Oldest HISTORICAL SPEECH you ever listened too!!!

[CarolinaWoman]

I was still in school but I remember JFK's Inaugural Address ... "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis and the terror of a possible nuclear war ... Soviet Missiles aimed at us!

MLK's "I Had A Dream" speech ... VP Spiro Agnew resigning after being charged with tax evasion ... Nixon resigning and President Ford giving Nixon a blanket pardon ... the excitement of the whole world when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong took the first steps by a human on another planetary body.

[dynimagelv]

I remember the radio broadcasts from London [Radio is an ancient means of communication]
The Kennedy Broadcast from Berlin when he misspoke and said Ich bein ein Berliner....which means I am a donught.
and I remember Nov 22 and the asassination

And I remember listening to Alan Freed when he played "Rock around the Clock on the radio after saying "Ok all you cats n kittens lets ROCK and ROLL".....

[delusianne]

Originally Posted by John Walmsley

Loujr,

I hope I don't take Steve's subject too far afield, but your grandfather's reaction toward FDR wasn't unusual. Few presidents, with the possible exception of Lincoln, have elicited more intense emotion than FDR. There was little middle ground; he was either loved or reviled, often depending on the person's employment situation. A friend once told me that FDR's name was only invoked around their dinner table with the words: "That SOB in the WH!" Of course, as he said, his father had a steady job in an upscale men's suit factory in Rochester, NY, throughout the depression.

Yes, FDR, "a traitor to his class." I love those gruff old stories.

Are we talking about speeches we heard live, ourselves? The oldest speech I've ever heard is a recording of Huey Long being folksy in a radio address. I don't believe it was the "Every Man a King" speech.

Somewhat off topic but still in the "speeches" realm: I looked for, but didnt find, an audio link to "Every Man a King." While looking I found this interesting summary of a longer analysis of that speech as it exemplifies techniques of successful demagoguery.

[...]The characteristics of demagogic discourse and a methodology appropriate for its analysis can be illustrated by examining Huey Long's "Every Man a King" radio address on February 20, 1934. The demagogue is similar to the revered public figure in that both are mass leaders, charismatic, and heroic. But the demagogue elicits powerful antithetical emotional responses, championing a single cause. Demagogues and their issues become symbolically one idea, one driving force, as in the cases of Joseph McCarthy/The Red Menace and Huey Long/Share Our Wealth. Demagogic discourse typically follows a classic psychological/motivational pattern for persuasion, as outlined by Kenneth Burke. The four-stage development of demagogic discourse includes guilt, victimization, redemption, and salvation. Huey Long's skill in leading his audience through these four stages, given the state of the economy and the relationship between mind and heart, must account in part for the overwhelming success of his address. Much like [a] great religious leader, Long brought the promise of hope, redemption, and salvation to those most adversely affected by the depression. He created an identity for his followers through their membership in Share Our Wealth societies. As an articulator, Long not only created an identity for his supporters, but he was their mouthpiece, voicing their frustrations, hopes, and fears.

The Analysis of Demagogic Discourse: Huey Long's "Every Man a King" Address.