The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Some Thoughts on Historic American Documents, Letters and Speeches

In my Documents, Letters and Speeches webpage I only published the content of these historic American Documents, Letters and Speeches, without any background or commentary on them. In this webpage, I provide some background and commentary on these Documents, Letters and Speeches. Many of these backgrounds and commentaries have come from other websites, which I credit after the end of the background or comment, but some of these backgrounds and commentaries are my own thoughts.

Franklin's Speech to the Constitutional Convention - September 17, 1787

Monday, September 17, 1787, was the last day of the Constitutional Convention. There was very much a concern that the Constitution would not be approved by the delegates, as there were many parts of the Constitution that many delegates disapproved of. Prior to the vote on the Constitution, Pennsylvania delegate Benjamin Franklin requested to give short remarks in support of the Constitution. Too weak to actually give the remarks himself, he had fellow Pennsylvanian James Wilson deliver the remarks. “Franklin's Speech to the Constitutional Convention” is considered a masterpiece of conciliation. After this speech was given, the members present voted to unanimously approve the Constitution. They also kept silent about their doubts and objections and worked to have the Constitution endorsed by the people, and they then turned their future thoughts & endeavors to the means of having it well administered, as Franklin suggested. This speech is as reported in Madison's notes on the Convention for Monday, September 17, 1787.

 - Mark Dawson

Franklin's Letter to Ezra Stiles - March 09, 1790

Franklin was essentially a Deist, but not a doctrinal Deist. Near the end of his life, Franklin wrote a letter to Ezra Stiles responding to his request to elucidate his thoughts about religion. After eliciting Ezra Stiles promise not to reveal his response, he wrote to him his thoughts on religion.

- Mark Dawson

Franklin's Excellent Use of Moral Equivalency on Slavery - March 23, 1790

Benjamin Franklin used moral equivalence to satirize the pro-slavery arguments of antebellum America. The most famous of his satirization was a letter In the March 1790 issue of Federal Gazette entitled "On the Slave-Trade". The supposed author, a Mr. Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim had a background as an Algerian prince who owned quite a number of slaves himself. He wrote this article under the pretext of weighing in on the ongoing and polarizing slave debate taking place at the time in the U.S.

Exposing the sheer hypocrisy of the pro-slavery arguments, this piece of writing is more interesting when one learns that Prince Sidi Mehement Ibrahim was merely a character invented by founding father Benjamin Franklin. This Algerian princes polemic which railed against the anti-slavery political spectrum of the day shows the reader the shallow nature of the typical justifications conjured up by the American slave owners and how they were reminiscent of the shallow pretenses the Barbary States would employ in order to justify their enslavement of Americans.

- Mark Dawson

Washington Prevents the Revolt of His Officers - March 15, 1783

At the close of the Revolutionary War in America, a perilous moment in the life of the fledgling American republic occurred as officers of the Continental Army met in Newburgh, New York, to discuss grievances and consider a possible insurrection against the rule of Congress.

They were angry over the failure of Congress to honor its promises to the army regarding salary, bounties and life pensions. The officers had heard from Philadelphia that the American government was going broke and that they might not be compensated at all.

On March 10, 1783, an anonymous letter was circulated among the officers of General Washington's main camp at Newburgh. It addressed those complaints and called for an unauthorized meeting of officers to be held the next day to consider possible military solutions to the problems of the civilian government and its financial woes.

General Washington stopped that meeting from happening by forbidding the officers to meet at the unauthorized meeting. Instead, he suggested they meet a few days later, on March 15th, at the regular meeting of his officers.

Meanwhile, another anonymous letter was circulated, this time suggesting Washington himself was sympathetic to the claims of the malcontent officers.

And so, on March 15, 1783, Washington's officers gathered in a church building in Newburgh, effectively holding the fate of America in their hands.

Unexpectedly, General Washington himself showed up. He was not entirely welcomed by his men, but nevertheless, personally addressed them.

This speech was not very well received by his men. Washington then took out a letter from a member of Congress explaining the financial difficulties of the government.

