Guides: How Do I Find ~ Primary Sources: Speeches

Collections

American Rhetoric
Collection of full text, audio and video versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, and other recorded media events. The site also includes sections devoted to rhetorical devices, Christian rhetoric, 9/11 rhetoric, movie speeches, and political speeches.

Great speeches of the 20th century
Call Number: Burke Reserve Desk E173 .G82 1991
Presents sixty-one historically important speeches by prominent 20th century American figures in politics, government, sports, civil rights, the women's movement, the armed forces, and the space program.

Gifts of Speech
Collection of speech texts by influential women from around the world.
"I Do Solemnly Swear...": Presidential Inaugurations
Collection of approximately 400 items or 2,000 digital files from each of the 54 inaugurations from George Washington's in 1789 to George W. Bush's inauguration of 2001. Includes diaries and letters of presidents and of those who witnessed inaugurations, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses, broadsides, inaugural tickets and programs, prints, photographs, and sheet music.
Vital Speeches of the Day
Annual collection of speech texts from around the world on education, government, current events, history, economics, business and commerce, social progress, and politics. Coverage: 1934-present.
WyzAnt: History Out Loud
Audio collection of politically significant speeches and interviews, primarily from the 1960s and 1970s. Includes transcripts.

Indexes

Speech Index by Charity Mitchell
Call Number: Ref AI3 .S85
Index to collections of world famous orations and speeches (through 1980).

Library Catalog Searches

Use the table below to develop library catalog searches for primary sources. Replace the words appearing in brackets with specific descriptors (e.g., use american in place of [nationality]).

Searching for . . .	Enter this phrase	+	modifier(s) [see examples]
general topics	speeches addresses etc	and	[nationality] [speaker's name] [topic]
presidential addresses (collected)	presidents united states messages
sermons	sermons	and	[nationality] [speaker's name]

Sample Searches

speeches addresses etc AND american
sermons AND tillich