Finding
Texts of Speeches
General Advice on Finding Texts of Speeches
There are several ways to use Acorn to find speeches. First, try a keyword/keyword anywhere search using the speaker's name along with one of these keywords: speeches, writings, papers, works, or collected works. For example, typing "Kissinger speeches" in the search box and clicking on "keyword anywhere" yields the following title: Observations: Selected Speeches and Essays, 1982-1984 [E 838.5 .K582 1985].
If that method does not work, you might also try, in the Complex Search screen, using the speaker as author or as subject along with "speeches" as keywords anywhere. For example, a search for "Stanton, Elizabeth Cady" as subject plus "speeches" as keywords anywhere yields the following: The Elizabeth Cady Stanton-Susan B. Anthony Reader: Correspondence, Writings, Speeches, revised edition [HQ 1412.S72 1992], as well as The Search for Self-Sovereignty: The Oratory of Elizabeth Cady Stanton [HQ 1426.W33 1989], a study (analysis) of her speeches as well as the text of those speeches.
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Suggested Library of Congress Subject Headings Speeches, addresses, etc. |
If the contents of an anthology or collection have been listed within the "contents notes" in the Acorn record, then you might have luck searching for the speech title as keyword/keyword anywhere. This method works if the book has been recently published.
Acorn will also indicate if there is an audio or video recording of the speech; these are frequently located in Central Library's Microform and Media Center or in the Curriculum Lab at the Education Library.
If the speech was considered newsworthy at the time it was given, the full text of the speech may have been printed in a newspaper. Try searching in LexisNexis Academic or ProQuest, using in your search the name of person who gave the speech and restricting your date to the day of the speech to one or two days later (NOTE: these two databases are restricted to Vanderbilt users only). Also, you should check in some of the other news resources listed in the subject guide, Current News: Newspapers and Broadcast Media. Remember that Central Library has a good collection of newspapers in the Microform & Media Center (for a listing of these titles, click here.) If you can't find the text of the speech, you'll at least find some reaction to the speech that might be useful if you need to find information about context or to find criticial, secondary material (analysis) of the speech.
If the speech was given by a president, you might trying finding the web site of that presidential library to see what material has been made available online. The National Archives and Records Administration administers the various presidential libraries and has an impressive digital library (http://www.nara.gov). The White House web site has information about all the presidents and first ladies (http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/), as well as a list of links to the presidential libraries (http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/liblinks.html).
Internet searches are often effective, given that digital libraries and digital archives are so popular. Try one of the web sites listed below. Or, if you are using a search engine, try the name of the speaker and a few keywords from the title of the speech. If the speech was recently given by a government official, you might try finding the web site of that government agency (such as the Department of State) or of that particular politician. Also, check Acorn for official government publications, such as printed records of hearings.
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Vital Speeches of the Day (available through ProQuest; you can search by publication if you know the date of the speech, or you can do a guided search, using the title of the speech and/or speaker "in all basic search fields" PLUS "vital speeches" as "publication name." You can also look at the print version of this journal on Central's 6th floor at this call number: PN 6121.V52--check Acorn for specific holdings.) LexisNexis Primary Sources in U.S. History Includes components: Access to African American Studies and
Access to Presidential Studies. (For both of the History Universe databases, click on "Search by subject"; then choose the collection
in the drop-down box, and then choose "speech" as "document type"--OR click on "Browse Collections," then choose a link for a
collection, then click on "browse by document type" and then click on "speech" to find the alphabetical list
of speakers.) Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center "Opposing
Viewpoints Resource Center draws on the acclaimed social issues series
published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from
other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources to provide a complete
one-stop source for information on social issues. Access viewpoint
articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to
websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles." |
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The American Presidency Project [an archive of presdential documents, including inaugural addresses, party convention addresses, State of the Union addresses, commencement addresses, and addresses to Congress, the Nation, the United Nations, and foreign legislatures.] State
of the Union Addresses of the American Presidents [Search
and analyze the the full-text of all State of the Union Addresses
from 1790-2005.] http://www.asksam.com/ebooks/StateOfTheUnion/ Online Speech Bank [" . . . an index to and growing database of 5000+ full text, audio and video (streaming) versions of public speeches . . . ." ] http://americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm American Rhetoric.Com
[In addition to the
Online Speech Bank, noted above, this resources includes: “Rhetorical Figures in Sounds;" “American Top 100 Speeches;”
“Movie Speeches;’ “Christian Rhetoric;” and
a “News and Information Index.”
