What happens
This episode of American History Through The Eyes Of Radio presents a speech titled Equal Rights, delivered by Calvin Coolidge on the Fourth of July in 1920. The speaker reflects on the Declaration of Independence signed in 1776, which declared that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He describes the document as the beginning of a government that recognized the power, worth, and dignity of man, and he argues that democracy builds up rather than tears down. He calls on citizens to protect the rights of all people and to keep the spirit of liberty alive. The transcript covers only the early part of the address and ends with a closing tribute to America.
A Fourth of July address in 1920, centered on the Declaration of Independence and the principles of American democracy.
Characters: Calvin Coolidge
Listen for: The speaker's argument that democracy is a building up, not a tearing down, and that the rights of citizens must be protected by the full power of the state.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.