Independence Day Special: The Tradition of Political Speeches on the 4th of July

On this special Independence Day edition, Andrew Walworth, Carl Cannon, and Tom Bevan discuss the tradition of political oratory on the Fourth of July and preview three memorable addresses delivered to mark the occasion. First, a Fourth of July speech given by civil rights champion and former slave Frederick Douglass in 1852, followed by a reading of the speech by actor Ossie Davis, recorded by the Library of Congress in 1966. Next, a 1962 address by President John F. Kennedy given just days before the Fourth of July to Peace Corps workers in Mexico City. The introduction is followed by a recording of JFK’s delivery of the speech. JFK delivered the remarks in response to the growing leftward movement of governments throughout Latin America just months before the Cuban Missile Crisis. And finally, a 1986 Independence Day address by President Ronald Reagan, followed by a recording of Reagan’s delivery of the speech. The speech was given from the deck of the aircraft carrier the USS John F. Kennedy in New York Harbor, as part of a celebration of the restoration and centenary of the Statue of Liberty.