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11thJan2016

Our Virtual Receptionists Take a Look at Famous Speeches That Shaped Our Nation

Our Virtual Receptionists Take a Look at Famous Speeches That Shaped Our Nation

Being experts in communication, our virtual receptionists understand just how important words can be. In this special homage to our nation, we wanted to take a look back in time at some of the most memorable speeches that helped shape America.

Famous Speeches That Defined Our Nation 

George Washington – Farewell Address, 1796

Considered as one of the fathers of our nation, it is no surprise that his words helped America maintain freedom. In this speech, George Washington shares and extends his wisdom by making sure the American people do not forget what the U.S. should stand for. Washington’s Farewell Address, addresses the need to keep a constant eye on the administration to make certain that the Constitution is always upheld.  

“It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another… The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates.”

Click here to read George Washington’s Farewell Address in its entirety.

Abraham Lincoln – Gettysburg Address, 1863

The Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most influential battles ever to happen on American soil, created 23,231 American casualties (4,708 killed, 12,693 wounded, 5,830 captured or missing). After the battle between the Union and the Confederates was over, President Lincoln used the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery to honor the soldiers that lost their lives.

President Lincoln’s speech remains a constant reminder to the American people to be grateful for the sacrifices made to keep this nation free. To let the hopes of liberty and justice live on in our government and its people.    

“Fourscore 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… that 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, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Click here to read Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in its entirety.

John F. Kennedy – Inaugural Address, 1961

“Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.” One of the most memorable quotes of all time comes from the youngest person ever to be elected as President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.

JFK’s youthful presence in the oval office brought about a rebirth of liberty and human rights. He offered a modern and more peaceful Administration to foreign affairs.  

“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans–born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage–and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” 

Click here to read John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address in its entirety.

Martin Luther King – ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech, 1963

Dr. Martin Luther King joined 250,000 protestors during the March on Washington in 1963, and delivered his infamous speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. King’s powerful speech, ‘I Have a Dream,’ reached a global audience and was published in newspapers and magazines all around the world. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act one year later in 1964; providing African Americans and other minorities equal treatment in U.S. Law.

“I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal… 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 their character… This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning ‘My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!’ … 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 spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.’”

Click here to read Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech in its entirety.

A Nation Focused on Liberty and Justice Thanks to these Famous Speeches

Our team of virtual receptionists here at A Courteous Communications hope this article allows you to reflect on the course of American history by revisiting these core speeches. 

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