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Speeches of Richard Nixon
Presidential candidate RICHARD M. NIXON in campaign ad, 1960. C/A shots of Mr. Nixon on campaign trail; Mr. Nixon capitalizes on the inexperience in foreign policy of the Democratic ticket.
Speeches of Richard Nixon
FO/FI to Universal newsreel regarding the presidential election of 1960: shots of JOHN F. KENNEDY and JACQUELINE KENNEDY at polling station; shots of Dick Nixon and wife PAT NIXON voting, coming out of booth; shots of people voting, reporters covering election; shots of the Kennedys outside their Hyannisport home, media surrounding them; shots of Dick and Pat Nixon at campaign headquarters, Mr. Nixon announcing defeat, conceding the election.
Speeches of Richard Nixon - Republican National Convention acceptance speech
Republican National Convention. Miami Beach, Florida. August 8, 1968. RICHARD NIXON receives GOP nomination, makes acceptance speech. C/As throughout speech of largely Caucasian audience listening, applauding; African-Americans in audience appear bored, sullen. Excerpts of speech. "My friends, we live in an age of revolution in America and in the world. And to find the answers to our problems, let us turn to a revolution, a revolution that will never grow old. The world's greatest continuing revolution, the American Revolution. The American Revolution was and is dedicated to progress, but our founders recognized that the first requisite of progress is order. Now, there is no quarrel between progress and order, because neither can exist without the other. So let us have order in America, not the order that suppresses dissent and discourages change but the order which guarantees the right to dissent and provides the basis for peaceful change. And tonight, it is time for some honest talk about the problem of order in the United States. Let us always respect, as I do, our courts and those who serve on them. But let us also recognize that some of our courts in their decisions have gone too far in weakening the peace forces as against the criminal forces in this country and we must act to restore that balance. Let those who have the responsibility to enforce our laws and our judges who have the responsibility to interpret them be dedicated to the great principles of civil rights. But let them also recognize that the first civil right of every American is to be free from domestic violence, and that right must be guaranteed in this country. And if we are to restore order and respect for law in this country there is one place we are going to begin. We are going to have a new Attorney General of the United States of America. I pledge to you that our new Attorney General will be directed by the President of the United States to launch a war against organized crime in this country. I pledge to you that the new Attorney General of the United States will be an active belligerent against the loan sharks and the numbers racketeers that rob the urban poor in our cities. I pledge to you that the new Attorney General will open a new front against the filth peddlers and the narcotics peddlers who are corrupting the lives of the children of this country. Because, my friends, let this message come through clear from what I say tonight. Time is running out for the merchants of crime and corruption in American society. The wave of crime is not going to be the wave of the future in the United States of America." " For the past five years we have been deluged by government programs for the unemployed; programs for the cities; programs for the poor. And we have reaped from these programs an ugly harvest of frustration, violence and failure across the land. And now our opponents will be offering more of the same -- more billions for government jobs, government housing, government welfare. I say it is time to quit pouring billions of dollars into programs that have failed in the United States of America. To put it bluntly, we are on the wrong road -- and it's time to take a new road, to progress. Again, we turn to the American Revolution for our answer. The war on poverty didn't begin five years ago in this country. It began when this country began. It's been the most successful war on poverty in the history of nations. There is more wealth in America today, more broadly shared, than in any nation in the world. We are a great nation. And we must never forget how we became great. America is a great nation today not because of what government did for people -- but because of what people did for themselves over a hundred-ninety years in this country."
Speeches of Richard Nixon - Address To The Nation on the War In Vietnam.