After reading a portion of the letter with his eyes squinting at the small writing, Washington suddenly stopped. His officers stared at him, wondering. Washington then reached into his coat pocket and took out a pair of reading glasses. Few of them knew he wore glasses, and were surprised.

"Gentlemen," said Washington, "you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country."

In that single moment of sheer vulnerability, Washington's men were deeply moved, even shamed, and many were quickly in tears, now looking with great affection at this aging man who had led them through so much. Washington read the remainder of the letter, then left without saying another word, realizing their sentiments.

His officers then cast a unanimous vote, essentially agreeing to the rule of Congress. Thus, the civilian government was preserved and the experiment of democracy in America continued.

- From The History Place

From George Washington: To B. Franklin - September 23, 1789

As Benjamin Franklin was on his death bed, he received many letters from his friends and well-wishers. Franklin was as beloved to his countrymen as was George Washington was beloved. Perhaps the most touching and sincere letter came from his good friend, fellow revolutionary, and The President of the United States - George Washington.

After reading this letter, I dare anyone to think of George Washington as aloof or cold-hearted. George Washington had a public persona that was aloof and formal, but this persona was adopted for many and sensible reasons. In his private persona he was warm and friendly, and anyone who experienced this side of him enjoyed his company. He also sincerely believed, as he expressed to many people, that his success during the American Revolutionary War would not have been possible without the success of Benjamin Franklin in obtaining the support of the court of the King of France.

- Mark Dawson

Washington's Inaugural Address - April 30, 1789

After officially enacting the newly ratified US Constitution in September 1788, the Confederation Congress scheduled the first inauguration for March 1789. However, bad weather delayed many congressmen from arriving in the national capital, New York. It wasn’t until April 6, 1789, that a quorum had reached New York to tally the electoral ballots and declare George Washington the winner. On April 30, 1789, Robert R. Livingston, the chancellor of New York, administered the oath of office to George Washington on a second floor balcony of Federal Hall. Washington and members of Congress then moved to the Senate Chamber, where Washington delivered his inaugural address to a joint session of Congress.

Unlike the lengthy 73-page first draft of his speech (which was completely discarded), Washington’s inaugural could easily be read in twenty minutes. In it, Washington eloquently states the fundamental principle of the American democratic revolution: "the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

- From History Resources, George Washington’s First Inaugural Address

Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation - October 3, 1789

The National Thanksgiving Proclamation was the first presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving in the United States. President George Washington declared Thursday, November 26, 1789, as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.

Setting aside time to give thanks for one's blessings, along with holding feasts to celebrate a harvest, are both practices that long predate the European settlement of North America. The first documented thanksgiving services in territory currently belonging to the United States were conducted by Spaniards and the French in the 16th century. Thanksgiving services were routine in what became the Commonwealth of Virginia as early as 1607, with the first permanent settlement of Jamestown, Virginia holding a thanksgiving in 1610. In 1619, the Berkeley Hundred colony held a service on December 4, 1619, to celebrate "the day of our ship's arrival" and proclaimed the date would be "yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to the Almighty God." The colony was wiped out shortly after, in March 1622, with some inhabitants being massacred, and the rest fleeing. The generally referenced 'First Thanksgiving' occurred on Plymouth Colony, shortly after the colonists first successful harvest in autumn of 1621. They celebrated for three straight days with their Native American neighbors with whom they had signed a mutual protection treaty the Spring before.

 

In 1723, Massachusetts Bay Governor William Dummer proclaimed a day of thanksgiving on November 6. The first proclamation in the independent United States was issued by John Hancock as President of the Continental Congress as a day of fasting on March 16, 1776. The first national Thanksgiving was celebrated on December 18, 1777, and the Continental Congress issued National Thanksgiving Day proclamations each year between 1778 and 1784. There were no national thanksgiving day proclamations from 1785 to 1788.

