Great Speeches that Opened a New Era

Words do not have physical weight but have great power.
Words of leaders are so powerful that sometimes they are able to transform one’s life and belief.
For that reason, spoken words, or speeches, delivered at special occasions may be recorded forever.
As we welcome the new year, we would like to share famous speeches from people who have led the new era.

We shall never
surrender!

“We shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

This is an excerpt from a speech of Winston Churchill, who was then newly appointed as Prime Minister of Britain in 1940. At that time, Britain and its allies were constantly being pushed back by the Nazis and people were feeling defeated physically and mentally by the war. Through Churchill’s inspiring speech, the British people resolved not to give up even in despair. It is an exemplary case that shows the powerful speech of a leader changing the course of a country and its people.

At the stroke of the
midnight hour, India will
awake to life and freedom!

“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…”

In 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, made the statement in celebration of the independence of India. Many Indians regarded the speech to have captured the essence of the Indians’ struggle for freedom. The speech was filled with promises and visions as he declared independence from Britain at the Constitutional Council. The people were able to see the hope for a brighter future from this quiet, yet sublime speech.

I have
a dream!

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

In 1963, people marched peacefully in Washington D.C. to protest against racism. It had already been 100 years since President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, but blacks still suffered from racial discrimination. The person who led the march was Pastor Martin Luther King Jr., the famous leader of the civil rights movement. He delivered a touching speech at the Lincoln Memorial Hall that resonated greatly and changed many people’s view of human rights.

From those to
whom much is given,
much is expected!

“I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities … on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.”

Entrepreneur and co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, delivered this speech at the commencement at Harvard University in 2007. As an alumnus of the school, Bill Gates urged the graduating students to not focus only on professional success, but to embrace the world as future leaders with potential to change the society. As a true practitioner of “noblesse oblige,” his speech resonated ceaselessly, and even today, it is remembered as a deeply inspirational speech.