Address To The Nation on the War In Vietnam. President RICHARD NIXON delivers the Silent Majority speech regarding Vietnam, November 3, 1969 Color images of U.S. & ARVN soldiers fighting in Vietnam, Tet offensive, GIs wearing flak jackets; American fighter-bombers dropping napalm bombs; GI patrolling through jungle w/ M-60 hoisted over his head; aerial of soldiers deploying from Huey helicopter in field. "Good evening My Fellow Americans. Tonight I want to talk to you on a subject of deep concern to all Americans & to many people in all parts of the world, the war in Vietnam. I believe that one of the reasons for the deep division about Vietnam is that many Americans have lost confidence in what their government has told them about our policy. The American people cannot & should not be asked to support a policy which involves the overriding issues of war and peace unless they know the truth about that policy. Tonight therefoe, I would like to answer some of the questions that I know are on the minds of many of you listening to me. How & why did America get involved in Vietnam in the first place? How has this administration changed the policy of the previous administration? What has really happened in the negotiations in Paris and on the battlefront in Vietnam?" Cut to MS of Mr. Nixon speaking, "Let us turn now to the fundamental issue. Why and how did the United States become involved in Vietnam in the first place? 15 years ago North Vietnam, with the logistical support of communist China & the Soviet Union, launched a campaign to impose a communist government on South Vietnam by instigating & supporting a revolution. In response to the request of the government of South Vietnam, President Eisenhower sent economic aid & military equipment to assist the people of South Vietnam in their efforts to prevent a communist takeover. 7 years ago, President Kennedy sent 16,000 military personnel to Vietnam as combat advisers. 4 years ago, President Johnson sent American combat forces to South Vietnam. Many believe that President Johnson's decision to send combat forces to was wrong. And many others, I among them, have been strongly critical of the way the war has been conducted. But the question facing us today is, now that we are in the war, what is the best way to end it? In January I could only conclude that precipitate withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam would be a disaster not only for South Vietnam but for the U.S. & for the cause of peace. For the South Vietnamese, our precipitate withdrawal would inevitably allow the Communists to repeat the massacres which followed their takeover in the North 15 years before. They then murdered more than 50,000 people and 100s of 1000s more died in slave labor camps. We saw a prelude of what would happen in South Vietnam when the Communists entered the city of Hue last year. During their brief rule, there was a bloody reign of terror in which 3,000 civilians were clubbed, shot to death, & buried in mass graves. With the sudden collapse of our support, these atrocities of Hue would become the nightmare of the entire nation and particularly for the million and a half Catholic refugees who fled to South Vietnam when the Communists took over in the North. For the United States, this first defeat in our nation's history would result in a collapse of confidence in American leadership, not only in Asia but throughout the world. Three America Presidents have recognized the great stakes involved in Vietnam and understoof what had to be done. In 1963, Presidnet Kenndey with his charastic eloquence and clarity said, '...we want to see a stable government there, carrying on a struggle to maintain its national independence. We believe strongly in that. We are not going to withdraw from that effort. In my opinion for us to withdraw from the effort would mean a collapse, not only of South Vietnam, but Southeast Asia. So we are going to stay there.'" "A nation cannot remain great if it betrays its allies & lets down its friends. Our defeat & humiliation in South Vietnam without question would promote recklessness in the councils of those great powers who have not yet abandoned their goals of world conquest. This would spark violence wherever our commitments help maintain the peace, in the Middle East, in Berlin, eventually even in the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately, this would cost more lives. It would not bring peace. It would bring more war."
Speeches of Richard Nixon
Compilation of speeches made by Richard Milhous Nixon.
Speeches of Richard Nixon
August 22nd, 1973 Excerpt of President RICHARD NIXON News Conference, answering questions pertaining to Watergate investigation at outdoor press conference, 1973 (from 2" video) : Mr. Nixon says Mr. MacGregor conducted a thorough investigation, though Jeb Magruder slipped through the cracks. Press Mr. President can you tell us who you personally talked to, in directing that investigations be made both in June of 1972, shortly after the Watergate incident, and last March 21, when you got new evidence, and ordered a more intensive investigation? President Nixon, Certainly. In June I first talked to Mr. MacGregor, first of all, who was the new chairmen of the committee. And he told me he would conduct a thorough investigation as far as his committee staff was concerned. Apparently that investigation was very effective except for Mr. Magruder, who stayed on, but Mr. McGregor does not have to assume responsibility for that. I say not responsibility for it, because basically, what happened there, he believed Mr. Magruder, and many others believed him too. He proved however to be wrong. In the White House the investigation s responsibility were given to Mr. Ehrlichman at the highest level, and in turn, he delegated them, to Mr. Dean, the White House Counsel. Something of which I was aware, and of which I approved. Mr. Dean as White House Counsel therefore sat in, on the FBI interrogation of the members of the White House staff, because of what I wanted to know, if any member of the White House staff, was in anyway involved. If he was involved, he would be fired. And the, when we met on September the 15th, and again throughout our discussions in the month of March, Mr. Dean insisted that the, there was not, I use his words, A scintilla of evidence, indicating if anyone in the White House was involved, of the planning of the Watergate break-in. Now, in terms of, after March 21st, Mr. Dean