Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History

by Jeff Nussbaum

Overview

A fascinating insight into notable speeches that were never delivered, showing what could have been if history had gone down a different path

For almost every delivered speech, there exists an undelivered opposite. These "second speeches" provide alternative histories of what could have been if not for schedule changes, changes of heart, or momentous turns of events.

In Undelivered, political speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum presents the most notable speeches the public never heard, from Dwight Eisenhower’s apology for a D-Day failure to Richard Nixon’s refusal to resign the presidency, and even Hillary Clinton’s acceptance for a 2016 victory—the latter never seen until now.

Examining the content of these speeches and the context of the historic moments that almost came to be, Nussbaum considers not only what they tell us about the past but also what they can inform us about our present.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250240705
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	05/10/2022
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	151,372
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.40(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Jeff Nussbaum is a senior speechwriter for President Joe Biden. Prior to that, he was a partner at West Wing Writers, the premier strategy and speechwriting shop in Washington, D.C. He led or co-led speechwriting at the last four Democratic conventions. A graduate of Brown University, he lives outside of D.C.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Words that are Too Hot 15

1 John Lewis on the March on Washington, August 1963: Ensuring That Multiple Speeches Fit the Moment 17

2 Wamsutta Frank James on the 350th Anniversary of the Pilgrims Landing at Plymouth Rock, September 1970: The Five Elements Found in Every Persuasive Speech 39

Part 2 A Change of Mind, a Change of Heart 51

3 Emma Goldman at Her Sentencing, October 1893, and Helen Keller at the Suffrage Parade, March 1913: The Power of Speech to Move People to Action 53

4 President Richard Nixon's Refusal to Resign, August 1974: The Precarious Position of the Speechwriter 71

5 Mayor Kevin White on School Busing, December 1974: The Rhetorical Technique of Litany 87

Part 3 Crisis / Crisis Averted 105

6 Edward VIII's Refusal to Abdicate the Throne, December 1936: Writing for Public Figures About Their Private Lives 107

7 New York City Mayor Abe Beame Declares Bankruptcy, October 1975: The Risks and Rewards of Sherman Statements 127

Part 4 The Fog of War, the Path to Peace 141

8 Dwight Eisenhower's Apology for the Failure of the D-Day Invasion, June 1944: The Language of Leadership 143

9 Emperor Hirohito Apologizes for World War II, 1948: Dog Whistles, Chameleons, and Apologies 153

10 President Kennedy on the Military Operation That Destroyed the Nuclear Weapons Buildup in Cuba, October 1962: The Mysteries of Speech Authorship 173

Part 5 The People Choose 189

11 Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld's Farewell Address Following His Defeat in the 1896 Election, January 1897: The Value of a Soundbite 193

12 Hillary Clinton's 2016 Victory Speech, Why We Venerate the Ritual of Concession 205

Part 6 Events Intervene 227

13 The Remarks Condoleezza Rice Had Intended to Give on the Bush Administration's Foreign Policy September 11, 2001: The Process of Constructing a Speech 231

14 Barry Jenkins's Best Picture Remarks for Moonlight, February 2017: The Power of Story 243

15 Last Words: Pope Pius XI, JFK, FDR, Einstein, and Their Unfinished Prophecies of Peace, Various Years 255

Appendix: Selected Undelivered Speech Texts 273

Wamsutta James Remarks, to Have Been Delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, September 1970 273

Boston Mayor Kevin White's Remarks on Busing, to Have Been Delivered as Part of His State of the City Speech, December 1974 277

John F. Kennedy's Remarks Announcing Airstrikes on Cuba, to Have Been Delivered in October 1962 280

John P. Altgeld's Retiring Address as Governor of Illinois, to Have Been Delivered on January 11, 1897 285

Hillary Clinton's Election Night Remarks, to Have Been Delivered on November 8, 2016 288

John F. Kennedy's Remarks at the Dallas Trade Mart, to Have Been Delivered on November 22, 1963 294

Acknowledgments 301

Bibliography 307

Notes 337

Editorial Reviews

03/07/2022

Veteran speechwriter Nussbaum (coauthor, Intelligence Matters) examines in this intriguing account prepared speeches that, due to unforeseen circumstances, a change of mind, or outside pressure, were never delivered. Drawing on his experiences as a speechwriter for Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, Nussbaum analyzes such unheard addresses as John Lewis’s fiery draft remarks for the 1963 March on Washington, in which he planned to call on civil rights activists to “march through the South... the way Sherman did” and “burn Jim Crow to the ground.” Elsewhere, Nussbaum documents Richard Nixon’s waffling over whether to resign or make the case that “the evidence against him wasn’t as damning as it appeared”; analyzes whether an “apology” speech Japanese emperor Hirohito considered giving in the aftermath of WWII might have “raised the question of war responsibility and perhaps required to abdicate”; and notes that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was prepared to accept full responsibility if the Normandy invasion failed. Throughout, Nussbaum weaves in enlightening behind-the-scenes details about the process of speechwriting and makes a strong case for the power of speeches “to educate, inform, inspire, incite, and move people to action.” The result is a fascinating look at what might have been. (May)

Publishers Weekly

2022-03-08
Imagining the world as it might have been.

