The Soviet Thaw 50 years Later

Arts and Letters Daily reports on a variety of reflections on Khrushchev's 'secret speech' of February 25, 1956 which denounced Stalin's crimes.

Nikita Khrushchev gave his secret speech to the 20th Party Congress in the Kremlin fifty years ago... Robert Conquest ... Wm. Taubman ... Anne Applebaum ... Claire Bigg ... Roy Medvedev ... Jeremy Page ... Boris Kagarlitsky ... John Rettie ... Nina Khrushcheva ... Tom Parfitt ... Richard Bruner ... and what an electrifying speech it was.

Khrushchev's speech proved to be one of the most important political speeches in modern history.  What other political or economic speeches would our readers list from the past 50 years?

Comments

[Ron]

1. JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.
2. Reagan's speech at the Berlin Wall "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
3. MLK's speech at the Lincoln Memorial "I have a dream."
4. Reagan's first inaugural address.
5. Marion Barry, "That bitch set me up."

[Gautam]

The current Indian boom has its roots in then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh's first Budget speech in 1991.

I can't find an online copy of that speech, but here is an excerpt from another speech:

"Today, when I look back, I am even more convinced that I was correct to observe in my first budget speech in 1991 that the idea of the emergence of India as a front ranking economic powerhouse of the world economy was an idea whose time had indeed come. I had then added, quoting Victor Hugo that no power on earth can stop an idea whose time had come. I must amend that to say that if there is any power that can still stop this idea of a resurgent India, it is ourselves. I believe that there are no external constraints now to India's growth and whatever constraints are there, are internal; constraints imposed by our polity, our social structures, our regional imbalances, our ability to handle inequity, and our ability to take hard, but essential decisions."

[Mike]

How about Reagan's "Time for Choosing" speech in 1964. It didn't influence the '64 elections, but many seem to say it provided a lot of the support Goldwater did receieve and insured that the conservative movement didn't die there.