One section of the site is devoted to providing over 150 links
to speeches concerning 9/11.] Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States [George Washington to George W. Bush] http://www.bartleby.com/124/ InfoUSA: Famous Speeches [links to various web sites with speeches important in American history] http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/speeches.htm Douglass: Archives of American Public Address ["an electronic archive of American oratory and related documents"] http://douglassarchives.org Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World [maintained by Sweet Briar College] http://gos.sbc.edu/ Bibliography of Online Documents--Speeches [from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History--contains more than political speeches; can choose an author from the drop-down list or search by keyword] http://www.yale.edu/glc/archive/doctype.htm#Speeches The History Place: Great Speeches Collection [limited list of European and American speeches] http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm History Channel: Speeches [You need RealPlayer to hear the audio of these recordings, and you may have difficulties using your browser back button to return to this page.] http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/speeches.html Internet Modern History
Sourcebook [Electronic texts, including
speeches, arranged by time period or movement] http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html |
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Speech Index: An Index to 259 Collections of World Famous Orations and Speeches for Various Occasions [Ref. AI 3.S85 1966]--includes material from 1st edition (1935) through 3rd edition. Speech Index: Fourth Edition Supplement, 1966-1980 [Ref. AI 3.S85 1966 Suppl 2] Index to American Women Speakers, 1828 to 1978 [Ref. Z 1231.O7 M36] We Shall Be Heard: An Index to Speeches by American Women,
1978 to 1985
[Ref. Z 1231.O7 M37 1988] |
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The American Reader [Ref. E 173.A753 -- Bookcase 1] (includes speeches and popular songs, as well as other primary source documents) The American Intellectual Tradition: A Sourcebook [E 169.1 .A47218 2001--2 vols.] Documents of American History, 10th ed. [Ref. E 173.D59 1988 -- Bookcase 1]: vol. 1: to 1898 & vol. 2: Since 1898 (includes other primary source documents besides speeches) Speeches of the American Presidents, 2nd ed. [Ref. J 81.4.S64 2001 -- Bookcase 1] Lift Every Voice: African American Oratory 1787-1900 [Ref. E 185.18.L54 1998] I Have Spoken: American History through the Voices of the Indians [E 98.O7 A7] Women at the Podium: Memorable Speeches in History [PN 6122.W66 2000] The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Speeches [D 411.P46 1999] Great Irish Voices: Over 400 Years of Irish Oratory [DA 905.G72 1999] A Treasury of the World's Greatest Speeches: Each Speech Prefaced with its Dramatic and Biographical Setting and Placed in its Full Historical Perspective [PN 6121.P4 1965] American Forum: Speeches on Historic Issues, 1788-1900 [PS 662.W7] American Public Addresses, 1740-1952 [PS 662.B27] Representative American Speeches [PS 668.B3 for 1972/73 to 1999/2000; to check for holdings and request them from the Annex for 1937/38 to 1979/71, check the Acorn record.] World's Best Orations: From the Earliest Period to the
Present Time
[c. 1900]--11 vols. [Annex--do a search in Acorn to request the volume you need.] |
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Remember that you can search in Acorn for anthologies that cover a historical period, issue, or movement, and that books that contain primary documents often include speeches. For example: The World Turned Upside Down: Indian Voices from Early America [E 77.W883 1994] The Federalist Papers (by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay) [KF 4515.F4 1981] The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945: A Brief History with Documents [E 806.P64 2000]--includes speeches by FDR and by Eleanor Roosevelt. The Eyes on the Prize: Civil Rights Reader [E 185.615.E95 1991] |
Finding an Analysis of a Speech (Secondary Material)
For analysis (critical assessment) of a speech, you might find relevant scholarly books in Acorn. Search for the speaker as subject (i.e., books about the speaker) and look for the Library of Congress Subject Headings that include "History and Criticism" or "Case Studies."
Or try the following databases for access to scholarly articles and books; remember to search for the speaker and/or speech as subject. (NOTE: restricted to Vanderbilt users only)
America: History and Life [U.S. and Canada] or Historical Abstracts [history of the world, excluding America and Canada]
MLA International Bibliography
This guide was created by Martha Kallstrom; updated and revised by David Carpenter 04/14/03; revised by Sue Erickson 1/27/06
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