Famous Speech

2. The Importance of Speeches
Throughout history, speeches have been made that
have had a big impact on people and events.
Have you ever heard a good speech?
Who made it? What was it about?
Why do you think speeches are important?
Talk
Abou
t It
Here are some of the reasons why speeches can be important;
• They can explain the views and beliefs of a leader.
• They can encourage people who are facing a challenge.
• They might persuade people about something.
• They can help people to understand more about an issue.
Let’s find out more about some of the most famous speeches in history.

3. Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was the Queen of England from 1558 to 1603.
In July 1588, over one hundred ships set
sail from Spain with the aim of invading
England, removing Elizabeth from the
throne and turning England into a Roman
Catholic country. These ships were known
as the Spanish Armada.
Four thousand troops were gathered at
Tilbury, ready to attack any Spanish forces
that reached land. At the time, it would
have been common for a king to lead
troops into battle. However, in those days,
women did not fight in battles.
The last English king to die in battle was Richard III in 1485.
He died while fighting Elizabeth I’s grandfather, Henry VII.
Did
You
Know?

4. Elizabeth I
On August 9th, Elizabeth I appeared in front of her troops. Some reports
say she was dressed in armour and that she rode a giant horse as she
inspected the soldiers. The Queen then addressed her ‘loving people’
saying she promised ‘in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die
amongst you all.’ She said she would ‘lay down for my God, and for my
kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood.’
Addressing the fact that she was a queen, she said ‘I
know I have the body but of a weak and feeble
woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king,
and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn
that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should
dare to invade the borders of my realm.’
What do you think Elizabeth was trying to achieve with this
speech?
Talk
About
It

5. Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was born enslaved in 1797. At
the time of her birth, she was known as Isabella
Baumfree. After suffering the cruelties of living as
an enslaved person, Sojourner escaped. She
would later say ‘I did not run away, I walked away
by daylight.’ Sojourner became a Christian and
began to travel, telling people about her beliefs. It
was at this time she changed her name to
Sojourner Truth. The word ‘sojourn’ means to
stay somewhere for a short time.
Sojourner became known for her speeches. As well as speaking about
religion, she spoke out against slavery and in favour of women’s rights. In
1851, Sojourner spoke at the Women’s Rights Convention in Ohio, USA.
At the convention, Sojourner made one of her most famous speeches
which became known as ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’. Different accounts of this
speech have been published, possibly because she made several similar
speeches at different events.

6. Sojourner Truth
Speaking of the persecution she faced, both as a woman and a Black
person, she said ‘That man over there says that women need to be
helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place
everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles,
or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman?’
‘Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered
into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work
as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the
lash as well! And ain't I a woman?’
Making the link between her faith and
women’s rights, she added ‘Then that little
man in black there, he says women can't
have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ
wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ
come from? Where did your Christ come
from? From God and a woman! Man had
nothing to do with him.’

7. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the president of the
United States from 1861 to 1865. He was
leader during the American civil war.
There were several causes of the war,
one of the main ones being the
enslavement of Black people. Lincoln
sided with those who wanted to abolish
slavery. One of the major battles of the
civil war was at a place called Gettysburg.
In three days of fighting, 51 000 people
died.
In 1863, the Gettysburg National Cemetery was created for those, on the
side of Abraham Lincoln, who died in the Battle of Gettysburg. On
November 19th, there was a big opening ceremony. One person, who gave
the main speech, spoke for two hours.
civil war - When two sides from the same country fight against each other.
abolish - Put an end to.

8. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln’s speech, known as the Gettysburg address, was much
shorter but became one of the most famous speeches in the world.
Referring to the formation of the United States 87 years before (a ‘score’
means ‘twenty’), Lincoln started, ‘Four score and seven years ago our
fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty,
and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.’
After talking about the soldiers who died in the
battle, Lincoln ended his speech by saying, ‘we
here highly resolve that these dead shall not have
died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall
have a new birth of freedom.’ Lincoln’s speech
lasted only a few minutes.
Edward Everett, the man who made the two hour speech,
later wrote to Lincoln saying he wished he could have
explained ‘the central idea of the occasion in two hours as
you did in two minutes.’
Did
You
Know?

9. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln before he made the Gettysburg address.

10. Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was the leader of
the Women’s Social and Political Union
(WSPU), a British suffragette group.
The suffragettes organised protests which
became more serious as the government
refused to give women the vote. They
damaged government buildings and chained
themselves to railings. Some were arrested
and sent to prison; while imprisoned, many
went on hunger strike.
suffragette - People who campaigned for women to be able to vote in
elections.
In 1913, suffragette Emily Davison died when she stepped out in front of
the king’s horse at the Epsom Derby (a famous horse race) and was
trampled. In the same year, Emmeline Pankhurst travelled to the USA to
continue her campaign.

11. Emmeline Pankhurst
One of Emmeline’s most famous speeches, which she made
in the USA, became known as ‘Freedom or Death’. She said,
‘I am here as a soldier who has temporarily left the field of
battle in order to explain – it seems strange it should have to
be explained – what civil war is like when civil war is waged
by women.’ Emmeline then spoke of American wars and
compared them to the suffragette campaign.
She ended with an appeal for help from Americans. ‘So here am I. I come in
the intervals of prison appearance... probably going back to be rearrested as
soon as I set my foot on British soil. I come to ask you to help to win this
fight. If we win it, this hardest of all fights, then, to be sure, in the future it is
going to be made easier for women all over the world to win their fight when
their time comes.’ Emmeline’s speech encouraged the American suffragette
movement. In the UK, women over the age of 30 were given the vote in
1918. In the USA, women of all ages were given the vote in 1920.
The American civil war had only ended 48 years before
Emmeline’s speech. How do you think Americans would feel about
Emmeline saying the suffragettes were fighting a civil war?
Talk
About
It

12. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was the prime minister
of the UK during the Second World War.
He was known for making rousing
speeches that kept morale high during
the war.
morale - The confidence and enthusiasm of people.
In June 1940, the war wasn’t going well
for the British. Churchill, who’d only
been prime minister for one month,
made several famous speeches.
One of these speeches, made in the House of Commons on 4th June 1940,
became known as the ‘We shall fight them on the beaches’ speech. In it, he
warned people that there would be ‘many, many long months of struggle
and of suffering’ but that the aim was ‘victory, victory at all costs, victory in
spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.’’

13. Winston Churchill
In the climax of the speech, Churchill said, ‘We shall go on to the end.
We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we
shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we
shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on
the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the
fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never
surrender.’
The Second World War continued until 1945.
During that time, Churchill made many other
well-known speeches.
Why do you think speeches would be important during a war?
How do you think Churchill’s words made people feel?
Talk
About
It

14. Gandhi
Mohandas Gandhi was an Indian
campaigner, who called for an end to the
British rule of India. He was given the title
‘Mahatma’ which means ‘Great Soul’.
Gandhi was known for his belief in
non-violent protest. Although he came
from a rich family, he wore simple
white clothes to show he lived like the
poor people. Gandhi encouraged
people to boycott British goods.
boycott - To stop doing something in order to protest.
As part of this campaign, Gandhi made a speech known as ‘Quit India’ on
8th August 1942. At the start of the speech, Gandhi once again committed
himself to non-violence. ‘Ours is not a drive for power, but purely a non-
violent fight for India’s independence.’

15. Gandhi
Gandhi’s speech continued, ‘A non-violent soldier of freedom will covet
nothing for himself, he fights only for the freedom of his country. The
Congress is unconcerned as to who will rule, when freedom is attained.
The power, when it comes, will belong to the people of India, and it will be
for them to decide to whom it placed in the entrusted.’
covet - To want something.
‘In the democracy which I have envisaged, a
democracy established by non-violence, there will
be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own
master. It is to join a struggle for such democracy
that I invite you today. Once you realise this you will
forget the differences between the Hindus and
Muslims, and think of yourselves as Indians only,
engaged in the common struggle for independence.’
Gandhi ended by saying, ‘At a time when I may
have to launch the biggest struggle of my life, I may
not harbor hatred against anybody.’
Five years later, in 1947, the British left India.

16. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was a South African leader
in the anti-apartheid movement. Apartheid
(which means ‘apartness’ in the Afrikaans
language) was the system South Africa was
ruled by for many years. Black people had
very few rights; they had to live in poorer
areas, couldn’t vote in elections, received only
basic education and weren’t allow to use
certain facilities, such as parks, beaches and
even drinking fountains.
In 1963, Mandela and ten other anti-apartheid leaders were put on trial.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charges. Despite this, some people
called for them to be sentenced to death.
On 20th April 1964, Nelson Mandela made a speech to the court. As the
South African government had banned anti-apartheid leaders from
speaking to newspapers, Mandela knew this was one of his few chances
to speak to the world.

