# Non-USers: how familiar are you with this speech? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440 "2012-04-20T19:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/21 "2012-04-21T07:18:08Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > So I’m going to really shame myself here, but though I know ‘of’ the Gettysburg address, I couldn’t recite one word of it to you. [If you’re interested, it’s a very short speech.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3TgkH7VGSk) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/22 "2012-04-21T08:30:36Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s probably the most famous speech in American history. Know it, no. I’ve never heard nor read it in full. But that line (which can be seen on preview) made me think “what, ‘I have a dream’? It’s either that one or the Gettysburg address… I’ll be real surprised if it’s ‘am I not a woman?’, specially since it’s a guy…” The last one I do have read. It’s a sort of cultural collocation: if an American says “speech”, next he says “I have a dream”. Yes, we know Pastor King did, and its gist (an end to racial segregation). What many of us don’t know it’s the details, because the people who mention the speech assume that their audience knows it, and we can’t be bothered. ---
**Author:** ![DearestDane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@DearestDane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DearestDane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/23 "2012-04-21T08:35:21Z")
I have no idea when I first heard about the speech, but it was most likely when he was still alive or in the years immediately after. The only thing I remember about it, is that the words that have given the speech its name, occur several times. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/24 "2012-04-21T08:55:02Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Know it, no. I’ve never heard nor read it in full. But that line (which can be seen on preview) made me think “what, ‘I have a dream’? It’s either that one or the Gettysburg address… I’ll be real surprised if it’s ‘am I not a woman?’, specially since it’s a guy…” I’m pretty sure you’re talking about [“Ain’t I a Woman?”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain't_I_a_Woman%3F) by Sojourner Truth, and, yes, that is how it’s always referred to. It also isn’t nearly as famous, among men or women, in America. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/25 "2012-04-21T08:59:43Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Australian here; I get the reference to MLK if someone uses the “I have a dream” quote but I couldn’t tell you any more about the speech than that. > > I’d say most Australians would have heard of MLK and would get the “I have a dream” quote (because the US does relentlessly export its culture, even the bits that are completely irrelevant to everywhere else) but very few could tell you more about it than that. I’m dittoing **Shakester**. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/26 "2012-04-21T09:25:12Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [If you’re interested, it’s a very short speech.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3TgkH7VGSk) Right, I don’t know it. Maybe snippets, but we don’t cover the US Civil War in school, where the focus is British and European history, and we aren’t exposed to many history programmes on TV that cover the civil war either. So I feel fairly safe in saying Brits would know the MLK speech (or at least a snippet of it) far ahead of the Gettysburg address. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/27 "2012-04-21T09:27:51Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > … I’ll be real surprised if it’s ‘am I not a woman?’, specially since it’s a guy…" When you posted that, my mind went immediately to [Elizabeth I’s famous speech](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_to_the_Troops_at_Tilbury): > [@](#): > > …I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too… …which just goes to show my British bias. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/28 "2012-04-21T09:42:51Z")
FWIW, I work in an international office, so I just did a poll in my office on which is the most famous American speech: Iranian born American (30s): MLK, I have a dream speech Irishman (30s): Gettysburg Frenchman (40): JFK, “Ask not…” Englishman (50s): JFK Berliner Speech ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/29 "2012-04-21T10:24:01Z")
“The only thing we have to fear…” “December 7th, 1941…” ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/30 "2012-04-21T10:50:19Z")
When I was at school in Australia we studied very little US history or about the US at all. I think the Revolution and the Civil War received cursory coverage but most of what I knew about the US I got from my own reading. I knew of the speech but it was too contemporaneous to be studied in school. I graduated only 7 years later. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/31 "2012-04-21T10:57:12Z")
I am aware of it. I have heard and seen parts of it. What it means to a lot of people is arguably lost on me. I do like how considerable amounts of it have, as far as I can tell, come to pass since. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/32 "2012-04-21T11:54:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > So what about it, folks? Are you familiar with the speech, and if so, how familiar, and when did you learn about it? I have a dream? Lennon did it better with _Imagine_. But the most famous American speech? IHAD isn’t even in the running for me. Kennedy’s Berlin speech and his ‘Ask not…’ speech rank very high, with the nod going to the latter. ---
**Author:** ![svrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@svrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svrider)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/33 "2012-04-21T12:13:28Z")
Danish and I know of the speech, but only vaguely, I couldn’t tell you any other words from it than the “I have a dream” part and that it is related to civil rights. I’m sure I know of it from movies and not from my education. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/34 "2012-04-21T12:25:40Z")
I definitely know, read it in full, know the image of King associated with it. I think that’s mainly because I’m interested, it’s not taught in schools or anything. I would say the majority of people in Europe (all over-ish) know there is _some_ significance to the words “I have a dream”, but I think many would not be able to say what it’s associated with, let alone name King, a time period or other parts of the speech. It’s just parodied very often on tv, or quoted in passing. It’s hard to escape the words “I have a dream” (they come with pop culture), but not so hard to escape the meaning of those words. I know the Gettysburg Address too (again, because I’m interested) but I think far less Europeans will have heard of it. They might have heard the “four score and seven years ago” part, again as a pop culture reference. I doubt most people would know its significance. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/35 "2012-04-21T12:40:30Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > It’s worth pointing out that I don’t know much more about Admiral Nelson, and I suspect I’m not alone. Admiral, first name Horatio, one of ours, beat the French, 1800s? Something about fire ships. Drake? ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/36 "2012-04-21T13:20:12Z")
The “I have a Dream” speech was not taught in my school in Nevada in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/37 "2012-04-21T16:16:39Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I’d say most Australians would have heard of MLK and would get the “I have a dream” quote (because the US does relentlessly export its culture, even the bits that are completely irrelevant to everywhere else) but very few could tell you more about it than that. Yeah, that. However, you have inspired me to [read it again.](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-mlk-ihaveadream,0,36081.story) It really is a great speech ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/38 "2012-04-21T16:21:48Z")
I think the majority of Americans know the MLK speech starts with “I have a dream” and the Gettysburg Address starts with “Four score and seven years ago”. I doubt many could recite the rest. But the common knowledge of the speeches, minimally or in detail, has little to do with their importance. ETA: I’m a USer ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/39 "2012-04-21T16:29:58Z")
I am very familiar with the speech and I don’t live in the US. I had to do an essay about MLK in highschool and that’s how I know it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440/40 "2012-04-21T16:33:56Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This may be a feature of my current position in the school system, however; it’s interesting to think of how it was taught previously, or even how it’s taught in other classrooms and systems today. Folks with elementary-aged kids, do you know how familiar your own kids are with IHAD vs. Gettysburg? I had to recite The Gettysburg Address (from memory) in second or third grade, can’t quite recall which. This would have been in the middle '80s. Because our Social Studies classes were either Ancient History (Mesopotamia, Greek, Roman, Egypt) or “American” History, starting back at the pilgrims every year, we never had time to get past the Carpetbaggers. But of course I absorbed knowledge of “I Have a Dream” through cultural osmosis and media clips. Just checked with my kids: the first grader doesn’t know either one yet. The college age kid had to memorize and recite “Gettysburg” sometime around fourth or fifth grade, he thinks, and got “I Had A Dream” every February, but as part of school wide Black History Month activities, not Social Studies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-users-how-familiar-are-you-with-this-speech/619440.md?page=3)