Selected Pieces of American Oratory Translated to Latin: How They Derive Power from Classical Grammar

Adam J. Walker
Dr. Amy Norgard, Faculty Mentor

Washington’s Farewell Address, William Jennings Bryan’s Cross of Gold speech, Franklin Roosevelt’s first inaugural address, John Kennedy’s Ich Bin Ein Berliner speech, and Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech are among the best orations in American history. Not only were all these speeches delivered throughout different periods of American history, from founding to just twelve years ago, but also each were delivered at pivotal points of history. These speeches all have the great power of language behind them. In this project I will translate powerful sections of these great speeches from their English to Latin. This allows me to explore how we see the influence of classical roots in pieces of the best American orations, especially since many of these men encountered classics in their educations. By putting these speeches into Latin and analyzing the grammatical constructions, it allows me to show why these speeches still carry so much weight today.

Keywords: Latin, oratory, American, Speeches, classics

Topic(s):Classics

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA