words have the power to inspire motivate
and influence millions of people which
is exactly what these speeches did and I
still believe that these problems can be
solved welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top 10 famous speeches in history we
make speeches for each other and those
English liberal magazines that may grant
us a few lines for this list we’re
looking at formal speeches delivered to
an audience and are not including
impromptu quotes such as Neil
Armstrong’s a tram fireplace or sermons
from religious figures such as Jesus
Christ ye are the salt of the earth but
if the salt has lost his savour
wherewith shall to be salted number 10
campaign into India Alexander the Great
his conquests hinged on his armies use
of advanced technology but they also
depended on Alexander’s legendary
ability to command the loyalty of
thousands of men one of the greatest
conquerors the world has ever seen by
335 BC Alexander the Great controlled
all of Greece Egypt and the Persian
Empire I don’t think on its own to saw
any military engagement as anything
other than opportunity to build his own
heroic stature Alexander wanted more
than that however and set his sights on
India unfortunately after nearly ten
years of fighting his army had no
interest in travelling further east and
threatened mutiny they rebelled against
him they refused to go further and he
had to turn around
Alexander having studied under Aristotle
gave a rousing speech to motivate his
men to continue to fight ending it by
stating I will make those who stay the
envy of those who returned all your
great victories fade
it will always be remembered you left
your king in Asia prior God with my
number 9 Germany declares war on the USA
Adolf Hitler me start Ernst is often
done beer stopping us organize hey we
didn’t say all of these guys were good
guys a fantastic orator with the ability
to inspire millions to carry out his
plans Hans
Nick doctrine Eden Chiya – Hey Dude come
doctrine one of Hitler’s greatest
speeches came on December 11 1941 when
Germany declared war on the United
States after summarizing Germany’s
military successes in the previous year
Hitler turned his attention to the
United States he stressed that Germany
had done nothing wrong to America at any
point in history
he promised to position button upload
the latest arts very heroes tensely
rightfully of the president of rice
startin and against Iran on a Santoni
longer to cook type 55
out of retaliation the United States
declared war on Germany later that day
making sure America was fully involved
in both the European and Pacific
Theaters of the war the Old Spice
creeped it on number eight funeral
oration Pericles it’s probably not a
more important figure in the history of
classical Greece than Pericles what do
you say to a city that has seen fathers
husbands and sons die in a war that has
no end in sight that was the task facing
Pericles when he gave a speech at a
public funeral for all Athenian men who
had been killed in the Peloponnesian War
against Sparta Pericles expectation was
that after a year or two but no more
than three the Spartans would realize
that they could not win the war because
the Athenians would never give them the
infantry battle they needed in order to
win and they had no other device
available rather than mourn the dead
Pericles enthusiastically praised Athens
and its citizens
he used his rhetoric ability to motivate
all Athenians to continue to fight to
ensure these men did not die in vain the
state thus offers a valuable prize as
the garland of victory in this race of
Valor for the reward both of those who
have fallen and their survivors and
where the rewards for merit are greatest
there are found the best citizens is it
any wonder the historian Thucydides
called him the first citizen of Athens
but for all his power and sway Pericles
did not rule the city for Athens was a
democracy
number seven second Virginia convention
Patrick Henry I know not what course
others may take but as for me give me
liberty or give me death give me liberty
or give me death these famous words that
would forever be associated with the
American Revolution were spoken by
Patrick Henry at the second Virginia
convention in 1775 we must fight fire we
must
right Virginia was one of the most
important colonies in the new world and
without its help the Revolution had
little chance of succeeding there is no
retreat
but in submission and slavery our chains
are forged there cranking may be heard
on the plains of Boston the war is
inevitable and let it come I repeat sir
let it come Henry speech was so powerful
that the entire convention which
contained the likes of George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson is said to have sat
in silence for several minutes afterward
Patrick Henry was more responsible for
getting the revolution underway than any
other founding father number six
inaugural address John F Kennedy let us
go forth to lead the land we love asking
his blessing and his help but knowing
