David Barton - Celebrate Liberty! Famous Patriotic Speeches & Sermons

Famous Patriotic j .peeches & Sermons

compiled with historical annotations by

David Barton

...................................... 7

ORATION 1

.................................................. 11

ORATION 2

.......................... 31

ORATION 3

.................................................. 57

ORATION 4

............................................... 77

ORATION 5

.............................................. 99

ORATION 6

.............................................. 119

ORATION 7

............................................... 145

ORATION 8

........................................ 179

ORATION 9

............................................... 223

These orations are timeless - they reflect principles that inspire mankind both in patriotism and in love for liberty. However, the language in which these principles are expressed has changed dramatically over the past two centuries, resulting in a need to annotate this work. Additionally, a few simplifications have been made to the format of the orations so that modern readers can fully appreciate both the rhetoric and insight of previous generations.

Simplifications

Since the content of these historic orations is more important than their style, we have taken minor editorial liberties in three areas.

All spellings have been modernized (i.e., "draft" instead of "draught"; "Savior" for "Saviour"; "burden" for "burthened"; etc.).

Capitalization & Punctuation 2.

In earlier generations, commas and other punctuation marks were used very profusely, and virtually every noun was capitalized. In this work, modern rules of capitalization and punctuation have been applied to the original text.

3. Grammatical Structure

The language syntax and sentence formation used in early orations is much more complex then that of today. Consequently, a single sentence then might run for 10-12 lines and a single paragraph may run for several pages. For this work, those overly long sentences have been broken into multiple sentences, and lengthy paragraphs have been divided into shorter paragraphs according to modern rules.

Additionally, some parts of the oration in which the orator greatly expounds on a single point have been shortened. In such cases, ellipses ( ... ) are always inserted to indicate to the reader that some content from the original text has been omitted; however, care has been taken in such instances to ensure that the meaning of the origi nal remains unchanged. (The reader may resort to the original version - available in many libraries - to view the oration in its entirety.)

While these superficial changes will improve readability, they will not affect the content of the message; the original meaning is intact and reflects the genius of the orator.

Annotations

1. Word Definitions

Many words used in earlier generations by all ages and educational levels are today primarily found only in graduate level programs. Therefore, some words in the original will be followed by its definition appearing in brackets. For example, "panegyric" is followed by [public praise]; "toscin" [alarm bell]; "acedama" [burial ground]; "relumed" [rekindled]; etc. (In order to preserve the original meaning of these words as used in the context of the orations, they have been defined using Webster's 1828 Dictionary rather than contemporary dictionaries.)

Time-Dated 2. Jargon

Many phrases used in early America are unknown today (e.g., "fly up and kick the beam" or "yield the palm"). Annotations are inserted at the bottom of pages to explain such idioms.

3. Classical and Political Literacy

In past generations, the average citizen's knowledge of classical literature, world history, and American political intrigues was both broad and deep. For example, citizens knew why Americans revered the names of Camden and Chatham; they could list the "Gallic heroes" that fell in defense of America; they understood how the "Gordian knot" of Greek mythology applied to the American Revolution and why the "lyre of Orpheus" (also from Greek mythology) was pertinent to the symbols on the American flag; and the common man could recite by memory lengthy quotes from English poets such as Pope, Dryden, or Milton.

In contrast, contemporary studies reveal that only six percent of Americans today can name the freedoms secured through our First Amendment; graduating seniors can identify an average of only seven States on a blank map of the United States; and not one of the top fifty-five elite colleges and universities in America required a single course in American history for graduation! For this reason, historical annotations have been inserted at the bottom of pages to explain names, events, or issues largely unknown to Americans today.

Researching the hundreds of tidbits of historical knowledge that appear in these annotations was both an extensive and intense task. While only my name appears on the cover as the historical editor and annotator, it would be erroneous to conclude that this work was solely my product. The arduous task of modernizing some of the most profound of early American orations on liberty has been the work of an excellent team of invaluable researchers and editors - individuals such as Nathan Lehman, Becca Douglas, Joni Gingles, Damaris Barton, Steele Brand, Tom Smiley, Grady Barton, Callie Fowler, Zac Kester, Whitney Fowler, Katie Schonhoff, Barbara Smiley, Rose Barton, and others. I would be foolish to take credit for what this work represents: the contributions of numerous workers - both seen and Unseen - without whose assistance this book would not exist either with its current content or format. To all of those who helped, in both the human and Divine realms, I offer a sincere and heartfelt, "Thank you!"

David Barton

July 2003