An independent reference on the American presidency · online since 2005 Updated for the 47th presidency

Presidents/Historic Speeches

The Presidential Archives

Historic Speeches of the American Presidents

The words history kept: farewell addresses, wartime broadcasts, vetoes that shook Congress, and the speeches every American knows a line of — in complete, unabridged text.

The Founding Era and the Republic (1789 - 1861)

Farewell Address — George Washington 1796
Message on the XYZ Affair — John Adams 1797
Bank Veto Message — Andrew Jackson 1832
Argument in the Amistad Case — John Quincy Adams 1841

Civil War and Reconstruction (1861 - 1900)

The Emancipation Proclamation — Abraham Lincoln 1863
The Gettysburg Address — Abraham Lincoln 1863
Last Public Address — Abraham Lincoln 1865
The Cleveland Speech — Andrew Johnson 1866
Veto of the First Reconstruction Act — Andrew Johnson 1867
Message on Repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act — Grover Cleveland 1893

The World Wars (1900 - 1950)

The Fourteen Points — Woodrow Wilson 1918
The Pearl Harbor Address — Franklin D. Roosevelt 1941

The Cold War (1950 - 1990)

Farewell Address — Dwight D. Eisenhower 1961
Address on the Cuban Missile Crisis — John F. Kennedy 1962
“Ich bin ein Berliner” — John F. Kennedy 1963
“A Time for Choosing” — Ronald Reagan 1964
The “Silent Majority” (Vietnamization) Speech — Richard Nixon 1969
The Vietnam Draft Amnesty Program — Gerald Ford 1974
Remarks on Taking the Oath of Office — Gerald Ford 1974
Remarks on Pardoning Richard Nixon — Gerald Ford 1974
Resignation Speech — Richard Nixon 1974
“Whip Inflation Now” — Gerald Ford 1974
Address on Foreign Policy to a Joint Session — Gerald Ford 1975
Address in Helsinki — Gerald Ford 1975
Address at Tulane University — Gerald Ford 1975
Bicentennial Remarks in Philadelphia — Gerald Ford 1976
The “Crisis of Confidence” Speech — Jimmy Carter 1979
Address to the British House of Commons — Ronald Reagan 1982
Address at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy — Ronald Reagan 1984
Address at Omaha Beach — Ronald Reagan 1984
Address on the Challenger Disaster — Ronald Reagan 1986

The Modern Era (1990 - Present)

Address Announcing Allied Action in the Persian Gulf — George H. W. Bush 1991
Speech at the Republican National Convention — Ronald Reagan 1992
Remarks on the Tenth Anniversary of SDI — Ronald Reagan 1993
Remarks at the Gala for His 83rd Birthday — Ronald Reagan 1994
Remarks at McNair Barracks, Berlin — Bill Clinton 1994
Farewell Address — Bill Clinton 2001

Looking for the inaugural addresses or the annual messages to Congress? They have their own archives: Inaugural Addresses and State of the Union Addresses. The site also carries Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1852 campaign biography, The Life of Franklin Pierce, in full.