that here on earth God’s work must truly
be our own after two world wars a
conflict in Korea a crippling depression
and relations with the Soviet Union
reaching a boiling point the United
States needed a reason to feel
optimistic but most threatening of all
he sees nearly 1600 American strategic
bombers and 200 intercontinental
ballistic missiles which can strike the
Soviet Union
enter John F Kennedy do you want a man
for president whose season through and
through at only 43 JFK was the youngest
president to ever be elected and he gave
one of the most memorable inauguration
addresses of all time and let every
other power know that this hemisphere
intends to remain the master of its own
house stressing the importance of
resiliency and nationalism he famously
stated and so my fellow Americans ask
not what your country can do for you ask
what you can do for your country
number five quit India Mahatma Gandhi
until we stand in the fields with the
millions that toil each day under the
hot Sun we will not represent India nor
will we ever be able to challenge the
British as one nation many passionate
speeches have been given by someone
speaking up for an oppressed people but
rarely have they advocated for passive
resistance this salt comes from the
Indian Ocean that every Indian claimed
it as his right and so once more the man
of non-violence has challenged the
lights of the British Empire Mahatma
Gandhi did exactly that in 1942 when he
called for nonviolent resistance to
British occupation and inspired the quit
India movement declaring here is a
mantra a short one that I give you it is
do or die
we shall either free India or die in the
calling himself a friend of Britain he
declared that he was attempting to save
the British from their mistakes while
the quit India movement was ultimately a
failure
the British government did eventually
grant India independence nonviolent
revolution had freed India in the 50
years since it has transformed the world
as Martin Luther King later said Christ
gave me the message Gandhi gave me the
method number four
inaugural address Franklin Delano
Roosevelt one has to imagine millions of
people clustered around their radio sets
and towns all across the country they
don’t know what to expect of this new
president JFK surely delivered one of
the greatest inaugural addresses in
history but decades earlier Franklin
Delano Roosevelt began his lengthy
career as president with this iconic
speech they only know the rules of a
generation of self speakers they have no
vision and when there is no vision the
people perish at the time America was in
the middle of the worst depression in
history and had essentially run Herbert
Hoover out of office and I am convinced
that you will again give that support to
leadership in the critical day
FDR was able to win over the hearts and
minds of a discouraged American
population with a passionate and
confident speech promising to wage war
against the economic crisis facing the
country of course having a strong
opening line always helps let me assert
my firm belief that the only thing we
have to fear is number three we shall
fight on the beaches Winston Churchill
if we had kept together after the last
war if we had taken common measures for
our safety this renewal of the cut need
never have fallen upon it one of three
key speeches given by Churchill during
the Battle of France this rousing
address was delivered under less than
ideal circumstances and if you look at
what Churchill achieved every day it is
absolutely mind-boggling he
running on a different kind of petrol
the English Prime Minister was forced to
not only warn the English people about
the potential for Frances catastrophic
defeat but also to prepare them for war
on their home soil less than a month
earlier Churchill had declared that the
Allies would be victorious with this
looking less and less likely by the day
Churchill resoundingly stated that the
British would never surrender to Germany
we shall never instead he memorably said
they would fight them in France on the
seas in the air in the streets and on
the beaches
these notions your fight with growing
confidence and growing strength in the
air should defend our island whatever
the cost may be number two I have a
dream Martin Luther King jr. America has
given the Negro people a bad check
effect which has come back marked
insufficient funds one of the most
inspirational speeches of all time
Martin Luther King jr. delivered this
famous call-to-action to over 250,000
people on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial in 1963 and the destruction the
life and of the ongoing progress of the
Negro will be the destruction of ongoing
progress of the nation King demanded an
end to racism in America stating that
100 years after the Emancipation
Proclamation African Americans were
still not considered equal now is the
time the rise from the dark and desolate
Valley of segregation to the sunlit path
of racial justice perhaps surprisingly
