Historical AUDIO
A classic routine of Abbott and Costello from March 14, 1938. It’s called, “Who’s on First”
There are many examples of great AUDIO from the past. It is the intent of this page to highlight the best of these snippets from recorded history.
Presidential Historic Recordings
The first President of the United States we can find in a recording is Grover Cleveland who served as the nation’s 22nd and 24th President. AUDIO quality varies considerably as the first recordings were poor in comparison to later recordings. Here we are listing the words each President says and the corresponding recording.
Grover Cleveland – I shall not descend on a bad state of Massachusetts, nor a state of New York, by saying that the people of those states will declare our self-sufficiency as a nation to attend to our own business.
Benjamin Harrison – I, the President of the United States, and I, the First American Congress, in Washington, D.C., separate by the power of two countries.
William McKinley – My fellow citizens, recent events have imposed upon the patriotic people of this country a responsibility and a duty greater than that of any since the Civil War.
Theodore Roosevelt – I believe that the majority of the plain people of the United States will day in and day out make fewer mistakes in governing themselves than any smaller class or body of men, no matter what their training, will make in trying to govern.
William Howard Taft – Who are the people? They are not alone the unfortunate and the weak. They are the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, and the many who are neither.
Woodrow Wilson – There are some dark pages in the history of the white men’s dealings with the Indians, and many parts of the record are stained with the greed and avarice of those who have thought only of their own profit.
Warren Harding – By contradiction, there isn’t anything the matter with the world’s civilization except that humanity is viewing it through a vision impaired in a cataclysmic war.
Calvin Coolidge – I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry.
Herbert Hoover – We must be armed so that no foreign nation will even entertain the dangerous thought of starting over these 3,000 miles of ocean towards us.
Franklin D. Roosevelt – a date which will live in infamy. The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
Harry Truman – A short time ago, an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima and destroyed its usefulness to the enemy. That bomb has more power than 20,000 tons of TNT.
Dwight D. Eisenhower – We yet realize that America’s leadership and prestige depend not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches, and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interest of world peace and human betterment.
John F. Kennedy – office of some of the people who sit here on this platform, but it will be done, and it will be done before the end of this decade, and I am delighted that this university is playing a part in putting a man on the moon as part of a great national effort of the United States of America.
Lyndon B. Johnson – Every country that I know in that area that is familiar with what’s happening thinks it’s absolutely essential that Uncle Sam keep her word and stay there until we can find an honorable peace.
Richard Nixon – the thousands of volunteer workers in state after state who did far beyond the call of duty in helping us to the victory that was won.
Gerald Ford – with a comprehensive plan to make our country independent of foreign sources of energy by 1985. Such a program was long overdue. We have become increasingly at the mercy of others for the fuel on which our entire economy runs.
Jimmy Carter – Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning.
Ronald Reagan – General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.
George H W Bush – Today, tomorrow, and into the next century, our nation is the enduring dream of every immigrant who ever set foot on these shores and the millions still struggling to be free. This nation, this idea called America, was and always will be a new world.
Bill Clinton – the first back-to-back surpluses in 42 years, and next month America will achieve. the longest period of economic growth in our entire history
George W. Bush – Good evening. Today our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom, came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes or in their offices, secretaries, businessmen and women,military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.
Barack Obama – My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL. As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people.
Donald Trump – We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again. God bless you and good night.
Joe Biden – Here and now, I give you my word, if you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness. It’s time for us, for we the people, to come together and make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America.
