Greatest Orators of The United States

[donbosco]

Helen Todd is another famous woman orator.


The anarchist Lucy Parsons was said to be “More Dangerous Than 1,000 Rioters” because of her speaking skills.

 

[donbosco]

Maddow ain’t too bad for TV. But perhaps like Murrow and Cronkite, what she is doing is commentary?

 

[donbosco]

And give Clint Smith a listen…

 

[Geisterfahrer]

For the women, Ann Richards deserves a mention.

 

[heelinhell]

In my life time...

JFK
RFK ( not Jr. )
MLK
Barbara Jordan ( the most profound orator in my lifetime )
President Obama
Michelle Obama

 

[donbosco]

They say Edward Everett was quite good.

Is/was there no Tar Heel to be listed other than Murrow?

 

[aGDevil2k]

Greatest oral for sure.

 

[GoHeelsweeeehoooo]

My issue with saying people like Lincoln, Daniel Webster,etc is we don't have any recordings to know what they sounded like - so for me I'd say MLK, JFK, Obama, Bill Clinton

 

[donbosco]

My issue with saying people like Lincoln, Daniel Webster,etc is we don't have any recordings to know what they sounded like - so for me I'd say MLK, JFK, Obama, Bill Clinton

Like I mentioned, we do have, at least for many speakers, primary source material where people recount hearing/experiencing those people giving speeches. A careful and comprehensive researcher can pull a great deal of truth from such documents.

 

[GoHeelsweeeehoooo]

Ted Kennedy could rise to the occasion at times

 

[IllegalMotion9999]

Don't think he has been mentioned but have to point out how great Jesse Jackson was in his prime.
His speech at the Democratic Convention where he eloquently talked about the quilt of America and your patch not being enough, was just fantastic. Along with his theme of bringing common sense to high places.
Bonus points for going on SNL and reading from Green Eggs and Ham.
Now if I had to pick one person to read me all my bedtime stories, it would be Morgan Freeman.