the I have a dream line was not in the
original draft it was improvised on the
spot by king after gospel singer Mahalia
Jackson yelled out from the crowd urging
him to tell them about the dream if I
have a dream
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 I have a
dream today before we yield the floor to
our top pick here are a few honorable
mentions
hence every discrimination against women
in the constitutions and laws of the
several states is today null and void
precisely as is everyone against Negroes
I have only one thing to say you turn if
you want to the lady’s not for turning
well now it is time to be off I to die
and you to live but which of us has the
happier prospect is unknown to anyone
but heaven if you seek prosperity for
the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe if
you seek liberalization come here to
this gate mr. Gorbachev open this gate
today I consider myself the luckiest man
on the face of the earth
number one the Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln I think if I had my
choice of all the moments to be present
at it in that war period it would be a
Gettysburg during Lincoln’s delivery the
Gettysburg Address is without a doubt
one of the most famous speeches in
American history and then he went on to
embolden the Union cause with some of
the most stirring words ever spoken
taking inspiration from Pericles funeral
oration Lincoln delivered at four months
after the Union Army defeated the
Confederacy at the bloody Battle of
Gettysburg four score and seven years
ago our fathers brought forth upon this
continent a new nation conceived in
Liberty in less than three minutes
Lincoln issued a moving plea for the
Union to pay tribute to the dead by
continuing to fight for the principles
outlined in the Declaration of
Independence freedom liberty and
equality finally the president ears
along thunderous applause
now history will take the measure of the
president’s remarks referenced countless
times including by JFK and Martin Luther
King jr. the transformative impact of
this speech on the country has earned it
a prominent place in the history of the
United States and that government of the
people by the people for the people
shall not perish from the earth
do you agree with our list or in your
pain ironic that growth we’re lucky
what’s your favorite famous speech for
more exciting top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com because you’ve fallen in
love with all the things in life that
destroy men
and influence millions of people which
is exactly what these speeches did and I
still believe that these problems can be
solved welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top 10 famous speeches in history we
make speeches for each other and those
English liberal magazines that may grant
us a few lines for this list we’re
looking at formal speeches delivered to
an audience and are not including
impromptu quotes such as Neil
Armstrong’s a tram fireplace or sermons
from religious figures such as Jesus
Christ ye are the salt of the earth but
if the salt has lost his savour
wherewith shall to be salted number 10
campaign into India Alexander the Great
his conquests hinged on his armies use
of advanced technology but they also
depended on Alexander’s legendary
ability to command the loyalty of
thousands of men one of the greatest
conquerors the world has ever seen by
335 BC Alexander the Great controlled
all of Greece Egypt and the Persian
Empire I don’t think on its own to saw
any military engagement as anything
other than opportunity to build his own
heroic stature Alexander wanted more
than that however and set his sights on
India unfortunately after nearly ten
years of fighting his army had no
interest in travelling further east and
threatened mutiny they rebelled against
him they refused to go further and he
had to turn around
Alexander having studied under Aristotle
gave a rousing speech to motivate his
men to continue to fight ending it by
stating I will make those who stay the
envy of those who returned all your
great victories fade
it will always be remembered you left
your king in Asia prior God with my
number 9 Germany declares war on the USA
Adolf Hitler me start Ernst is often
done beer stopping us organize hey we
didn’t say all of these guys were good
guys a fantastic orator with the ability
to inspire millions to carry out his
plans Hans
Nick doctrine Eden Chiya – Hey Dude come
doctrine one of Hitler’s greatest
speeches came on December 11 1941 when
Germany declared war on the United
States after summarizing Germany’s
military successes in the previous year
Hitler turned his attention to the
United States he stressed that Germany
had done nothing wrong to America at any
point in history
he promised to position button upload
the latest arts very heroes tensely
rightfully of the president of rice
startin and against Iran on a Santoni
longer to cook type 55
out of retaliation the United States
declared war on Germany later that day
