Nineteenth-century History

1908 Presidential Candidates Speak

This is something I posted on another blog of mine a while ago, but I’m not entirely sure why I never posted it here. Anyway, here it goes:

I found a really interesting webpage that has a lot of information about the 1908 presidential election. The two candidates were William J. Bryan and William H. Taft. The most interesting part of the website though is that it includes two speeches recorded by each of the candidates. It was the first time any presidential candidate had had his voice recorded. The recordings were done on wax cylinders and could be purchased for 35 cents (about $8 in today’s money).

If you’re interested in listening to them, you can find them here. Bryan gives a speech about the financial crisis that was present at that time (and is surprisingly relevant 100 years later…) and Taft gives a speech about the “progress of the Negro” forty years after being freed from slavery.

Post a Comment

Your email is kept private. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Explore History Rhymes
Random Featured Articles
Houses in Fin-de-Siècle Britain: Conclusion

Houses in Fin-de-Siècle Britain: Conclusion

Fin-de-Siècle Britain saw many new styles and innovations in the architecture of houses. Some of these new designs were visual whilst others were more practical. A mishmash of styles were created by a number of different architects in an attempt to redefine British architecture, but they would effe...
Death and the Navajos

Death and the Navajos

The Navajos struck fear into every person living in the American southwest since the first Spanish settlements until the American conquest of the southwest in the mid-nineteenth century. Their raids on the small villages and towns of present day New Mexico and Arizona were constant and were always d...
Kings of Bavaria: Conclusion – After the Fall of the Monarchy

Kings of Bavaria: Conclusion – After the Fall of the Monarchy

The rule of the Bavarian kings ended with the German Revolution of 1918-1919 in the immediate aftermath of World War I. The royal family became enemies of the Nazis and had to flee Germany, but never gave up the dream of restoring the monarchy.
Nineteenth Century German History: Consequences of the Fall of the Holy Roman Empire (1806-1848) – Part 1

Nineteenth Century German History: Consequences of the Fall of the Holy Roman Empire (1806-1848) – Part 1

The fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 had drastic consequences for nineteenth century German history. For about a millennium a loose conglomeration of several different semi-autonomous German-speaking kingdoms under the Latin name of Sacrum Romanum Imperium 1 had controlled a vast region in Cent...