The American Union Speaker

The volume assembles a wide-ranging selection of spoken and written pieces chosen for use in recitation and declamation, combining contemporary utterances inspired by a national crisis with a larger corpus of established oratory and poetry. It opens with practical guidance on elocution—mechanics of breathing, vocal training, and expressive delivery—and offers nearly three hundred curated selections grouped for pedagogical use, accompanied by explanatory notes placed at the end. The editor emphasizes moral and patriotic themes, careful textual restoration where needed, and cautious abridgment; the book aims to support students and teachers in developing clear, expressive public speaking rather than to present a systematic treatise.