Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th century

University of Wisconsin-Madison and Texas A & M University ^ | December 15, 1999 | Stephen Lucas

[X-Servative]

W. is part of the 21st century...

[gusopol3]

Agnew's "nattering nobobs of negativism" should have made the list, as it is such an appropriate description of so much that is on it.

[Always Right]

These people seem overly hung up on Democratic speeches (especially at their convention). And what person who is not one of the few members of NOW even has a clue what Hillary's speech was about. At least Bill was correctly snubbed and Reagan had several on the list.

[LarryLied]

The liberals who put this together forgot one:

"LSD: Methods of Control" (Dr. Timothy Leary)

[Always Right]

Where is Clinton's speech to the American People about Monica? That should be number one!

More likely number 68 with Bill owing her one.

[HumanaeVitae]

Reagan's First Inaugural. Hands down.

[palmer]

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." (Sea of Tranquility, lunar surface, July 20, 1969)

It's a short speech but an important one.

[Numbers Guy]

It's not that they don't list the most notable speeches, and it's not like they ignored conservatives. It's the rankings that are bizarre, not to mention the feel-good diversity inclusions.

Barbara Jordan's 1976 keynote speech was well-delivered, but it had no significance other than that she was the first black woman to be a keynoter.

Cuomo's convention speech was a great speech (although it was false as anything and I frankly hated it). His 1984 speech at Notre Dame on abortion was pure claptrap.

Reagan's Challenger speech was rated highest of his speeches because it wasn't ideological in nature. His D-Day speech was way too far down. His "Tear Down This Wall" speech, as someone else noted, should have been in the top 5.

The "Checkers" speech was memorable, but it was by no means worthy of being ranked in the top 10. If I was to choose a Nixon speech it would have been his convention speech in 1968.

Hillary Clinton's "abort 'em all" speech at the Women's Conference was listed as a sop to feminism. She hasn't given a good speech in her life. I can think of half a dozen Bubba speeches that were far more memorable than anything Hillary said.

Maw Richards' speech ("poor George, he can't hep it") was nothing more than poorly argued invective.

Teddy Kennedy's best speech was his one at the 1980 Democratic convention. Why it's lower than his others is beyond me.

As far as acceptance speeches go, Goldwater's is underrated, because it's clear they take into account future significance and Goldwater launched the movement that led to Reagan. Jerry Ford's acceptance speech was the best of his life, but probably not listed because he lost.

Anita Hill's comments weren't a speech. They were a pack of lies delivered in an unconvincing monotone by an utterly dishonest individual. Even if you believed her crap, I can't see how something so unemotionally delivered could leave much of an impression.

[BluesDuke]

Agnew's "nattering nobobs of negativism" should have made the list, as it is such an appropriate description of so much that is on it.

The speech did make the list - at number 50. The compiler didn't use the famous phrase as its title and, anyway, Agnew would not have even thought of the phrase had it not been provided by Nixon White House speechwriter William Safire, who gave the alliteration-addicted vice president a choice between "the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history" and "the nattering nabobs of negativism" - to which Agnew, in Safire's recollection (he tells the story in both Before The Fall and in a scathing review of Agnew's grotesquery The Canfield Decision), said, "What the hell - let's go with both!" (Safire concluded his skewering of Agnew's novel, in fact, by writing, "Now, he has become that which we used to deride so enthusiastically: a nattering nabob of negativism.")

[BluesDuke]

I was surprised the compilers didn't include Edward R. Murrow's tailpiece from the See It Now program devoted entirely to Sen. Joseph McCarthy. (You could call the tailpiece, "The Line Between Investigation and Persecution"); or, his "Evidence of Escapism, Decadence, and Destruction" skewering of prime-time entertainment television from 1959. Not to mention Ted Williams's magnificent Hall of Fame induction speech in 1966...

[Teacher317]

Bill Clinton's top is in the 90's, and Hillary is #35. They have a total of 2 in the top 100.
The Kennedys have 11 in the top 100.
Jesse "the race hustling extortionist" Jackson has #12 and #51, equalling the Clintons by himself.
Roosevelts have 9 of the top 100.

[Willie Green]

Pat Buchanan's Unforgettable Speech To The '92 GOP Convention

Go Pat Go!!!

[fieldmarshaldj]

Yeah, I saw that 94th and I almost had to grab for the air-sickness companion bag. That is one of the single greatest speeches ever made in the past century, bar none (perhaps with the greatest single line -- Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall !). I have not even heard of half these speeches, let alone the rantings of supreme genocidal racist Margaret Sanger and the overrated windbag Barbara Jordan (may she rest in peace) complaining about Nixon, or Mario "Mumbles" Cuomo (MARIO CUOMO !?!) getting ranked so far ahead of the Brandenburg Gate speech. Utterly sickening.

[palmer]

I thought the Dukakis acceptance speech at the 1988 convention was great. Of course I was from Mass. and I wasn't Always Right.

[gitmo]

That is one of the single greatest speeches ever made in the past century, bar none (perhaps with the greatest single line -- Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall !).

I have to rank it even with the "Day of Infamy" speech by President Roosevelt. (Not by Truman, as I stupidly stated in a post yesterday. Sheesh! %*$## public education!)

And if it weren't a list of American speeches, I would have to put Churchill's "Blood Sweat and Tears" speech right up there. (Nothing to do with the rock group.)

[Teacher317]

40 of the top 100 from Washington DC, 13 in NY state, 11 in NYC, 11 in California, 6 outside the US, and 3 in Indiana.

[Bon mots]

92	Speech at the Prayer Service for Victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing	Bill Clinton	23 Apr 1995	Oklahoma City, OK
	Actually, my favorite Bill Clinton speeches started with: "I did not have sex with that woman, Monica Lewinsky..." and ended with his "apology" and impeachment. A really good show. Too bad it wasn't followed up by his imprisonment.

[TxBec]

Thanks! My kids are going to be studying famous speeches this year. Have to bookmark this one!

[gitmo]

Where is Clinton's speech to the American People about Monica? That should be number one!

More likely number 68 with Bill owing her one!

LOL.

[VOA]

2
Inaugural Address
John F. Kennedy
20 Jan 1961
Washington, DC

I'll agree with you that this speech is ranked too high.
BUT...if it is the same speech that I heard (I believe accidentally) played on NPR some
years ago, I'll say it does deserve to be in the top 100.

I was SHOCKED at how openly defiant the tone of the speech was toward Communism;
I guess that being a small child at the time of the speech, I'd not gotten
the direct, unapologeice belligerant tone of the speech.

Heck, it was practically a St. Crispin's Day speech for the Cold Warriors!!!
(That's why I decided that the propaganda officers at National Public Radio must have
taken one too many hits of LSD when they actually played the speech on their "All Things Considered".)

For all of JFK's feet of clay, he hit the right notes for the time with this speech.