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"In the case of "I Have a Dream", think of the societal cost of raising two generations of students without a complete copy of the speech in their textbooks (as

by dfc 14y ago

"In the case of "I Have a Dream", think of the societal cost of raising two generations of students without a complete copy of the speech in their textbooks (as is generally the case)." While I completely agree that it is a shame that Dr. King's speeches are protected by copyright I really do not think that there is a great societal cost due to textbooks without a verbatim transcript. With the exception of the Gettysburg Address I can not think of any speeches that should be included verbatim in a high school social studies textbook. Textbooks have a lot of material to cover and summarize.

indiecore 14y ago
Not an American but why should the Gettysburg Address be in full while other ones aren't?
- antoko 14y ago
  I'd assume it is because it is so short rather than because it is any more significant than other historical works. 268 words total. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom— and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
cabalamat 14y ago
> With the exception of the Gettysburg Address I can not think of any speeches that should be included verbatim in a high school social studies textbook. Quite possibly not there, due to space considerations, but there should be freely-accessible online sources of all major speeches. It's absurd that the "I Have a Dream" speech shouldn't be freely available to everyone.

by dfc 14y ago

indiecore 14y ago

Not an American but why should the Gettysburg Address be in full while other ones aren't?

antoko 14y ago
I'd assume it is because it is so short rather than because it is any more significant than other historical works. 268 words total. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom— and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

cabalamat 14y ago

> With the exception of the Gettysburg Address I can not think of any speeches that should be included verbatim in a high school social studies textbook. Quite possibly not there, due to space considerations, but there should be freely-accessible online sources of all major speeches. It's absurd that the "I Have a Dream" speech shouldn't be freely available to everyone.