George Washington proclaimed a second day of Thanksgiving in 1795, following the defeat of the Whiskey Rebellion. After Washington left office, John Adams, James Madison, and others intermediately declared days of Thanksgiving. Several presidents opposed days of national thanksgiving, with Thomas Jefferson openly denouncing such a proclamation. By 1855, 16 states celebrated Thanksgiving (14 on the fourth Thursday of November, and two on the third). However, it was not until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln established the regular tradition of observing days of national thanksgiving.

- From the Wikipedia article

Washington's Farewell Address - September 19, 1796

On September 19, 1796, the American Daily Advertiser newspaper in Philadelphia published George Washington’s Farewell Address to the American people. On the same day, President Washington rode from the city back to his Mount Vernon home in Virginia. He would not let anyone convince him to serve another term as president, as his advisors and fellow leaders had in 1792. The Farewell Address would become one of the most influential documents in American history as a statement of American founding principles by its most indispensable founder.

The 1796 address actually counted as Washington’s third farewell to the American people. Contemporaries deemed his circular letter to the states in June 1783, at the close of the American Revolutionary War, as Washington’s original farewell address. In 1792, with the help of James Madison, Washington composed his second farewell address to mark his intended retirement at the end of his first presidential administration. However, the president never published the address, instead agreeing to serve a second term given the domestic and foreign crises that threatened the young American republic. As political factions developed into America’s first political parties, the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, the French Revolution evolved into a global war. Finally, in 1796, content with the stability of the new United States, Washington sought the help of his first treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, to compose his third and final farewell address.

Washington’s Farewell Address expresses an overarching message of American unity in the face of domestic and global divisions. The address urges Americans to place the common good of the country above their geographical and self-interests. Similarly, it warns about the dangers of partisanship, for political parties, in Washington’s estimation, sought benefits for factions or interests at the expense of the whole. As Europe was embroiled in the French Revolutionary Wars, Washington also warned America against forming permanent alliances that would draw the country into foreign conflicts. Sometimes misinterpreted as isolationism, Washington instead presented a vision of foreign affairs in which the United States should foremost pursue its own interests, including by engaging in peaceful commerce with other nations.

- From History Resources, Washington's Farewell Address (downloaded)

Lincoln's The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions speech - January 27, 1838

As one of Abraham Lincoln's earliest published speeches, this address has been much scrutinized and debated by historians, who see broad implications for his later public policies. Lincoln was 28 years old at the time he gave this speech and had recently moved from a struggling pioneer village to Springfield, Illinois. William Herndon, who would become Lincoln's law partner in 1844, describes the event this way: "we had a society in Springfield, which contained and commanded all the culture and talent of the place. Unlike the other one its meetings were public, and reflected great credit on the community ... The speech was brought out by the burning in St. Louis a few weeks before, by a mob, of a negro. Lincoln took this incident as a sort of text for his remarks ... The address was published in the Sangamon Journal and created for the young orator a reputation which soon extended beyond the limits of the locality in which he lived."

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's A House Divided speech - June 16, 1858

On June 16, 1858 more than 1,000 delegates met in the Springfield, Illinois, statehouse for the Republican State Convention. At 5:00 p.m. they chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate, running against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. At 8:00 p.m. Lincoln delivered this address to his Republican colleagues in the Hall of Representatives. The title reflects part of the speech's introduction, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," a concept familiar to Lincoln's audience as a statement by Jesus recorded in all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke).

Even Lincoln's friends regarded the speech as too radical for the occasion. His law partner, William H. Herndon, considered Lincoln as morally courageous but politically incorrect. Lincoln read the speech to him before delivering it, referring to the "house divided" language this way: "The proposition is indisputably true ... and I will deliver it as written. I want to use some universally known figure, expressed in simple language as universally known, that it may strike home to the minds of men in order to rouse them to the peril of the times."

