The Great Chicago Fire by Horace White October 14, 1871 Horace White, editor-in-chief of the Chicago Tribune, wrote this eyewitness account of the most destructive fire in American history in a letter to Murat Halstead, the editor of the Cincinnati Commercial. The ...
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Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson was a key early American philospher, poet and writer, particularly known for his appreciation of individualism, self-reliance and intuition. He wrote this poem, which was sung as a hymn at a ...
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Jackson's Farewell Address by Andrew Jackson 1837 This speech was given on the occasion of Andrew Jackson's retirement from the presidency, and from public life. Jackson spent the remainder of his life at his home, known as the Hermitage, near ...
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The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe  Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the LordHe is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,He has loosed the fateful lightening of ...
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Abraham Lincoln Second Inaugural Address March 4, 1865 One of the great speeches of American history; some say, the greatest. Fellow-Countrymen: At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended ...
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The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln November 19, 1863 This address, said to have been written by President Lincoln on the back of an envelope while he was on a train en route to give the speech, is regarded by ...
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The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807-1882 Written April 19, 1860; first published in 1863 as part of "Tales of a Wayside Inn" Listen my children and you shall hearOf the midnight ride of Paul Revere,On ...
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Abraham Lincoln First Inaugural Address March 4, 1861 Fellow-Citizens of the United States: In compliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly and to take in your presence the oath ...
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Lincoln's Farewell Address in Springfield by Abraham Lincoln February 11, 1861 This speech, given by Abraham Lincoln as he departed Springfield, Illinois, to go to Washington to become president of the United States. A thousand citizens gathered to see Lincoln ...
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The Death of John Brown by Frank Lloyd Garrison (1805 - 1879) 1859 This speech, by one of the nation's most famous and influential abolitionists, best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and president of the ...
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