first, was given the responsibility to write his own report, but I did not rest it there, I also had a contact made with the Attorney General, himself. The Attorney General told him, this was on the 27th of March, to report to me directly, anything that he found in this particular area, and I gave the responsibility for Mr. Ehrlichman on the 29th of March, to continue the investigation that Mr. Dean was unable to conclude, having spent a week at Camp David unable to finish the report. Mr. Ehrlichman questioned a number of people, in that period at my direction, including Mr. Mitchell and I should also point out that as far as my own activities were concerned I was not leaving it just to them. I met at great length with Mr. Ehrlichman, Mr. Halderman, Mr. Dean, Mr. Mitchell on the 22nd. I discussed the whole matter with them. I discussed, I kept pressing for the view that I had throughout. If we must get this story out, get the truth out; whatever and whoever it s going to hurt. And it was there that Mr. Mitchell suggested that all the individuals involved in the White House appear in an executive session before the urban committee. We never got that far, but at least that s the indication of the extent of my own investigation. I think we ll go to Mr. Lisadore now. Press, Mr. President, you have said repeatedly that you tried to get all the facts, and just now you mentioned the March 22nd meeting, yet the former Attorney John Mitchell said that, if you ever asked him at any time about the Watergate matter, he would have told you the whole story, chapter and verse. Was Mr. Mitchell not speaking the truth, when he said that before the committee? President Nixon, Mr. Lisador, I m not going to question Mr. Mitchell s veracity, and I will only say that throughout I had competence in Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell in a telephone call that I had with him immediately after it occurred, expressed great chagrin that he had not run a tight enough shop, and that some of the boys, as he called them, got involved, in this kind of activity which he knew could be very, very embarrassing, apart from its legality, to the campaign, throughout, I would have expected Mr. Mitchell to tell me, in the event that he was involved, or that anybody else was. He did not tell me. I don t blame him for not telling me. He s given his reasons for not telling me. I regret that he did not, because he s exactly right. Had he told me, I would have blown my stack. Just as I did at Zibler, the other day. Press, I wonder sir, how much personal blame you accept, for the climate in the White House and in the re-election committee for the abuses of Watergate. Nixon, I accept it all. Press, Mr. President, I want to state this question, with due respect for your office, but also as directly President Nixon cuts in, smiling, That would be unusual. Everyone is laughing. Reporter, I would like to think not.
Speeches of Richard Nixon
November 17th, 1973 Excerpt of President RICHARD M. NIXON speaking at an indoor press conference in Orlando, Florida, after releasing the Watergate tapes. "In 8 years, I made a lot of money. I made $250,000 from a book & the serial rights which many of you have been good enough to purchase also. In the practice of law, and I'm not claiming I was worth it, but apparently former Vice Presidents & Presidents are worth a great deal to law firms, and I did work pretty hard, but also during that period I earned between $100,000 & $250,000 a year. So that when in 1968 I decided to become a candidate for president, I decided to clean the decks & put everything in real estate. I sold all my stock $300,000, I sold my apartment in NY for $300,000 and I had $100,000 coming to me from the law firm. So that's where the money came from. Let me just say this, and I want to say this to the television audience, I've made my mistakes, but in all my years of public life, I have never profited, never profited, from public service. I've earned every cent, and in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice, and I think too that I can say that in my years of public life that I welcomed this kind of examination because people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I got." Mr. Nixon is visibly angry and at times.
Speeches of Roosevelt
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT introduces "four generations of the Democratic Roosevelt family": FDR's mother, his children, and grandchildren. Unknown date.
Speeches of Roosevelt
July 2, 1932 Excerpt From Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL. Democratic Presidential candidate FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT speaking "I pledge myself to a New Deal for the American people." Edit. "This is more than a political campaign, it is a call to arms. Give me your help, not to win votes alone but to win in this crusade to restore America to its own people."
Speeches of Roosevelt
First Inauguration of FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, March 4, 1933: shots of President-elect FDR riding in open convertible through streets of Washington, DC, en route to Capitol Building; silent MS of Franklin D. Roosevelt being sworn in as President by Chief Justice CHARLES HUGHES. Excerpts of FDR delivering Inaugural Address: "Today is a day of national consecration & I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them w/ a candor & a decision which the present situation of our nation impels. This is pre-eminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. First of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Edit. "This nation is asking for action, and action now. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accompanied in part by direct recruiting by the government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war." Edit. "In the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis: broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency".
Speeches of Roosevelt
August 24th, 1935. Radio Address to the Young Democratic Clubs of America. MS of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT speaking from behind desk: "It is for the new generation to participate in the decision & to give strength & spirit & continuity to our government & to our national life."
Speeches of Roosevelt
Shots of CCC workers chopping wood in field in West Virginia, cut to shots of FDR, Sect'y of Agriculture HENRY WALLACE sitting beside him, complementing the work of the CCC campers.
