Brief Description:

The Robert J. Dole Speeches Collection, which spans the years 1958-1996, consists of speeches, remarks, talking points, briefing materials, correspondence, photographs, invitations, newspapers and clippings, itineraries, research, and travel files from Senator Bob Dole’s career in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

All speeches listed here are available for direct download. Click "Detailed Description" to view the full inventory or search the full text of all scanned speeches here:

The majority of the collection relates to Senator Dole’s many speaking engagements over the course of his career and reveals his desire to engage with all Americans. Senator Dole’s emergence as a national political figure is documented through his speeches as a U.S. Congressman at local Kansas high school commencements to appearances on Meet the Press as a respected Senator and presidential-hopeful. This collection includes materials from speaking at conventions for national organizations and many local Republican meetings, which exemplify Senator Dole’s drive to increase awareness of the Republican platform and raise support for fellow Republicans. As a leader of the Republican Party and prominent U.S. Senator, Bob Dole often traveled the country; the collection proves he visited every state in the union and spoke in most of them.

Record Series Number: 01/019

Volume: 41.7 Linear Feet

Arrangement: The collection is arranged chronologically into thirty-six series based on Senator Dole’s years of service as the Russell County Attorney, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas’s 6th district and then Kansas’s 1st district, and United States Senator from Kansas. Objects have been removed and housed separately from text materials for preservation purposes; although removal forms still link the materials intellectually to the corresponding series.

Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research, however, some materials within the Robert J. Dole Speeches Collection are restricted because of their sensitive nature or because they contain personal or confidential information. Restricted materials are identified at the box and/or folder level within the finding aid. Questions about these materials may be directed to the Senior Archivist of the Dole Archives.

Rights/Use Restrictions: Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different kinds of materials. Some of the documents and other historical materials in the Dole Archive are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way; however, there are other materials that carry a copyright interest that must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Dole Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted materials.