Showing results by narrator "John Greenman" in All Categories

Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 - November 18, 1886) was the 21st President of the United States (1881-85); he succeeded James Garfield upon the latter's assassination. At the outset, Arthur struggled to overcome his reputation, stemming from his beginnings in politics as a politician from the New York City Republican political machine. He succeeded by embracing the cause of civil service reform.

The Gettysburg Address is the most famous speech of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and one of the most quoted speeches in United States history. It was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, during the American Civil War, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg.

His inability to calm tensions over slavery kept the country on the path to the American Civil War. Genial and well-spoken, Pierce was a northern Democrat who saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. His polarizing actions in championing and signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act failed to stem intersectional conflict, setting the stage for Southern secession, and leaving him widely regarded as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history.

Abraham Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War - its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Three days before he was shot, Lincoln delivered this, his last public speech. Dealing with "reconstruction", and especially Louisiana, Lincoln for the first time publicly endorsed black voting rights. John Wilkes Booth, who was in the audience, vowed "That is the last speech he will make."

Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). As commanding general, Grant led the Union Armies to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War, which ended shortly after Robert E. Lee surrendered to him at Appomattox in 1865. After the war, Grant served as commanding general, implementing Congressional Reconstruction, often at odds with President Andrew Johnson.

Jackson's Farewell Address has been described as an agrarian message in which he tells how he tried to promote traditional ideals while restraining privileged monopolies. He explains that the country's economic health, attributed to new market forces, has led to unprecedented prosperity and that never before had the people "enjoyed so much freedom and happiness.

Harrison's Inaugural address was also his last, coming just weeks before he succumbed to pneumonia. In it he memorializes America's special place in the world while describing how its management by Congress and the government can solve existing problems.

Fillmore was the only Whig president that did not die in office or get expelled from the party, and Fillmore appointed the only Whig Supreme Court Justice. He is consistently included in the bottom 10 of historical rankings of Presidents of the United States. As Zachary Taylor's vice president, he assumed the presidency after Taylor's death. Fillmore was a lawyer from western New York state, and an early member of the Whig Party.

Polk was the last strong pre-Civil War president. Despite his concern that "It may, indeed, be truly said that my Administration has fallen upon eventful times," scholars have ranked him favorably on the list of greatest presidents for his ability to set an agenda and achieve all of it.

In Tyler's final address to Congress he mentions how his administration has brought the country back to prosperity from a time of national paucity. In announcing his coming retirement he asks Congress to accept measures that will ensure the country's continued rise from want.

While asking that Congress work to establish better commercial relations with Mexico, Great Britain, and Austria-Hungary, Adams demonstrates how tariffs affect the commerce of the country.

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the USA, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. Before his presidency, Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army. His status as a national hero as a result of his victories in the Mexican-American War won him election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was preserving the Union, but he died sixteen months into his term, before making any progress on the status of slavery...

Before leaving office, Van Buren reminds Congress that he refrained from raising taxes, and kept the national debt in check. He makes no mention of the growing factionalism between pro-slavery and abolitionist groups, once again showing his concern for preserving the union.

Monroe emphasizes his hope of doing away with the slave trade. He also deals with treaties, commerce, and the budget.

In this, his eighth annual message, Madison tells of his impending retirement. For the future he recommends better transportation, a national university, rebuilding the military, and a consistent system of weights and measures, among other things.

Jefferson is often cited as an important figure in early American democracy. He envisioned democracy as an expression of society as a whole, and called for national self-determination, cultural uniformity, and education of all the people (or all the males, as he believed at the time). His emphasis on uniformity did not envision a multiracial republic in which some groups were not fully assimilated into the identical republican values.

John Greenman narrates John Adams' farewell address. Adams made some very difficult decisions that would eventually cause him to lose his next election as president of the United States. He avoided war but split his party.

"George Washington's Farewell Address" is a letter written by George Washington to the people of the United States of America. It was Washington's valedictory after 20 years of service to the new nation. It is a classic statement of republicanism, warning Americans of the political dangers they can and must avoid if they are to remain true to their values.

This short story by Mark Twain was not published until 1916, six years after his death in 1910, because his family considered it too scandalous. After all, what could be more scandalous then attacking religion and war. Narrator John Greenman takes us inside that church as the preacher beseeches God to grant them victory and protect our troops when a stranger appears.

Death and taxes, they have always been there. Mark Twain makes this plea to the Queen of England to rectify a clerks mistake, when he is taxed on his book sales in England. Narrator and storyteller John Greenman pleads Mr. Twain's case in this excellent short story that first appeared in Harper's Magazine in December of 1887.