Speeches of Roosevelt
March 12, 1933 Excerpt from Fireside Chat On the Bank Crisis CU sign: This Bank Closed Until Further Notice. MS President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT speaking from desk: "The bank holiday, while resulting in a great inconvenience, is affording us the opportunity to supply the currency necessary to meet the situation. No sound bank is a dollar worse off than it was when it closed it's doors. ... I can assure you that it is safer for you to keep your money in a reopened bank than it is to keep it under the mattress."
Speeches of Roosevelt
October 22nd, 1933. Fireside Chat. Shots of factory workers, seamstresses, clothmakers working in factories. FDR commending the progress made thus far in stabilizing the economy. "...that at least four millions have been given employment or, saying it another way, 40 percent of those seeking work have found it. ... Our troubles will not be over tomorrow, but we are on our way and we are headed in the right direction."
Speeches of Roosevelt
April 30th, 1941. Radio Address on the President's Purchases of the First Defense Savings Bond and Stamps. President Franklin Roosevelt makes a pitch for Defense Bonds & Savings Stamps. "With jobs more plentiful and wages higher, slight sacrifice here and there, the omission of a few luxuries, will swell the coffers of our Federal Treasury. The outward and the visible tokens of partnership through sacrifice will be the possession of these defense bonds and defense savings stamps which are, at the same time, a guarantee of our future security. ... fellow Americans, I ask you to demonstrate again your faith in America by joining me in investing in the new defense savings bonds and stamps. I know you will help."
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
MSs of Senator HARRY S. TRUMAN riding in open convertible through crowded street; MS Mr. Truman, wife BESS TRUMAN, and daughter MARGARET TRUMAN; MS of Mr. Truman smiling into camera.
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Illinois, 1944. Mr. Truman, Vice Presidential candidate, speaking (and banging an enormous gavel). (Cheers) Give me a chance, will you please. It has been my privilege to be a United States Senator, for the past nine and one half years. And I expect to continue the effort which I have been making in that capacity as a United States Senator, to help shorten the war and win the peace under the direction of our great leader Franklin D Roosevelt. (Cheers)
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
Funeral procession of President Franklin D. Roosevelt through streets of Washington, DC, April 14, 1945.
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
President HARRY TRUMAN speaking somberly at engagement, saying he shall attempt to meet the expectations of the American people. " the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, last July. When I was nominated for Vice President of the United States, under my protest. A terrible ordeal, I thought. I shall attempt as I have attempted in these other crisis, to meet your expectations, but don t expect too much of me. I must have your help and support."
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
(mute) April 12, 1945 Harry Truman being sworn in as President of the United States by Chief Justice HARLAN STONE in the White House. Mr. Truman kisses the Bible before shaking hands with Mr. Stone.
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
April 16th, 1945 Excerpt Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress. Truman, "With great humility I call upon all Americans to help me keep our nation united in defense of those ideals which have been so eloquently proclaimed by Franklin Roosevelt."
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
A compilation of speeches made by Harry S. Truman.
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
March 6th, 1952. Excerpt of Radio and Television Address to the American People on the Mutual Security Program. President HARRY TRUMAN delivering a national address regarding Communism: "The real threat to our security isn't the danger of bankruptcy; it is the danger of communist aggression. If communism is allowed to absorb the free nation one by one, then we will be isolated from our source of supply and detached from our friends. Then we would have to take defense measures which might really bankrupt our economy, and change our way of life so that we wouldn't recognize it as American any longer. That's the very thing we're trying to keep from happening."
Speeches of Harry S. Truman
June 10th, 1950. Excerpt of Address in St. Louis at the Site of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. MSs Mr. Truman, JOSEPH STALIN & WINSTON CHURCHILL meeting at Potsdam Conference, 1945. Mr. Truman speaking at outdoor rally. "In the 5 years that have passed since the end of the war, we have been confronted with a new, powerful imperialism. We had hoped that our wartime ally, the Soviet Union, would join in the efforts of the whole community of nations to build a peaceful world. Instead, the Soviet leaders have been an obstacle to 'peace. By means of infiltration, subversion, propaganda, and indirect aggression the rulers of the Soviet Union have sought to extend the boundaries of their totalitarian control. With a cynical disregard for the hopes of mankind, the leaders of the Soviet Union have talked democracy and have set up dictatorships. They have proclaimed national independence but imposed national slavery. They have preached peace but devoted their energies to fomenting aggression and preparing for war." C/As of MAO TSE-TUNG (ZEDONG) meeting with Red Chinese soldiers and officers in field. MS of soldiers marching