17. Nelson Mandela
Mandela’s speech lasted for almost three hours. He explained why he was
fighting against apartheid and how he felt Black people should be treated.
‘I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the
African people. I have fought against white
domination and I have fought against black
domination. I have cherished the ideal of a
democratic and free society in which all persons
will live together in harmony and with equal
opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live
for and to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs to
be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’
Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment and served 27 years in jail.
He was released in 1990. In 1994, he became the first Black president of
South Africa.
His speech ended with words that have become famous in the fight for
democracy.

18. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader in the
American civil rights movement in the 1960s.
As a preacher, he was well known for making
moving speeches as part of his campaign to
give African Americans equal rights.
On 28th August 1963, the March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom was
held. Around 250,000 people marched to
Washington DC, the capital of the USA, to
demand equality for Black people.
The march ended at the Lincoln memorial, a monument erected to honour
Abraham Lincoln. In his speech, King echoed Lincoln’s Gettysburg
address, referring to ‘five score years ago.’
Martin Luther King was inspired by Gandhi’s belief in
non-violence.
Did
You
Know?

19. Martin Luther King Jr.
At the march, he spoke about the injustices Black people faced, from the
time of slavery to his present day. During his speech, a well-known
singer, Mahalia Jackson, called out to him, ‘Tell them about the dream,
Martin.’ At this point, he began the part of the speech that gave it its
famous name, ‘I have a dream.’
‘I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of
today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in
the American dream... I have a dream that my four little children will one
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin
but by the content of their character... and when we allow freedom to ring,
when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state
and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s
children, Black men and White men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old
Negro spiritual:
Negro - a word that was used in the 1960s to describe Black people.
(It is not a suitable word to use today.)
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at
last!’

20. Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai was born in Pakistan in 1997.
Her dad was a teacher. In 2008, a group called
the Taliban took over the area Malala lived in.
They introduced many new rules, including
banning girls from going to school.
Malala and her family believed in the importance of girls’ education. On
September 1st 2008, Malala gave her first speech, ‘How dare the Taliban
take away my basic right to education?’ She was just 11 years old.
Soon after, she began writing a blog for the BBC, under the name of Gul
Makai, about what it was like to live under Taliban rule. The more public
speaking and television appearances she did, the clearer it was that she
was the BBC’s blogger and she became well known for her activism.
When Malala was 15 years old, she was shot by someone in the Taliban
on her way home from school. Her injuries were so severe that she had to
be flown to England for treatment. As she recovered, Malala remained
determined to campaign on behalf of girls around the world. She wrote
books, made speeches and started a charity called the Malala Fund.

21. Malala Yousafzai
In December 2014, Malala was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize. This is an award given each year to
someone who has helped make the world a better
and more peaceful place. Malala made an
important speech when she accepted the award.
The audience laughed when she said, ‘I am pretty certain that I am also
the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who still fights with her
younger brothers. I want there to be peace everywhere, but my brothers
and I are still working on that.’ She went on to say, ‘This award is not just
for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those
frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who
want change.’ Her speech ended, ‘Dear sisters and brothers, dear fellow
children, we must work… not wait. Not just the politicians and the world
leaders, we all need to contribute. Me. You. We. It is our duty. Let us
become the first generation to decide to be the last, let us become the
first generation that decides to be the last that sees empty classrooms,
lost childhoods, and wasted potentials.

22. Talk About It
Which of the speeches did you like the most?
How did the speeches make you feel?
What aims did the different speakers have?
Some of the speeches helped people achieve their aims, others didn’t.
Why do you think this is?

23. Find Out
There are many other famous speeches. Here are some extracts from
them. You could use the Internet to research more about them and the
people that made them.
‘...ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for
your country…”
President John F. Kennedy
‘I determine to forget all my other fears, and I march forward with a firmer
step in the full assurance that my cause will bear me out, and that I shall
be able to justify upon the clearest principles, every resolution in my hand,
the avowed end of which is, the total abolition of the slave trade.’
William Wilberforce

24. Find Out
‘But has the last word been said? Must hope disappear? Is defeat
final? No!’
Charles de Gaulle
‘This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.’
Frederick Douglass
‘You cannot be consistently fair or just or kind or generous or loving
without courage.’
Maya Angelou