Historic Voices: Global History and Culture

With this podcast episode, we begin a three-part series on aviation leaders. John Glenn shares remarks as the first American to travel into space. They follow his ticker tape parade in New York City after his return. In addition to this audio episode, I also provide two PDF documents: first, a short overview of his life, and finally, the story of the Mercury Seven pioneer astronauts of which John...

This PDF document provides an overview of Jimmy Carter's personal and political life. He recognized for his many accomplishments after he lelt political office with his work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center in Atlanta, GA.

This PDF document provides an example of President Carter's larger National Energy Act which was one of his priorities as president.

This PDF transcript is of President Jimmy Carter and his " Energy and the National Goals " speech . It is often called the " Crisis of Confidence " speech . A major priority of President Carter was the U.S. policy of energy consumption. The nation was suffering from rising oil costs due to OPEC which resulted in gas rationing, long gas lines, and energy shortages just to name a few. Before the for...

In this podcast episode, we feature President Jimmy Carter and his " Energy and the National Goals " speech . It is often called the " Crisis of Confidence " speech . A major priority of President Carter was the U.S. policy of energy consumption. The nation was suffering from rising oil costs due to OPEC which resulted in gas rationing, long gas lines, and energy shortages just to name a few. Befo...

The sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and by asserting certain natural and legal rights, including a right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, references to the text of the Decl...

The Founding Fathers of the United States are those individuals of the Thirteen Colonies in North America who led the American Revolution against the authority of the British Crown in word and deed and contributed to the establishment of the United States of America.  The term Founding Fathers is sometimes used to refer to the Signers of the embossed version of the Declaration of Independence in 1...

This PDF document provides the text of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

In this podcast episode, we provide a speech by Paul Harvey which is called "The pledge of America's first citizens." Mr. Harvey gave this speech annually about the price paid by many of the Founding Fathers for their involvement in the American Revolutionary War. As Mr. Harvey states, some people go to war since they have nothing to lose, in this case, the Founding Fathers had everything to lose...

The Six Shooter was a weekly old­time radio program in the United States. It was created by Frank Burt, who also wrote many of the episodes, and lasted only one season of 39 episodes on NBC (Sept. 20, 1953­ through June 24, 1954). James Stewart starred as Britt Ponset, a drifting cowboy in the final years of thewild west.  Episodes ranged from straight western drama to whimsical comedy. A trademar...

This PDF document provides a short history of the life of Mr. Jimmy Stewart. Mr. Stewart was a prominent movie and radio star. He also was a distinguished aviator flying bombers against Germany and continued his military service after the war as a reservist. He is one of my favorite actors both for what he did on the movie screen but also for his service to the country through the armed forces.

In this podcast episode, we take a change of pace and feature a famous American movie actor performing on a 1950s weekly radio show named " The Six Shooter ". The main character is Jimmy Stewart as Britt Ponset, a drifting cowboy in the final years of the wild American west. In addition to this audio episode, I also provide two PDF documents: first, a short life story of Mr. Stewart, and finally,...

One of the topics in President Eisenhower's farewell address was warning of the potential negative consequences of the U.S. "industrial military complex", the convergence of industrial companies manufacturing weapons of war, the U.S. military who wanted more sophisticated weapons, and the congressional members who supported the weapons industry due to their campaign contributions and creation of j...

This short history of Dwight D. Eisenhower traces his remarkable personal life and that while Supreme Commander of Allied Forces and President of the United States.

The President's speech is typical for many of the recent U.S. presidents. He began with a quick review of the past and especially the world wars the U.S. has been engaged and the role of the country as peacemaker to help build a better future. Then, he turns to the new challenges which are domestic rather than international. Eisenhower expresses his worry that the U.S. has embraced a permanent arm...

The President's speech is typical for many of the recent U.S. presidents. He began with a quick review of the past and especially the world wars the U.S. has been engaged and the role of the country as peacemaker to help build a better future. Then, he turns to the new challenges which are domestic rather than international. Eisenhower expresses his worry that the U.S. has embraced a permanent arm...

This PDF document provides a short overview of Operation Quicksilver which was to deceive the Germans on D-Day. It was an elaborate hoax led by General Patton of the real target for the invasion would occur on a different location on the French coastline. The movie "Patton" does a good job explaining how General Patton was assigned to this task rather than leading allied forces on D-Day.

This PDF document provides a short overview of the D-Day invasion by the allied forces during World War Two.  The invasion was the largest military engagement in history and was one of the major turning points of the war against Germany.

This is a PDF transcript of a short speech by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to the allied troops who were to land on the Normandy beaches during D -Day.

In this podcast episode, we feature a short speech by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to the allied troops who were to land on the Normandy beaches during D-Day in just a few hours.  Nearly 10,000 of these brave troops will lose their lives during the invasion against fierce German resistance. Separately, I provide several PDF documents: first, a transcript of this speech, secondly an overview of the...

I thought you would enjoy a short archival film newsreel of the D-Day landing. I was preparing some upcoming history lessons for my students and ran across this public domain item. It fits our purpose for historic voices, in this case it is the voice of the narrator recorded at that time with the film footage. I will include these newsreel items when I can find appropriate public domain items that...

This short article from Wikipedia provides an overview of former President Ronald Reagan's life.

In this podcast episode, we feature a speech by President Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of the Normandy Landings on D-Day during World War Two. The speech was given on the cliffs above the Normandy beach where the U.S. Rangers successfully scaled the wall despite heavy German fire. More than half the Rangers lost their lives during the assault. This short speech is considered by many histo...

In this podcast episode, we feature a speech by President Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of the Normandy Landings on D-Day during World War Two. The speech was given on the cliffs above the Normandy beach where the U.S. Rangers successfully scaled the wall despite heavy German fire. More than half the Rangers lost their lives during the assault. This short speech is considered by many histo...

President Harry Truman made a number of controversial decisions as president. One was dropping of the atomic bombs to end World War Two.  Another was the unpopular firing of General Douglass MacArthur as commander of the United Nations forces during the Korean War. This document provides part of the backstory for the president's difficult decision.  Many historians cite this event as a turning poi...