The speech created many repercussions, giving Lincoln's political opponent fresh ammunition. Herndon remarked, "when I saw Senator Douglas making such headway against Mr. Lincoln's house divided speech I was nettled & irritable, and said to Mr. Lincoln one day this -- 'Mr. Lincoln -- why in the world do you not say to Mr. Douglas, when he is making capitol out of your speech, -- 'Douglas why whine and complain to me because of that speech. I am not the author of it. God is. Go and whine and complain to Him for its revelation, and utterance.' Mr. Lincoln looked at me one short quizzical moment, and replied 'I can't.'"

Reflecting on it several years later, Herndon said the speech did awaken the people, and despite Lincoln's defeat, he thought the speech made him President. "Through logic inductively seen," he said, "Lincoln as a statesman, and political philosopher, announced an eternal truth -- not only as broad as America, but covers the world."

Another colleague, Leonard Swett, said the speech defeated Lincoln in the Senate campaign. In 1866 he wrote to Herndon complaining, "Nothing could have been more unfortunate or inappropriate; it was saying first the wrong thing, yet he saw it was an abstract truth, but standing by the speech would ultimately find him in the right place."

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Cooper Union Address - February 27, 1860

In October 1859 Abraham Lincoln accepted an invitation to lecture at Henry Ward Beecher's church in Brooklyn, New York, and chose a political topic which required months of painstaking research. His law partner William Herndon observed, "No former effort in the line of speech-making had cost Lincoln so much time and thought as this one," a remarkable comment considering the previous year's debates with Stephen Douglas.

The carefully crafted speech examined the views of the 39 signers of the Constitution. Lincoln noted that at least 21 of them -- a majority -- believed Congress should control slavery in the territories, rather than allow it to expand. Thus, the Republican stance of the time was not revolutionary, but similar to the Founding Fathers, and should not alarm Southerners, for radicals had threatened to secede if a Republican was elected President.

When Lincoln arrived in New York, the Young Men's Republican Union had assumed sponsorship of the speech and moved its location to the Cooper Institute in Manhattan. The Union's board included members such as Horace Greeley and William Cullen Bryant, who opposed William Seward for the Republican Presidential nomination. Lincoln, as an unannounced presidential aspirant, attracted a capacity crowd of 1,500 curious New Yorkers.

An eyewitness that evening said, "When Lincoln rose to speak, I was greatly disappointed. He was tall, tall, -- oh, how tall! and so angular and awkward that I had, for an instant, a feeling of pity for so ungainly a man." However, once Lincoln warmed up, "his face lighted up as with an inward fire; the whole man was transfigured. I forgot his clothes, his personal appearance, and his individual peculiarities. Presently, forgetting myself, I was on my feet like the rest, yelling like a wild Indian, cheering this wonderful man."

Herndon, who knew the speech but was not present, said it was "devoid of all rhetorical imagry." Rather, "it was constructed with a view to accuracy of statement, simplicity of language, and unity of thought. In some respects like a lawyer's brief, it was logical, temperate in tone, powerful -- irresistibly driving conviction home to men's reasons and their souls."

The speech electrified Lincoln's listeners and gained him important political support in Seward's home territory. Said a New York writer, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience." After being printed by New York newspapers, the speech was widely circulated as campaign literature.

Easily one of Lincoln's best efforts, it revealed his singular mastery of ideas and issues in a way that justified loyal support. Here we can see him pursuing facts, forming them into meaningful patterns, pressing relentlessly toward his conclusion.

With a deft touch, Lincoln exposed the roots of sectional strife and the inconsistent positions of Senator Stephen Douglas and Chief Justice Roger Taney. He urged fellow Republicans not to capitulate to Southern demands to recognize slavery as being right, but to "stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively."

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address - March 4, 1861

This speech had its origins in the back room of a store in Springfield, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield for nearly 25 years, wrote the speech shortly after his election as America's sixteenth President. Before leaving town in January 1861, he sometimes eluded hordes of office seekers by taking refuge in his brother-in-law's store. There he used just four references in his writing: Henry Clay's 1850 Speech on compromise, Webster's reply to Hayne, Andrew Jackson's proclamation against nullification, and the U.S. Constitution. The desk Lincoln used has been preserved by the State of Illinois.

A local newspaper, the Illinois State Journal, secretly printed the first draft, which he took on his inaugural journey to Washington. He entrusted the speech to his eldest son Robert, who temporarily lost the suitcase, causing a minor uproar until it was found. Once in Washington, Lincoln allowed a handful of people to read the speech before delivering it. William H. Seward, his Secretary of State, offered several suggestions which softened its tone and helped produce its famous closing. Although meant to allay the fears of Southerners, the speech did not dissuade them from starting the war, which they initiated the following month.

Californians read the speech after it traveled via telegraph and Pony Express. It was telegraphed from New York to Kearney, Nebraska, then taken by Pony Express to Folsom, California, where it was telegraphed to Sacramento for publication. Today you can see the First Inaugural Address manuscript and the Bible from the inaugural ceremony online or at the American Treasures exhibit, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Message to Congress in Special Session - July 4, 1861

Between the fall of Fort Sumter on April 13, 1861, and July of that same year, President Lincoln took a number of actions in response to secession without Congressional approval. In this special message to Congress, Lincoln asks Congress to validate his actions by authorizing them after the fact. This message also marks Lincoln's first full explanation of the purpose of the war.

- From Miller Center, July 4, 1861, Message to Congress

Lincoln's Proclamation of Thanksgiving - October 3, 1863 

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."

Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. George Washington was the first president to proclaim a day of thanksgiving, issuing his request on October 3, 1789, exactly 74 years before Lincoln's.

The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation - January 1, 1863

President Lincoln read the first draft of this document to his Cabinet members on July 22, 1862. After some changes, he issued the preliminary version on September 22, which specified that the final document would take effect January 1, 1863. Slaves in Confederate states which were not back in the Union by then would be free, but slaves in the Border States were not affected. The president knew the proclamation was a temporary military measure and only Congress could remove slavery permanently, but had the satisfaction of seeing the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, pass a few months before his death.

The most controversial document in Lincoln's presidency, its signing met with both hostility and jubilation in the North. After the preliminary version was made public, Lincoln noted, "It is six days old, and while commendation in newspapers and by distinguished individuals is all that a vain man could wish, the stocks have declined, and troops come forward more slowly than ever. This, looked soberly in the face, is not very satisfactory." However, on the day he approved the final version, Lincoln remarked, "I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper."

A few months after Lincoln's assassination, historian George Bancroft praised the proclamation as central to the president's reputation: "The measure by which Abraham Lincoln takes his place, not in American history only, but in universal history, is his Proclamation of January 1, 1863, emancipating all slaves within the insurgent States."

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address - November 19, 1863

On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner referred to the most famous speech ever given by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called the Gettysburg Address a "monumental act." He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech."

There are five known copies of the speech in Lincoln's handwriting, each with a slightly different text, and named for the people who first received them: Nicolay, Hay, Everett, Bancroft and Bliss. Two copies apparently were written before delivering the speech, one of which probably was the reading copy. The remaining ones were produced months later for soldier benefit events. Despite widely-circulated stories to the contrary, the president did not dash off a copy aboard a train to Gettysburg. Lincoln carefully prepared his major speeches in advance; his steady, even script in every manuscript is consistent with a firm writing surface, not the notoriously bumpy Civil War-era trains. Additional versions of the speech appeared in newspapers of the era, feeding modern-day confusion about the authoritative text.

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address - March 4, 1865

This theologically intense speech has been widely acknowledged as one of the most remarkable documents in American history. The London Spectator said of it, "We cannot read it without a renewed conviction that it is the noblest political document known to history, and should have for the nation and the statesmen he left behind him something of a sacred and almost prophetic character."

Journalist Noah Brooks, who witnessed the speech, said that as Lincoln advanced from his seat, "a roar of applause shook the air, and, again and again repeated, finally died away on the outer fringe of the throng, like a sweeping wave upon the shore. Just at that moment the sun, which had been obscured all day, burst forth in its unclouded meridian splendor, and flooded the spectacle with glory and with light." Brooks said Lincoln told him the next day, "Did you notice that sunburst? It made my heart jump."

