这是由100多位美国专家根据社会、政治影响以及文字的优美程度评选出的美国20世纪最伟大的100大经典演讲。
黑人民权运动领袖马丁路德·金的出色演讲《我有一个梦》，当之无愧的入选为最伟大的演讲之首，与那场浩浩荡荡的民权运动一起铭记入史册。马丁路德·金的演讲造诣十分高，通篇绝无错漏，善于运用循序渐进的排比句。不像其他民权领袖，马丁路德·金更善于运用情感而不激进，他的个人魅力和亲和力更能争取更广泛的中间团体的支持（如女权运动组织，宗教团体，自由主义者等）。马丁路德·金同时入选100强的演讲还包括《攀越巅峰》和反对越战的《打破沉默》。马丁路德·金的演讲，不论是风格还是遣词造句，不论是语调还是情感运用，方方面面都值得学习和借鉴。
约翰·肯尼迪的《总统就职演说》紧随其后坐亚望冠。（我们也许更了解肯尼迪总统遇刺而不是肯尼迪总统本人）在大多数美国人心目中，肯尼迪总统的地位极高。肯尼迪总统正直，睿智，俊俏而有活力，他是一个天生的的领导，有一种使大家都愿意跟随他的神奇魅力。肯尼迪29岁当选参议员，并在其后的总统大选中击败当时已经两任副总统的民主党候选人尼克松，当选为美国史上最年轻的总统。肯尼迪总统努力寻求自由，和平的战后新格局。尽管一上任便遭遇古巴导弹危机和太空危机，肯尼迪总统却能成功地带领美国人走出困境。
其《总统就职演说》中的一句“亲爱的美国人民，不要去问国家能为你做点什么，而应该问你自己能为国家做些什么。”则成为经典中的经典。（“ask”在英语中既有“问”的意思，也有“要求”的意思，因此这是一语双关句，另一种意思是“亲爱的美国人民，不要去要求国家给与，而应该要求你自己为国家贡献。”）
富兰克林·罗斯福（注：美国史上有两位罗斯福总统，两位都有多篇演讲入选。泰迪·罗斯福即大罗斯福总统，富兰克林·罗斯福即小罗斯福总统）的《第一次总统就职演说》（主要针对当时的经济危机）及《国会珍珠港事件演讲：开战宣言》则当选为第三及第四位。这位领导美国人走出经济危机并战胜法西斯主义，使美国成为世界霸主的唯一一位4任总统的轮椅上的铁人，成为美国人心目中最伟大的总统。其入选的伟大演说也是最多的。
不知是否因为上述3位深受美国人的爱戴，《罗斯福总统辞世》《马丁路德·金遇刺》《肯尼迪总统遇刺》这3篇演说也在100强中榜上有名。
100个伟大演说还收录了许多经典之作。如马歇尔的《马歇尔计划》，杜鲁门总统的《杜鲁门主义》，里根总统的《“挑战者”号
遇难演说》，卡特（总统）《国家能源计划》。也包括诺贝尔得奖演说，联合国关注艾滋病演说等等。
由于是由美国人投票选出，我们能从投票的结果看出一些有趣的现象。例如希拉里·罗翰·克林顿的演说《女权也是人权》名理前茅，有这样的支持度多少也反映了2008年总统大选的形势。而比尔·克林顿，这位以能言善辩著称的总统，居然只有一篇《奥拉荷马州炸弹惨剧追悼会演说》排在可怜的第92位，可见其在美国人心目中的“光辉”形象。乔治·布什（老布什）总统成为唯一一位没有演说入选的总统（20世纪）。所谓有其父必有其子，所以我们对小布什总统错漏百出的滑稽演说也应该见怪不怪了。
所有的演讲都有其特定的社会历史背景。听演讲能更深刻地了解当时社会环境。当然您首先需要对美国史略知一二。如果您不知道70年代的反战浪潮，也就无法理解何为《沉默的大多数》，不知道“水门事件”，也就不清楚尼克松总统为何突然发布《辞职演说》。本人建议，听演讲的同时翻阅一下相关历史资料，有助于更深刻的理解。
01. Dr Martin Luther King Jr I Have A Dream
02. John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address
03. Franklin Delano Roosevelt First Inaugural Address
04. Franklin D. Roosevelt Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation War Message
05. Barbara Charline Jordan 1976 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
06. Richard M. Nixon Checkers
07. Malcolm X The Ballot or the Bullet
08. Ronald Reagan The Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy Address
09. John F. Kennedy Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association
10. Lyndon Baines Johnson Address to a Joint Session of Congress on Voting Legislation
11. Mario Matthew Cuomo 1984 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
12. Jesse Jackson 1984 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
13. Dwight D. Eisenhower Farewell Address
14. Barbara Charline Jordan Statement on the Articles of Impeachment
15. General Douglas MacArthur Farewell Address to Congress
16. Martin Luther King, Jr I've Been to the Mountaintop
17. Theodore Roosevelt The Man with the Muck-rake
18. Robert F. Kennedy Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr
19. Woodrow Wilson War Message
20. General Douglas MacArthur -- Thayer Award Address Duty, Honor, Country
21. Richard M. Nixon The Great Silent Majority
22. John F. Kennedy I am a 'Berliner'
23. Clarence Darrow A Plea for Mercy
24. Russell Conwell Acres of Diamonds
25. Ronald Reagan A Time for Choosing
26. Huey P. Long Every Man a King
27. Anna Howard Shaw The Fundamental Principle of a Republic
28. Franklin Delano Roosevelt The Great Arsenal of Democracy
29. Ronald Reagan The Evil Empire
30. Ronald Reagan First Inaugural Address
31. Franklin Delano Roosevelt First Fire
side Chat
32. Harry S. Truman The Truman Doctrine
33. William Faulkner Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
34. Eugene Victor Debs 1918 Statement to the Court
35. Hillary Rodham Clinton Remarks to the U.N. 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session
36. Dwight D. Eisenhower Atoms for Peace
37. John F. Kennedy American University Commencement Address
38. Ann Richards Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
39. Richard M. Nixon Resignation Address to the Nation
40. Woodrow Wilson The Fourteen Points
41. Margaret Chase Smith Declaration of Conscience
42. Franklin D. Roosevelt The Four Freedoms
43. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. A Time to Break Silence
44. Mary Church Terrell What It Means to be Colored in Capital of the U.S
45. William Jennings Bryan Imperialism
46. Margaret Sanger The Morality of Birth Control
47. Barbara Pierce Bush Commencement Address at Wellesley College
48. John F. Kennedy Civil Rights Address
49. John F. Kennedy Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation
50. Spiro Theodore Agnew Television News Coverage
51.Jesse Jackson 1988 Democratic National Convention Address
52.Mary Fisher 1992 Republication National Convention Address
53.Lyndon Baines Johnson The Great Society
54.George C. Marshall The Marshall Plan
55.Edward M. Kennedy Faith, Truth and Tolerance in America
56.Adlai E. Stevenson Speech Accepting the Democratic Presidential Nomination
57.Eleanor Roosevelt The Struggle for Human Rights
58.Geraldine Ferraro Vice Presidential Nomination Acceptance Address
59.Robert M. La Follette Free Speech in Wartime (Abridged)
60.Ronald Reagan Remarks on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day
61.Mario Matthew Cuomo Religious Belief and Public Morality
62.Edward M. Kennedy Address to the People of Massachusetts on Chappaquiddick
63.John L. Lewis Labor and the Nation
64.Barry Goldwater Speech Accepting the Republican Presidential Nomination
65.Stokely Carmichael Black Power
66.Hubert H. Humphrey 1948 Democratic National Convention Address
67.Emma Goldman Address to the Jury
68.Carrie Chapman Catt The Crisis
69.Newton N. Minow Television and the Public Interest
70.Edward M. Kennedy Tribute to Senator Robert F. Kennedy
71.Anita Hill Opening Stmt to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Clarence Thomas
72.Woodrow Wilson Final Address in Support of the League of Nations
73.Lou Gehrig Farewell to Baseball Address
74.Richard M. Nixon Cambodian Incursion Address
75.Carrie Chapman Catt Speech Before Congress, 1917
76.Ted Kennedy 1980 Democratic National Convention Address
77.Lyndon Baines Johnson Renunciation Speech
78.Franklin Delano Roosevelt Commonwealth Club Address
79.Woodrow Wilson First Inaugural Address
80.Mario Savio Sit-in Address on the Steps of Sproul Hall
81.Elizabeth Glaser 1992 Democratic National Convention Address
82.Eugene Victor Debs The Issue
83.Margaret Sanger The Children's Era
84.Urs
ula Le Guin A LEFT-HANDED COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
85.Crystal Eastman Now We Can Begin
86.Huey P. Long Share Our Wealth (Text) and Barbecue Speech
87.Gerald R. Ford Address on Taking the Oath of the U.S. Presidency
88.Cesar E. Chavez The Mexican-American and the Church
89.Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Statement at the Smith Act Trial
90.Jimmy Carter Energy and the National Goals - A Crisis of Confidenc
91.Malcolm X Message To The Grass Roots
92.Bill Clinton Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address
93.Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm For the Equal Rights Amendment
94.Ronald Reagan Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate
95.Elie Wiesel The Perils of Indifference
96.Gerald R. Ford Address to the Nation Pardoning Richard M. Nixon
97.Woodrow Wilson The League of Nations
98.Lyndon Baines Johnson Let Us Continue
99.McCarthy-Welch Exchange Have You No Sense of Decency
100.Eleanor Roosevelt Address to the United Nations General Assembly