making sure America was fully involved
in both the European and Pacific
Theaters of the war the Old Spice
creeped it on number eight funeral
oration Pericles it’s probably not a
more important figure in the history of
classical Greece than Pericles what do
you say to a city that has seen fathers
husbands and sons die in a war that has
no end in sight that was the task facing
Pericles when he gave a speech at a
public funeral for all Athenian men who
had been killed in the Peloponnesian War
against Sparta Pericles expectation was
that after a year or two but no more
than three the Spartans would realize
that they could not win the war because
the Athenians would never give them the
infantry battle they needed in order to
win and they had no other device
available rather than mourn the dead
Pericles enthusiastically praised Athens
and its citizens
he used his rhetoric ability to motivate
all Athenians to continue to fight to
ensure these men did not die in vain the
state thus offers a valuable prize as
the garland of victory in this race of
Valor for the reward both of those who
have fallen and their survivors and
where the rewards for merit are greatest
there are found the best citizens is it
any wonder the historian Thucydides
called him the first citizen of Athens
but for all his power and sway Pericles
did not rule the city for Athens was a
democracy
number seven second Virginia convention
Patrick Henry I know not what course
others may take but as for me give me
liberty or give me death give me liberty
or give me death these famous words that
would forever be associated with the
American Revolution were spoken by
Patrick Henry at the second Virginia
convention in 1775 we must fight fire we
must
right Virginia was one of the most
important colonies in the new world and
without its help the Revolution had
little chance of succeeding there is no
retreat
but in submission and slavery our chains
are forged there cranking may be heard
on the plains of Boston the war is
inevitable and let it come I repeat sir
let it come Henry speech was so powerful
that the entire convention which
contained the likes of George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson is said to have sat
in silence for several minutes afterward
Patrick Henry was more responsible for
getting the revolution underway than any
other founding father number six
inaugural address John F Kennedy let us
go forth to lead the land we love asking
his blessing and his help but knowing
that here on earth God’s work must truly
be our own after two world wars a
conflict in Korea a crippling depression
and relations with the Soviet Union
reaching a boiling point the United
States needed a reason to feel
optimistic but most threatening of all
he sees nearly 1600 American strategic
bombers and 200 intercontinental
ballistic missiles which can strike the
Soviet Union
enter John F Kennedy do you want a man
for president whose season through and
through at only 43 JFK was the youngest
president to ever be elected and he gave
one of the most memorable inauguration
addresses of all time and let every
other power know that this hemisphere
intends to remain the master of its own
house stressing the importance of
resiliency and nationalism he famously
stated and so my fellow Americans ask
not what your country can do for you ask
what you can do for your country
number five quit India Mahatma Gandhi
until we stand in the fields with the
millions that toil each day under the
hot Sun we will not represent India nor
will we ever be able to challenge the
British as one nation many passionate
speeches have been given by someone
speaking up for an oppressed people but
rarely have they advocated for passive
resistance this salt comes from the
Indian Ocean that every Indian claimed
it as his right and so once more the man
of non-violence has challenged the
lights of the British Empire Mahatma
Gandhi did exactly that in 1942 when he
called for nonviolent resistance to
British occupation and inspired the quit
India movement declaring here is a
mantra a short one that I give you it is
do or die
we shall either free India or die in the
calling himself a friend of Britain he
declared that he was attempting to save
the British from their mistakes while
the quit India movement was ultimately a
failure
the British government did eventually
grant India independence nonviolent
revolution had freed India in the 50
years since it has transformed the world
as Martin Luther King later said Christ
gave me the message Gandhi gave me the
method number four
inaugural address Franklin Delano
Roosevelt one has to imagine millions of
people clustered around their radio sets
and towns all across the country they
don’t know what to expect of this new
president JFK surely delivered one of
the greatest inaugural addresses in
history but decades earlier Franklin
Delano Roosevelt began his lengthy
career as president with this iconic
speech they only know the rules of a
generation of self speakers they have no
