World's 5 Most Powerful Speeches

Actions speak louder than words and words have the power to evoke emotion. The great leaders have inspired the world with the power of their speech and here are the world’s five most inspirational speeches.

Barack Obama:
Barack Obama delivered an inspirational speech after being declared the winner of the U.S. Presidential election, 2012.

Obama said "Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come," as reported by walesonline.co.uk.

He said “Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated.”

“We have our own opinions, each of us has deeply held beliefs, and when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy. That won’t change after tonight and it shouldn’t. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak, people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today. But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future."

Mahatma Gandhi:
Mahatama Gandhi, the peaceful freedom fighter fought for the liberation of India as it had been under British rule for almost a century. He gave his inspirational ‘Quit India’ speech in 1942. Excerpts from his speech – “Let me explain my position clearly. God has vouchsafed to me a priceless gift in the weapon of Ahimsa. I and my Ahimsa are on our trail today. If in the present crisis, when the earth is being scorched by the flames of Himsa and crying for deliverance, I failed to make use of the God given talent, God will not forgive me and I shall be judged un-wrongly of the great gift. I must act now,” as reported by wordpower.com.

Gandhi said “Ours is not a drive for power, but purely a non-violent fight for India's independence. In a violent struggle, a successful general has been often known to effect a military coup and to set up a dictatorship. A non-violent soldier of freedom will covet nothing for himself, he fights only for the freedom of his country.”

Jawaharlal Nehru:
The first Prime Minister of independent India delivered the famous “Freedom at midnight” speech by at Parliament house in New Delhi.

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity,” as reported by citehr.com.

He said “At the dawn of history, India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and grandeur of her success and failures. Through good and ill fortune alike, she has never lost sight of that quest, forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrow-stricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people.”

Winston Churchill:
Winston Churchill is one of the best orators of the 20th century and was one of the most inspirational leaders. Churchill led Britain through its darkest moments during Second World War.  One of his famous speeches are “We shall fight on the beaches” given to the House of Commons in 1940.

Churchill said “I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone,” as reported by presentation magazine.

 “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

Nelson Mandela:
“An ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Nelson Mandela gave a powerful speech from the dock at the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage in 1964.

He said “Some of the things so far told to the court are true and some are untrue. I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness, nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation, and oppression of my people by the whites,” as reported by the guardian.

Mandela said “We believed in the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that ‘the will of the people shall be the basis of authority of the government’, and for us to accept the banning was equivalent to accepting the silencing of the Africans for all time.” “I came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic to continue preaching peace and non-violence. This conclusion was not easily arrived at. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle. I can only say that I felt morally obliged to do what I did.”

“Four forms of violence were possible. There is sabotage, there is guerrilla warfare, there is terrorism, and there is open revolution. We chose to adopt the first. Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality.”