What Harvey Milk Hoped For

Harvey Milk and Ronald Reagan offered two competing versions of hope — one of progress, and one of backlash; a hope to fight for and a hope fulfilled

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Toni Morrison Found the Right Words by Speaking the Wrong Ones

Toni Morrison’s commencement speech at Wellesley College, like her novels, forced us to confront our assumptions about other people, and time itself.

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Looking to Inspire? Give Your Audience a To-do List

Roxane Gay’s TED Talk “Confessions of a Bad Feminist” broke a key speechwriting rule, and got a standing ovation anyway.

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Inaugurations Worth Ovations

Six West Wing Writers speechwriters explore their favorite lines from inaugurations past.

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The Queen’s Pulpit

Queen Elizabeth II gave her 69th annual holiday speech in 2020. Patrick Ross takes a look at her many messages over the years.

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Orations Worth Ovations: From the Party of Dole to the Party of Donald: How the GOP Chose Its Current Path

A recession, police brutality, and a worldwide epidemic. Sound familiar? In 1992, the GOP faced a crossroads — and made the wrong choice.

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“We Can Never Go Back”: Franklin Roosevelt and the Jagged Path of Progress

100 years ago, FDR laid out his vision for America's future as the Democratic nominee for vice president. The lessons from Roosevelt's long, difficult journey to realize that vision still resonate for Joe Biden in 2020.

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A Hopeful Kind of Greatness

In 2004, a young state senator challenged Americans to adopt a politics of hope. Barack Obama’s speech at that year’s DNC still resonates today, as Democrats look to build the nation Obama so eloquently imagined.

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Khizr Khan and American Authenticity

Khizr Khan is representing Virginia at the 2020 DNC, but in 2016, he represented all patriotic Americans. Here’s what made that speech iconic, and what it can teach us about the value of authenticity.

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A Dialogue on the Revolution

In advance of Bernie Sanders’ speech at the 2020 DNC, Courtney Taylor takes another look at his rousing 2016 DNC address, a conversation worth ovation.

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Governor Granholm Goes Off

At the 2012 DNC, years before Trump called Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer “that woman from Michigan,” another Michigan governor, Jennifer Granholm, brought down the house with a speech that launched 1,000 GIFs.

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The Convention-Crasher in Chief

It’s my convention, I’ll speak if I want to. Read Steven Kelly’s account of FDR’s surprise address to the 1932 Democratic National Convention.

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Eleanor Roosevelt’s (un)Conventional Wisdom

Eight decades since the Reluctant First Lady took the stage, the gendered expectations of “no ordinary time” in American politics remain devastatingly ordinary.

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What Would Barbara Jordan Say?

What was special about the 1976 Democratic National Convention? Congresswoman Barbara Jordan not only had to make the case for Jimmy Carter, but acknowledge her own historical significance within American politics.

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The Man Who Never Stopped Marching

In his 2008 DNC address, John Lewis took a moment to reflect on what Barack Obama’s nomination meant for America’s progress — and then went right back to pushing for change. His speech, like his life, gave us our marching orders.

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Ann Richards’ Solution for Forgotten American Families

Ann Richards’ 1988 speech at the DNC is known for its hilarious, hard-hitting one-liners. But we should remember her keynote not just for its soundbites, but also for its solutions.

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An America for More of Us

Mario Cuomo outlined a vision for the Democratic Party that is even more relevant in 2020 than it was when he delivered it in 1984.

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Pride Speech

The LGBTQIA+ community knows the power of words — to come out, to accept others, and to stand against hate. For 2020 Pride, four of our queer speechwriters shared their thoughts on four queer speeches.

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Presidential Naturalization Speeches and the Politics of Belonging

“In speechwriting ... words are freighted with meaning, and positioned to cast their own ideological shadows.” Our Peggy Xu breaks down presidential naturalization speeches — and what they tell us about being American.

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Communicating During Coronavirus: 10 Lessons from Dr. Emily Landon

In her speech urging Illinoisans to social distance, Dr. Emily Landon was passionate, professional, and persuasive. Vinca LaFleur breaks down what made Dr. Landon’s speech so good, and what others can learn from it.

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11 Jokes I Love from 11 White House Correspondents Dinners

Our resident political comedy expert Chandler Dean dissects the greatest White House Correspondents Dinner jokes.

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The Great Dictator

If Adolf Hitler banned a film, it’s likely worth watching. Read about how Charlie Chaplin outdid and outraged Hitler with a single five-minute speech.

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When Tears Speak Louder Than Words

Our children can now buy bulletproof backpacks at back-to-school sales, and teachers set gun safety procedures to children’s tunes. Former intern Ramya Prabhakar analyzes President Obama’s Newtown speech to cope with the tragedy of mass shootings.

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Caps and Gowns Behind Barbed Wire

Former West Wing Writers intern Ezra Stoller writes about Marion Konishi’s high school commencement speech — which she delivered while incarcerated at Granada Relocation Center in 1943.

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A Fun House Look at Speechwriting with ‘Long Shot’

The best on-screen look at speechwriting since Sam Seaborn and Toby Ziegler had writers’ block on The West Wing.

The Night Cardi B Eclipsed the Boss

It’s no longer Bruce Springsteen’s Party  —  it’s Cardi B’s.

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An Open Letter to President Obama

Anna Humphrey’s letter to President Obama is a testament to speeches that do more than move us — they mold us.

Visualization, Participation, and the Battlefield of Shakespeare’s Henry V

Chris Fox dissects the imaginative power of the St. Crispin’s Day speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V.

The Olive Branch as a Weapon

Raul Quintana digs into perhaps the most famous inauguration address of all: Lincoln’s second.