vision and when there is no vision the
people perish at the time America was in
the middle of the worst depression in
history and had essentially run Herbert
Hoover out of office and I am convinced
that you will again give that support to
leadership in the critical day
FDR was able to win over the hearts and
minds of a discouraged American
population with a passionate and
confident speech promising to wage war
against the economic crisis facing the
country of course having a strong
opening line always helps let me assert
my firm belief that the only thing we
have to fear is number three we shall
fight on the beaches Winston Churchill
if we had kept together after the last
war if we had taken common measures for
our safety this renewal of the cut need
never have fallen upon it one of three
key speeches given by Churchill during
the Battle of France this rousing
address was delivered under less than
ideal circumstances and if you look at
what Churchill achieved every day it is
absolutely mind-boggling he
running on a different kind of petrol
the English Prime Minister was forced to
not only warn the English people about
the potential for Frances catastrophic
defeat but also to prepare them for war
on their home soil less than a month
earlier Churchill had declared that the
Allies would be victorious with this
looking less and less likely by the day
Churchill resoundingly stated that the
British would never surrender to Germany
we shall never instead he memorably said
they would fight them in France on the
seas in the air in the streets and on
the beaches
these notions your fight with growing
confidence and growing strength in the
air should defend our island whatever
the cost may be number two I have a
dream Martin Luther King jr. America has
given the Negro people a bad check
effect which has come back marked
insufficient funds one of the most
inspirational speeches of all time
Martin Luther King jr. delivered this
famous call-to-action to over 250,000
people on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial in 1963 and the destruction the
life and of the ongoing progress of the
Negro will be the destruction of ongoing
progress of the nation King demanded an
end to racism in America stating that
100 years after the Emancipation
Proclamation African Americans were
still not considered equal now is the
time the rise from the dark and desolate
Valley of segregation to the sunlit path
of racial justice perhaps surprisingly
the I have a dream line was not in the
original draft it was improvised on the
spot by king after gospel singer Mahalia
Jackson yelled out from the crowd urging
him to tell them about the dream if I
have a dream
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 I have a
dream today before we yield the floor to
our top pick here are a few honorable
mentions
hence every discrimination against women
in the constitutions and laws of the
several states is today null and void
precisely as is everyone against Negroes
I have only one thing to say you turn if
you want to the lady’s not for turning
well now it is time to be off I to die
and you to live but which of us has the
happier prospect is unknown to anyone
but heaven if you seek prosperity for
the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe if
you seek liberalization come here to
this gate mr. Gorbachev open this gate
today I consider myself the luckiest man
on the face of the earth
number one the Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln I think if I had my
choice of all the moments to be present
at it in that war period it would be a
Gettysburg during Lincoln’s delivery the
Gettysburg Address is without a doubt
one of the most famous speeches in
American history and then he went on to
embolden the Union cause with some of
the most stirring words ever spoken
taking inspiration from Pericles funeral
oration Lincoln delivered at four months
after the Union Army defeated the
Confederacy at the bloody Battle of
Gettysburg four score and seven years
ago our fathers brought forth upon this
continent a new nation conceived in
Liberty in less than three minutes
Lincoln issued a moving plea for the
Union to pay tribute to the dead by
continuing to fight for the principles
outlined in the Declaration of
Independence freedom liberty and
equality finally the president ears
along thunderous applause
now history will take the measure of the
president’s remarks referenced countless
times including by JFK and Martin Luther
King jr. the transformative impact of
this speech on the country has earned it
a prominent place in the history of the
United States and that government of the
people by the people for the people
shall not perish from the earth
do you agree with our list or in your
pain ironic that growth we’re lucky
what’s your favorite famous speech for
more exciting top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com because you’ve fallen in
love with all the things in life that
destroy men
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