Speeches

Civil Disobedience 1849

An essay written by Henry David Thoreau about his opposition to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and his willingness to spend a night in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax as a protest against the war. Dr. King read this essay while in school and would latter use many of Thoreau's ideas.

House Divided 1858

Delivered by U.S. Senate Candidate Abraham Lincoln at the State Republican Convention held in Springfield, Illinois on June 16, 1858. Although Lincoln would lose the Senate race that year, this speech was important in his campaign for the Presidency two years later. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this Government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.

Emancipation Proclamation 1863

Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863 during the midst of the Civil War. ...on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thence forward, and forever free...

Atlanta Compromise 1895

Delivered by Booker T. Washington at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition on September 18, 1895. The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing.

Executive Order 9981 1948

Issued by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1948. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948

Adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) on December 10, 1948. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Montgomery Improvement Association Mass Meeting 1955

Delivered by Dr. King, Jr., at the Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama on December 5, 1955, four days after Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery ...because she refused to get up to give her seat to a white person....My friends, I want it to be known that we’re going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city.

Little Rock Response 1957

Delivered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower from his office in the White House on the evening of September 24, 1957. In that city, under the leadership of demagogic extremists, disorderly mobs have deliberately prevented the carrying out of proper orders from a Federal Court. Local authorities have not eliminated that violent opposition and, under the law, I yesterday issued a Proclamation calling upon the mob to disperse.

President Eisenhower and Civil Rights Leaders meeting 1958

Prepared by Rocco G. Siciliano, a Memorandum For The Files describing a meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and several civil rights leaders on June 23, 1958. Dr. King said he wanted to comment about the first three of the recommendations and that, as a minister, he felt these recommendations were designed to help mobilize the emotions of the spirit which, in turn, would aid in the fight for abolishment of segregation.

University of Mississippi 1962

Delivered by President John F. Kennedy on the evening of September 30, 1962. The orders of the court in the case of Meredith versus Fair are beginning to be carried out. Mr. James Meredith is now in residence on the campus of the University of Mississippi

Letter From Birmingham Jail 1963

Written by Dr. King, Jr., while in the Birmingham city jail for leading a march that was rule illegel by a city court. The letter was in response to a letter from the white clergy of Birmingham that had been published in the local newspaper.

University of Alabama 1963

Delivered by President John F. Kennedy on the evening of June 11, 1963. This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro.

I Have A Dream 1963

Delivered by Dr. King, Jr., from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on August 28, 1963.

The Great Society 1964

Delivered by President Lyndon B. Johnson at the commencement ceremonies at the University of Michigan on May 22, 1964. The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning.

Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech 1964

Delivered by Dr. King, Jr., upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 1964. I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners -- all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty -- and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.

We Shall Overcome 1965

Delivered by President Lyndon B. Johnson before a joint session of Congress on the evening of March 15, 1965. At times history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was last week in Selma, Alabama. There, long-suffering men and women peacefully protested the denial of their rights as Americans. Many were brutally assaulted. One good man, a man of God, was killed.

Beyond Vietnam 1967

Delivered by Dr. King, Jr., at Riverside Church in New York City, New York on April 4, 1967, one year to the day before his assasination. I join you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together, Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam.

I've Been To The Mountaintop 1968

Delivered by Dr. King, Jr., at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968, the evening before his assasination.

Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. 1968

Delivered by Robert F. Kennedy on the evening of April 4, 1968. I have bad news for you, for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight.

Death of Martin Luther King, Jr. - A Proclamation 1968

Issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 5, 1968. The heart of America grieves today. A leader of his people -- a teacher of all people -- has fallen. Martin Luther King, Jr., has been struck down by the violence against which he preached and worked.

Last Updated: Wednesday, 22-Dec-2004 09:53:29 Eastern Standard Time http://www.nps.gov/malu/documents/speeches_toc.htm Created by Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site Interpretive Staff.