According to Brooks, the audience received the speech in "profound silence," although some passages provoked cheers and applause. "Looking down into the faces of the people, illuminated by the bright rays of the sun, one could see moist eyes and even tearful faces."

Brooks also observed, "But chiefly memorable in the mind of those who saw that second inauguration must still remain the tall, pathetic, melancholy figure of the man who, then inducted into office in the midst of the glad acclaim of thousands of people, and illumined by the deceptive brilliance of a March sunburst, was already standing in the shadow of death." He was referring, of course, to Lincoln's sudden death by assassination only weeks after the speech.

At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention, and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

- From Abraham Lincoln Online, Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln

William Tecumseh Sherman's Letter to Atlanta - September 12, 1864

In the mind of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who made famous the phrase "War is hell," there was no doubt as to the integrity of the North's cause. Sherman was renowned as a fierce - some would say tyrannical - military leader, and in September 1864 he gave orders for the city of Atlanta to be evacuated and burned. Despite appeals from the citizens of Atlanta, including reminders that there were elderly and pregnant women whom it would be difficult and even perilous to move, Sherman's decision was final. In this declaration he explained himself to the mayor and council members of the city.

- Mark Dawson

Some other quotes by General Sherman on war are:

"You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace."

“Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster.”

“War is cruelty. There's no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”

“If the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity seeking.”

"It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell."

Wilson’s Declaration of War Against Germany - April 2, 1917

As hostilities broke out between several nations of Europe in 1914, almost immediately, President Wilson declared America’s intent to stay neutral and called on all Americans to remain impartial in thought as well as deed. However, Wilson and the United States found it increasing difficult to remain neutral. The series of events between 1915 and 1917 led Wilson to finally deliver his war message to Congress on April 2, 1917. German submarine warfare had resulted in the sinking of several ships and the loss of American lives. Most remarkable was the attack against the Lusitania, on May 7, 1915, when 128 Americans died. While that ship flew the American flag of neutrality, it also carried several thousand cases of ammunition and shrapnel headed to Britain. After stern warnings from Wilson, the Germans pledged to abide by traditional rules of search and seizure. Increasingly, however, America was drawn to the side of the British. In addition to the historic cultural ties to both Britain and France, munitions shipments to those countries from the United States had increased from around $6 million in 1914 to almost $500 million in 1917. American bankers had loaned the Allies over $2 billion.

On the heels of the German announcement to renew unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, 1917, the British, on February 24, revealed the Zimmerman Telegram. When Wilson released the message to the press on March 1, Americans were shocked and angered. With the support of his entire cabinet, Wilson, who had been reelected in 1916 on the slogan “He kept us out of war,” reluctantly concluded that war was inevitable. In his speech before a special session of Congress, Wilson, as usual, took the moral high ground and declared that not only had America’s rights as a neutral been violated but that “The world must be made safe for democracy.” Americans must fight “for the rights and liberties of small nations” and to “bring peace and safety to make the world itself at last free.”

- From The National Archives

FDR Declaration of War Against Japan - December 8, 1941

On December 7, 1941, the U.S. naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, was subject to an attack that was one of the greatest military surprises in the history of warfare. In less than 2 hours, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was devastated, and more than 3,500 Americans were killed or wounded. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor catapulted the United States into World War II.

The American people were outraged. Though diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan were deteriorating, they had not yet broken off at the time of the attack. Instantly, the incident united the American people in a massive mobilization for war and strengthened American resolve to guard against any future lapse of military alertness.

Early in the afternoon of December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his chief foreign policy aide, Harry Hopkins, were interrupted by a telephone call from Secretary of War Henry Stimson and told that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. At about 5 p.m., following meetings with his military advisers, the President calmly and decisively dictated to his secretary, Grace Tully, a request to Congress for a declaration of war. He had composed the speech in his head after deciding on a brief, uncomplicated appeal to the people of the United States rather than a thorough recitation of Japanese treachery, as Secretary of State Cordell Hull had urged.

