Historical Voices

Eleanor Roosevelt discusses the way the United Nations was intended to function versus the way it was functioning in 1960. She suggests that the Soviet Union misused its veto power at times. She also discusses race, disarmament, the creation of a UN police force, and the role of voting blocks and public opinion in the General Assembly. March 8, 1960.

Martin L. King, Jr. speaks at the Ghandi Society of Human Rights. King opens by using Henry David Thoreau to discuss nonviolence as part of the American tradition. He touches on jailed freedom riders, Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, segregation, and John F. Kennedy. May 17, 1962.

Ralph Nader, lawyer and author, speaking at the District of Columbia Bar Association. Nader speaks on big business and the business lawyer, sayingthat lawyers are not only responsible to their clients, but to the public as well. In particular, he discusses the relationship between sanctions and the battle to regulate automobile safety. He also wonders why large law firms are not subject to greater scrutiny. No recording date is given. Note that the recording breaks off abruptly.

William O. Douglas speaks at City College, New York, in honor of Morris Raphael Cohen. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas talks about the extent to which conformity permeates American society. He critiques a culture afraid to express itself and focused, to its detriment, on technological and economic progress. September 18, 1964. The speech ends at approximately the 35th minute.

John F. Kennedy delivers his first State of the Union address. He opens with sobering comments on the economy and goes on to discuss other domestic problems before turning his attention to international affairs, focusing on Communism, strengthening the military, and Latin American economic policy. He also mentions the Peace Corps. January 30, 1961.

Jimmy Carter delivers a speech calling for a unification of religious belief with political and public action. He states, 'you can't divorce religious beliefs from public service. June 16, 1978.