwinian competition with one another -- which springs, I think, from our fear of our own
insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality -- we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more
than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point, and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if
we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about,
something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole.
No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it.
Now it’s "So what does this get me?" As a -- As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical
clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans.
It’s an epidemic -- and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune -- one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide,
Wellesley High School -- where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the mid-level curriculum is called
Advanced College Placement. And I hope you caught me when I said "one of the best." I said "one of the best" so we can feel
better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the
elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition. But the phrase defies logic. By -- By
definition there can be only one best. You’re it or you’re not.
If you’ve learned anything in your four years I hope it’s that education be for -- should be for, rather than material advantage, the
exhilaration of learning. You’ve learned, too, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness.
Second is ice cream -- just a -- just an FYI. I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize how little you know -- how little you
know now, at the moment, for today is just the beginning. It’s where you go from here that matters.
As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it
and believe in its importance.
Don’t bother with work you -- work you don’t believe in any more than you would a spouse you’re not crazy about, lest you too
find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore Orioles comparison. Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of
-- of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages.
And read. Read all the time. Read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop
and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love
everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock
subtracts from fewer and fewer -- and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you’ll be in no condition to
enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no -- no matter how delightful the afternoon.
The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you’re a
nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- quite an active verb, "pursuit" -- which leaves, I should think, little time for lying
around watching parrots roller skate on YouTube.
The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to
live deep and suck out all the marrow. The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone -- I
forget who -- from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem. The point is the same: Get busy; have
at it. Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up; get out. Explore. Find it yourself and grab hold with both hands.
Now, before you dash off and get your "YOLO" tattoo, let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression, because you can
and should live not merely once, but every day of your life. Rather than "You Only Live Once," it should be "You Live Only Once"
-- but because "[Y]LOO" doesn’t have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn’t matter. None of this day-seizing, though, this
[Y]LOO-ing, should be interpreted as license for self-indulgence. Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence -- a
gratifying byproduct. It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things.
Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see
the world, not so the world can see you. Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being
worldly. Exercise free will and creative, independent thought, not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they
will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion -- and those who will follow them.
And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do
for yourself: The sweetest joys of life, them -- then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special -- because everyone is.
Congratulations. Good luck. Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours, extraordinary lives.
"American Rhetoric: David McCullough -- Wellesley High School Commencement Address (transcript-audio-video)." American
Rhetoric: David McCullough -- Wellesley High School Commencement Address (transcript-audio-video). Web. 10 Mar.
2015.
First Speech as Prime Minister to House of Commons
On May 10, 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister. When he met his Cabinet on May
13 he told them that "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." He repeated that
phrase later in the day when he asked the House of Commons for a vote of confidence in his new
all-party government. The response of Labour was heart-warming; the Conservative reaction was
luke-warm. They still really wanted Neville Chamberlain. For the first time, the people had hope
but Churchill commented to General Ismay: "Poor people, poor people. They trust me, and I can
give them nothing but disaster for quite a long time.
On this same day in 1940, as Winston Churchill takes the helm as Great Britain’s new prime
minister, he assures Parliament that his new policy will consist of nothing less than “to wage war,
by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war
against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.”
Emphasizing that Britain’s aim was simply “victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of terror,
victory however long and hard the road may be.” That very evening, Churchill was informed that
Britain would need 60 fighter squadrons to defend British soil against German attack. It had 39.
Within a couple of weeks, the conservative, anti-Socialist Churchill, in an effort to make his rally
cry of victory a reality, proceeded to place all “persons, their services, and their property at the
disposal of the Crown,” thereby granting the government the most all-encompassing emergency
powers in modern British history.
Winston Churchill “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat”
May 13, 1940.
I beg to move,
That this House welcomes the formation of a Government representing the united and inflexible resolve of
the nation to prosecute the war with Germany to a victorious conclusion.
On Friday evening last I received His Majesty's commission to form a new Administration. It as the evident
wish and will of Parliament and the nation that this should be conceived on the broadest possible basis and
that it should include all parties, both those who supported the late Government and also the parties of the
Opposition. I have completed the most important part of this task. A War Cabinet has been formed of five
Members, representing, with the Opposition Liberals, the unity of the nation. The three party Leaders have
agreed to serve, either in the War Cabinet or in high executive office. The three Fighting Services have
been filled. It was necessary that this should be done in one single day, on account of the extreme urgency
and rigor of events. A number of other positions, key positions, were filled yesterday, and I am submitting
a further list to His Majesty to-night. I hope to complete the appointment of the principal Ministers during
to-morrow. The appointment of the other Ministers usually takes a little longer, but I trust that, when
Parliament meets again, this part of my task will be completed, and that the administration will be complete
in all respects.