President Roosevelt then revised the typed draft—marking it up, updating military information, and selecting alternative wordings that strengthened the tone of the speech. He made the most significant change in the critical first line, which originally read, "a date which will live in world history." Grace Tully then prepared the final reading copy, which Roosevelt subsequently altered in three more places.

On December 8, at 12:30 p.m., Roosevelt addressed a joint session of Congress and, via radio, the nation. The Senate responded with a unanimous vote in support of war; only Montana pacifist Jeanette Rankin dissented in the House. At 4 p.m. that same afternoon, President Roosevelt signed the declaration of war.

- From The National Archives

FDR Four Freedoms Speech - January 6, 1941

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an address on January 6, 1941, known as The Four Freedoms Speech (technically the 1941 State of the Union Address), proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "Everywhere In The World" ought to enjoy.: 1) Freedom Of Speech, 2) Freedom Of Worship, 3) Freedom From Want, and 4) Freedom From Fear. The Freedom of Speech and the Freedom of Worship are passive freedoms, as they simply require the government not to intrude on these freedoms. The Freedom of Fear is a normal function of government in the passage and enforcement of laws that protect the rights of individuals and having a military to protect against foreign nations or actors that would harm them. He also made no mention of the Freedom of Enterprise, the Natural Right of a person to utilize their skills and abilities, knowledge, intelligence, and experience, along with their labors, to create employment for themselves and others and to provide for themselves and their families, so long as they do not interfere with another person’s Natural Rights.

- Mark Dawson

Kennedy's Inaugural Address - January 20, 1961

On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the thirty-fifth President of the United States. His short, fourteen-minute inaugural address is best remembered for a single line: "My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." This call to public service resonated with what JFK called the "new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage." It is virtually the only part of the speech to address solely domestic matters and initiatives. The balance of the speech places the United States at the center of worldwide action in facing the challenges of the Cold War in particular, in strong declarative sentences and emotional appeals:

 - From History Resources, John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address

Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ - April 16, 1963

When the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, AL, for leading a peaceful civil disobedience to protest against the Natural, Constitutional, and Civil Rights violations of blacks that were common in the South (and other parts of America) at the time. Many clergy and civil leaders encouraged him to be a ‘realist’ and ‘work with’ them and others to change the laws. Dr. King wrote a letter from his jail cell, ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’", which eloquently explained that you could not work with or be a realist when there are violations of Natural, Human, or Civil Rights.

- Mark Dawson

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech’ - August 28, 1963

On August 28, 1963, approximately a quarter million people converged on Washington, DC. They came from all over the United States to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. Many traveled for days—and at great personal risk—to participate. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was one of the largest political rallies in history. There were fears of violence, but the huge crowd remained peaceful as they marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.

The last speech of the day was given by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King drew on history—including the Declaration of Independence’s promise of equality and Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation—to highlight how far African Americans were from reaching the American ideal. He urged his audience to demand equal opportunities and access to jobs and facilities and housing and voting. But what transformed the speech into one of the most memorable in American history for the millions of Americans watching and listening in Washington, on radio and on television, was the recurring phrase "I have a dream," repeated eight times with increasing urgency—a dream of what could happen in the nation as well as a more intimate dream of what his own children could achieve when freedom rang everywhere in the United States.

- From History Resources, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech

Reagan's First Inaugural Address - January 20, 1981

Ronald Reagan’s election to the White House came at a time of great economic and international turmoil for the United States. His first inaugural address on January 20, 1981, highlights many major issues of the day, including rising inflation, unemployment, and the Iran Hostage Crisis, which came to an end just minutes after the speech’s conclusion. Reagan pointed to "economic affliction" as one of the most serious challenges facing the nation, and he asserted a need for the reduction of not just public spending but of the federal government itself: "It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government."

- From History Resources, President Reagan’s First Inaugural Address