American Speeches

If you're looking for a speech to deliver for a competition or for a class, check out these examples of different types of speeches! We also have many books of speeches in the library.

• History channel recorded speeches

• Library of Congress Recorded speeches

• African-American speeches

• American historical docs, look for speeches

• American Rhetoric

• American Rhetoric Top 100 Speeches

• American Speeches

• ARW: African-American Speeches

• Current presidential administration speeches

• Gifts of Speech
  This is a collection of speeches by influential women donated to a college library by the women who gave the speeches. Click on "Browse"

• Help with writing and delivering a speech
  This Scholastic site has tips from two professional speechwriters. The tips about how you "mark up" and say/deliver the speech are the most helpful. (Don't pay attention to the part that says the speech should only be 1 minute--that's for the lesson for which they made the web page).

• History Channel: Famous Speeches

• Miller Center (mostly presidential speeches)
  The Miller Center at the University of Virginia collects American primary source documents, and here you can search for many, many awesome speeches made by U.S. presidents.

• Miller Center Speech Bank

• NPR Programs
  This page lists all the programs on NPR (National Public Radio). Not all of them would make good speeches, but there is some amazing material here.

• NPR Story Corps
  A really cool National Public Radio program that gives ordinary people the chance to tell amazing stories that have happened to them in their lives.

• Original Oratory: Help with writing a speech #1
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Speeches by Famous Women
  From Mt. Mercy University

• Speeches by Time Period
  Mt. Mercy University

• Time Magazine's 100 greatest speeches

• Time Magazine's Top 100 Graduation Speeches

• Top 100 American Speeches (McGraw-Hill publishers)

• Top 100 Speeches of 20th Century
  from Mt. Mercy University

• U.S. News Speeches section

Includes some interesting articles about the speeches

• TIME Magazine Best Commencement (Graduation) Speeches

• Nobel Speeches (not all these speakers are American, don't forget to check)