Great Modern Speeches: From Lincoln, FDR and Churchill to JFK and Martin Luther King

Why do some speeches make a difference and last forever? This four-session course explores the answers to these questions through audio, video, and the written word. Learn how Lincoln in two minutes rewrote the American narrative in the Gettysburg Address, and then in his Second Inaugural, invoked divine judgment to humble North and South about the sin of slavery.  Listen to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first fireside chat as he led a frightened nation through the banking crisis and Winston Churchill steeling Britons to meet the Nazi assault. Watch John F. Kennedy use speeches to defend his presidential candidacy against religious attack, summon the idealism of a new generation, and confront the crises of civil rights and the Cold War.  Finally, see Martin Luther King, Jr. call upon the nation to uphold its highest ideals.  Throughout, unlock the secrets of research, ghostwriting, and rhetorical technique that produced some of the most moving spoken words in history. 

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