I considered it in the public interest to suggest that the House should be summoned to meet today. Mr.
Speaker agreed, and took the necessary steps, in accordance with the powers conferred upon him by the
Resolution of the House. At the end of the proceedings today, the Adjournment of the House will be
proposed until Tuesday, 21st May, with, of course, provision for earlier meeting, if need be. The business
to be considered during that week will be notified to Members at the earliest opportunity. I now invite the
House, by the Motion which stands in my name, to record its approval of the steps taken and to declare its
confidence in the new Government.
To form an Administration of this scale and complexity is a serious undertaking in itself, but it must be
remembered that we are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history, that we are in
action at many other points in Norway and in Holland, that we have to be prepared in the Mediterranean,
that the air battle is continuous and that many preparations, such as have been indicated by my hon. Friend
below the Gangway, have to be made here at home. In this crisis I hope I may be pardoned if I do not
address the House at any length today. I hope that any of my friends and colleagues, or former colleagues,
who are affected by the political reconstruction, will make allowance, all allowance, for any lack of
ceremony with which it has been necessary to act. I would say to the House, as I said to those who have
joined this government: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of
struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air,
with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny,
never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our
aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory,
however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be realized; no
survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the
urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with
buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel
entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, "Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."
"Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat." Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.
Speech to the Troops at Tilbury 1588
The Speech to the Troops at Tilbury was delivered on
9 August Old Style, 19 August New Style 1588 by
Queen Elizabeth I of England to the land forces earlier
assembled at Tilbury in Essex in preparation for
repelling the expected invasion by the Spanish
Armada.
Prior to the speech the Armada had been driven from
the Strait of Dover in the Battle of Gravelines eleven
days earlier, and had by then rounded Scotland on its
way home, but troops were still held at ready in case
the Spanish army of Alexander Farnese, the Duke of
Parma, might yet attempt to invade from Dunkirk; two
days later they were discharged. On the day of the
speech, the Queen left her bodyguard before the fort at Tilbury and went among her subjects with an escort
of six men. Lord Ormonde walked ahead with the Sword of State; he was followed by a page leading the
Queen’s charger and another bearing her silver helmet on a cushion; then came the Queen herself, in white
with a silver cuirass and mounted on a grey gelding. She was flanked on horseback by her Lieutenant
General the Earl of Leicester on the right, and on the left by the Earl of Essex, her Master of the Horse. Sir
John Norreys brought up the rear.
My loving people,
We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our
selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my
faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed
my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am
come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the
midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom,
and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble
woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that
Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather
than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and
rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved
rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the
mean time, my lieutenant general2 shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble
or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and
your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my
kingdom, and of my people.
Notes:
1. Delivered by Elizabeth to the land forces assembled at Tilbury (Essex) to repel the anticipated invasion
of the Spanish Armada, 1588.
2. Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester; he was the queen's favorite, once rumored to be her lover.
1 - Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961
Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice president Nixon, President Truman, Reverend Clergy, fellow citizens:
We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying renewal as well as change. For I have
sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same
revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but
from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been
passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling
to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and
around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure
the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge--and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative
ventures. Divided, there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be
replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their
own freedom-and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for
whatever period is required--not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the
many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free men
and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know
that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain
the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace,
we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area
in which its writ may run.
Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the
dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly
alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.
So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear.
But let us never fear to negotiate.
Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations
under the absolute control of all nations.
Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean
depths and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens . . . (and) let the oppressed go free."
And if a beach-head of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new
world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps
in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans
has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again-not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of
a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and
war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in
that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this
responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion
which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a
good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but
knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
Note: The President spoke at 12:52 p.m. from a platform erected at the east front of the Capitol. Immediately before the address the oath of office was
administered by Chief Justice Warren.
The President's opening words "Reverend Clergy" referred to His Eminence Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston; His Eminence Archbishop
Iakovos, head of the Greek Archdiocese of North and South America; the Reverend Dr. John Barclay, pastor of the Central Christian Church, Austin, Tex.;
and Rabbi Dr. Nelson Glueck, President of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio.
John F. Kennedy: "Inaugural Address," January 20, 1961. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8032.