Veteran speechwriter Nussbaum highlights the contingencies of history by examining crucial speeches that, because of a change of events or a speaker’s change of mind, never were given. “Each of these speeches,” he writes, “provides a window into the fraught moments in which it was penned.” Besides offering key excerpts, and in some cases the entire speech, the author provides historical and biographical context, close readings for language and style, and speculations about how the speech might have altered the course of subsequent events. Among the undelivered speeches he identifies are John Lewis’ proposed remarks at the March on Washington, D.C., in 1963; Native American leader Wamsutta Frank James’ speech at the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing at Plymouth Rock; Helen Keller’s brief remarks at a suffrage parade in 1913, undelivered because of mob rioting; “the speech President Nixon was prepared to make refusing to resign in 1974”; Edward VIII’s equivocation about abdicating in 1939; Dwight Eisenhower’s apology in case of the failure of D-Day; Emperor Hirohito’s “shame-ridden apology for his role in starting World War II”; Condoleezza Rice’s foreign policy speech, planned for Sept. 11, 2001; and Hillary Clinton’s victory speech in 2016. Some of these texts, unearthed by Nussbaum, currently Joe Biden’s senior speechwriter, had been filed away for decades. Edward’s words, for example were rediscovered after nearly 70 years in documents released by the British Public Record Office in 2003. His plan—quashed by his ministers—“was to say that he wished to marry Mrs. Simpson, but neither of them would insist that she be queen. He would then go away to a foreign country while people made up their minds. If he were called back, he would resume his reign with Mrs. Simpson as his consort. If he weren’t, he would abdicate.” Nussbaum speculates that if Edward—sympathetic to Germany—had continued as king, the course of the war would have been dramatically different.

A fresh perspective on history.

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Undelivered by Jeff Nussbaum

"Ingenious." —The Wall Street Journal

“In Nussbaum’s able hands, this cruise through what-might-have-been offers a hell of a fun ride.” —Douglas Brinkley, The Washington Post

“Offering a compelling peek behind the curtain of the speechwriting process, Undelivered provides a real life look into histories that never were. Fascinating and immensely insightful.” —Jake Tapper, CNN anchor

“History’s ‘might-have-beens’ are often the subject of fiction or speculation. But in some cases, the tides of history came so close to turning that an alternate future wasn’t just imagined, it was drafted. Nussbaum has brought many of these chapters in our history, and the words that would have accompanied them, vividly to life.” —Nathaniel Philbrick, bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea

“With the storytelling skill of a speechwriter and the investigative skills of a historian, Nussbaum has assembled a collection that illuminates critical moments in history, and provides a tantalizing look at what might have been.” —George Stephanopoulos, ABC News anchor

“Nussbaum brings us a fascinating, harrowing, and sometimes heartbreaking look at history’s alternate possibilities. Undelivered is a gripping read that offers a window into the words and events that might have been.” —Kerry Washington

From the Publisher

Those who expect this audiobook to feature transcripts or dramatic readings of never-delivered speeches from historical figures such as JFK and Dwight Eisenhower will be surprised, but not disappointed, to find that author-narrator Jeff Nussbaum himself is the real star of this audiobook. A veteran Washington speechwriter himself, Nussbaum shares the context behind never-delivered orations prepared for a nuclear strike on Cuba, the failure of the D-Day landings, and others--some of which he unearthed through his own detective work. His narration is a master class on how political speeches are crafted, and he's such a compelling guide that listeners will find the speeches themselves--excerpts from which are narrated by voice actors in the appendix--are something of a letdown compared with Nussbaum's reflections. D.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile

Those who expect this audiobook to feature transcripts or dramatic readings of never-delivered speeches from historical figures such as JFK and Dwight Eisenhower will be surprised, but not disappointed, to find that author-narrator Jeff Nussbaum himself is the real star of this audiobook. A veteran Washington speechwriter himself, Nussbaum shares the context behind never-delivered orations prepared for a nuclear strike on Cuba, the failure of the D-Day landings, and others--some of which he unearthed through his own detective work. His narration is a master class on how political speeches are crafted, and he's such a compelling guide that listeners will find the speeches themselves--excerpts from which are narrated by voice actors in the appendix--are something of a letdown compared with Nussbaum's reflections. D.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile