Theodore Roosevelt Speaks! 1912 "The Right of the People to Rule Themselves" in AI

[@margaretthomas8899]

very well introduced, and done!

[@stanner68]

Very nice Bob. 1st viewing was for enjoyment and now I'll do a re-run for educational purposes. Kevin

[@jimdrake-writer]

Because T.R. died in January 1919, no sound-film footage exists of him delivering a speech. This is as close as we can come to seeing AND hearing the legendary Rough Rider in his prime. The recording puts to rest the lore that his voice was high-pitched. As presidential historians have pointed out, in the era before electrical amplification, tenor speaking voices carried better than lower-pitched voices. The "second Roosevelt," FDR, had a baritonal speaking voice and defeated, among others, Thomas E. Dewey, a baritone who often sang at his own rallies.

[@RobertFells]

I was initially disappointed with some Victor discs of TR that were indeed high-pitched, annoyingly so. I knew that Victor often recorded at 75 rpm but processed the record at 78 rpm, thus creating a high-pitched result. But TR also recorded for Edison who steadfastly used 80 rpm. I confirmed that playback was at 80 and TR's voice was what you hear now in this post.