While reading about the 1890s yesterday, I came across one of the great inspirational speeches in America’s history. On July 9, 1896, a former congressman from Nebraska, William Jennings Bryan, addressed the Democratic National Convention with a fiery speech, ending with the phrase, “you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!” Bryan, campaigning against the gold standard which limited the amount of money in the economy, was given the nomination of his party for President, and for almost thirty years he was a prominent figure in national politics, owing to his eloquence that day in Chicago.
That got me wondering about the power of words, and trying to figure out which of our leaders today has the ability to inspire the country with his or her speeches. In the past, some of the greatest of political leadership was accompanied by the skillful and emotional use of words. A few of these will illustrate just what a wasteland of such we have today.
Perhaps the first such speech in American was by Patrick Henry, a member of Virginia’s House of Delegates. Proposing amendments which would raise a militia in anticipation of conflict with Great Britain, in St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, Henry concluded his speech with these words, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” His amendments passed unanimously.
The written word also can move people to action or to follow an inspirational leader. Thomas Jefferson, the chief writer of the Declaration of Independence, wrote words that still inspire today. One cannot remain neutral when again seeing the words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness“. Even today, Jefferson’s soaring rhetoric is used to justify civil and political rights for all, rights which are God-given and belong to every person.
Even short phrases have been imprinted on the nation’s soul. John Paul Jones, when his ship, the Bonhomme Richard, was outgunned and he was ordered by the captain of the British ship, the Serapis, to surrender, he uttered the famous words, “I have not yet begun to fight!” Sailors and marines would follow such a leader into the maelstrom and win the day.
After Oliver Hazard Perry had won the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, even though he lost his flagship to enemy fire, Hazard wrote a cryptic note to the Secretary of War, William Henry Harrison, words which still live today, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”
Another stirring use of words in battle occurred during the Civil War, as Admiral David Farragut, leading the attack on Mobile Bay, was told of incoming torpedoes, and his unforgettable words led to an impressive and vital victory. “Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead!” Again servicemen rallied to a man who showed such courage and voiced it in such a manner.
Some American politicians during the 19th century were known for their stirring speeches. Daniel Webster was one, as he championed the cause of the northeast in the Senate. Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, managed to delay the Civil War with his words and work to avert conflict. Others made their mark by being great speechmakers.
But the Civil War produced one man whose spoken words are still able to stir emotion today. Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, was a poor speaker but a magnificent writer. So many examples could be given, but just two times show how a person can rally a nation to action. In his Gettysburg Address of 19 November 1863, these words will live forever. After Edward Everett’s two-hour address, Lincoln began with the words, “Four score and seven years ago” and ended his three-minute address with words that yet stir the soul: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—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.”
And in his second inaugural address, one some consider Lincoln’s finest speech, we hear again these words, on 4 March 1865, the closing remarks: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in . . .”
The 20th century also abounds in men who led by using the power of words. President Woodrow Wilson used the phrase “to make the world safe for democracy” to persuade his fellow Americans to enter the Great War in Europe. At his inauguration as President, Franklin Roosevelt told his listeners, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” as he took the reins during the Great Depression. Nine years later, he inspired Americans as we entered another war because on “December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy” we were attacked by Japan.
When Great Britain was beset by the mighty Nazi war machine, Winston Churchill told his people, on 4 June 1940, when the outlook was bleak: “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“, and after the Battle of Britain, uttered the timeless words, “Never in the course of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few,” in tribute to the Royal Air Force.
On 20 January, 1961, another example of inspiring rhetoric was heard as John Kennedy spoke at his inauguration as President. What present day politician could be this eloquent, as seen in these two quotes? “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.” And, quoting a line from an earlier orator, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.”
No one can remain unmoved by the words spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. in his quest for civil rights for African-Americans. His eloquence is still celebrated today, in speeches made to advance his cause. Most famously, the August 1963 rally in Washington, D. C., witnessed his “I Have a Dream” speech, in which the following was heard. 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. Ending the speech was this passage. And when this happens, 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, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
One other leader also showed us that words can have an effect on our national life. Ronald Reagan, who became President in 1981, had memorable phrases. One which resonated with many across American and the globe came on 12 June 1987, when standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany, Reagan gave this eloquent challenge. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall![11] Addressing a grieving nation after the space shuttle Challenger exploded on liftoff and killing seven astronauts in January 1986, Reagan said, The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”
Wow! Where have they gone? Where are those who aspire to lead us who can use words that inspire and give direction to the nation? As we look at our politicians today, it seems that none are capable of nor are they wanting to become like those of the past who inflamed passions and caused revolutions just by the rhetoric they could command.
Listening to the likes of Nancy Pelosi (D-LaLaLand) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), one feels they could put to sleep a hyper hyena by their speeches. Others, Hillary Clinton (D-SoreLoser), sounds like a whiny sixth-grader who didn’t get her way, causing most to tune her out. Not to ignore the Republicans, to hear Mitch McConnell (R-KY), speak reminds one of a stereotypical mortician consoling the bereaved. And President Trump (R-WhereFrom)? He reminds one of fingers on a chalk board, irritating all who hear (although in fairness to his listeners, they don’t care how he sounds!)
Most of the time, speeches by our “leaders”, or our “betters”, as they would describe themselves, seem like prepackaged food — tasteless, odor less, and almost useless — spam on the airwaves. Put on the teleprompters, such speeches are usually generic, and anyone who knows the political proclivities of the speaker could probably write what they say better than they are saying it.
When caught without their prepared scripts we see the stumbling over words or concepts, the inability to explain well what they believe in or a “no comment” as they and their aides shuffle away from having to defend their positions.
Speaking of positions, perhaps one of the problems of the lack of eloquence is that many of our leaders have shifted their positions so many times their foundation is like to what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7, when the foundation of sand brought down the house. How can you stir your listeners to action when you are not sure if your stance for today is the right one or the one you had earlier in the week?
Not everyone can become a modern-day Lincoln or Churchill or Reagan in speechmaking. But perhaps we mere mortals could at least expect those who propose to lead us to know how to make a speech, using the language well and putting words together which will uplift and inspire and direct. Rhetoric, once a staple of classical education, should be taught to every school child so that those who later aspire to leadership can once again stir us with their words. It is depressing to feel that we will never again sit in thrall to someone who has great ideas for the nation, and is able to put into words, inspiring words, those ideas.