Synopses & Reviews
Although the first proper Notre Dame commencement--conferring degrees on two candidates--took place in 1848, General William Tecumseh Sherman was Notre Dame's first graduation speaker with a truly national reputation. He attended Notre Dame's ceremony in 1865, just months after accepting the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnson's Confederate army. Sherman, whose sons had been students at Notre Dame, came less to give an address than to utter words of thanks for the kindness shown to his family, who had found refuge in the area during the war. When prevailed upon to speak, he offered some extemporaneous remarks, calling on Notre Dame graduates and students to "be ready at all times to perform bravely the battle of life."
Go Forth and Do Good: Memorable Notre Dame Commencement Addresses brings together twenty-four notable graduation speeches, ranging from the words General Sherman delivered in 1865 to President George W. Bush's remarks in 2001. Also included in this fine collection is a letter sent to 1986 graduates by Mother Teresa and Father Theodore M. Hesburgh's final charge to the graduating class of 1987. Wilson D. Miscamble, C.S.C., provides a delightful introduction that clarifies the importance of the selected speeches and places them in the context of the history of both Notre Dame and the world.
Review
"Anyone concerned about education, history, culture, politics, human and individual rights, moral values, government, peace, or life and living will find here both challenges and guidance." -- Catholic Library World
Review
"The speeches given at University of Notre Dame commencements . . . offer a glimpse of the changing concerns and status of Catholics in America, as well as of Notre Dame's prominent place in American Catholic life." -- Indiana Magazine of History
Synopsis
Go Forth and Do Good: Memorable Notre Dame Commencement Addresses brings together twenty-four notable graduation speeches, ranging from the words General Sherman delivered in 1865 to President George W. Bush's remarks in 2001. Also included in this fine collection is a letter sent to 1986 graduates by Mother Teresa and Father Theodore M. Hesburgh's final charge to the graduating class of 1987. Wilson D. Miscamble, C.S.C. provides a delightful introduction that clarifies the importance of the selected speeches, and places them in the context of the history of both Notre Dame and the world. A brief biographical introduction and photograph of the speaker precede each address.
About the Author
Wilson D. Miscamble, C.S.C., is professor of history and former rector and superior of Moreau Seminary at the University of Notre Dame.
Table of Contents
Perform bravely the battle of life (1865) / William Tecumseh Sherman -- The Catholic citizen and the state (1876) / William J. Onahan -- Growth and duty (1886) / John Lancaster Spalding -- The dignity of labor (1893) / Robert Seton -- Some thoughts for American Catholics (1904) / Charles J. Bonaparte -- Education's grandest work (1917) / Joseph Chartrand -- Science, civilization, and the individual (1929) / William J. Donovan -- Conscience, patriotism, and freedom of speech (1941) / Joseph P. Kennedy -- The American question (1952) / Charles H. Malik -- The Atomic Energy Commission and the university (1959) / John A. McCone -- Beyond the campus (1960) / Dwight D. Eisenhower -- The Peace Corps and higher edution (1961) / Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. -- American power and reponsibility (1965) / McGeorge Bundy -- The educated person on trial (1967) / Eugene McCarthy -- Politics as the art of the impossible (1969) / Daniel Patrick Moynihan -- Foreign policy and human rights (1977) / Jimmy Carter -- Great years ahead for our country (1981) / Ronald Reagan -- The challenge of peace (1983) / Joseph Bernardin -- The struggle for democracy (1985) / Jose Napoleon Duarte -- Let God and history take you (1988) / Andrew Young -- The role of the educated person (1995) / Condoleezza Rice -- Religion and a democratic society (1996) / Mary Ann Glendon -- World poverty and our common humanity (2000) / Kofi A. Annan -- A caring society (2001) / George W. Bush -- Letter to the graduating class of 1986 / Mother Teresa of Calcutta -- Charge to the class of 1987 / Theodore M. Hesburgh.