http://www.hpol.org
Hearing a speech can be fundamentally different from simply reading the text. History and Politics Out Loud (HPOL) helps make that difference concrete by providing audio recordings of hundreds of important political speeches from the 20th century in a searchable archive. HPOL is searchable by title, speaker, date, subject, or transcript. The materials range from formal addresses delivered in public settings to private telephone conversations conducted in the White House. This site provides an accessible source of audio information to bring to life instruction and learning in history and politics and to enable easy access for teachers and students to the rich audio archives of American history and politics.
Only files in the public domain are posted. The files do not download. They stream to the desktop and then disappear. This technique allows quick access and saves disk space since the files are not residing on your computer.
The audio files vary widely in quality. Some of the files were created with low quality technology, which frequently generated poor results. Other files are very clear in quality. HPOL attempts to improve the audibility of these materials without distorting the voices of the participants or fundamentally changing the original materials.