American Speeches: Political Oratory from the Revolution to the Civil War (Library of America)

Public speeches have profoundly shaped American history and culture transforming not only our politics but also our language and our sense of national identity. This volume (the first of an unprecedented two-volume collection) gathers the unabridged texts of 45 eloquent and dramatic American speeches delivered by 32 American public figures between 1761 and 1865 beginning with James Otiss denunciation of unrestrained searches by British customs officialshailed by John Adams as the beginning of the American Revolutionand ending with Abraham Lincolns Second Inaugural Address. Rich in literary allusions vivid imagery and emotional appeals political oratory flourished during this period in Congress and at campaign rallies public meetings and reform conventions and reached a wider audience through newspapers and pamphlets. Included are Patrick Henrys liberty or death speech George Washingtons appeal to mutinous army officers and Henry Lees eulogy of Washington. Speeches by John Randolph and Henry Clay capture the political passions of the early republic while three addresses by Daniel Websterhis first Bunker Hill oration his second reply to Hayne and his controversial endorsement of the Compromise of 1850demonstrate the eloquence that made him the most renowned orator of his time. American speeches by figures that did not hold office are included as well: union leader Ely Moore attacking economic aristocracy; womans rights speeches by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth; Henry Highland Garnets incendiary call for slave rebellion; Frederick Douglasss scathing What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? John C. Calhouns defense of slavery Charles Sumners The Crime Against Kansas Alexander Stephenss Corner-Stone speech and several speeches by Abraham Lincoln reflect the sectional conflicts that culminated in the Civil War. Each volume contains biographical and explanatory notes and an index. LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nations literary heritage by publishing and keeping permanently in print Americas best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date authoritative editions that average 1 000 pages in length feature cloth covers sewn bindings and ribbon markers and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.