It was one of the most significant branching points in recent history – and at least one artefact of the way things might have been still exists.

On Wednesday the Today show in the US released a video of Hillary Clinton reading the speech she would have given if she had beaten Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Clinton, who is giving a course in “the power of resilience” with the online education company Masterclass, teared up as she read aloud from her speech. She said reading it entailed “facing one of my most public defeats head-on”.

To those who viewed the election of Trump as an epoch-defining catastrophe, the excerpt was an agonising glimpse of an alternative future. Clinton said: “Fundamentally, this election challenged us to decide what it means to be an American in the 21st century. And by reaching for unity, decency and what President Lincoln called ‘the better angels of our nature’, we met that challenge.”

She reflected on the significance of what her election as the first female US president would have meant. “I’ve met women who were born before women had the right to vote. They’ve been waiting a hundred years for tonight. I’ve met little boys and girls who didn’t understand why a woman has never been president before. Now they know, and the world knows, that in America every boy and every girl can grow up to be whatever they dream – even president of the United States.”

Clinton grew emotional as she read a passage about her mother, who died in 2011. She said: “I dream of going up to her, and sitting down next to her, taking her into my arms and saying: ‘Look at me. Listen to me. You will survive. You will have a good family of your own. And three children. And as hard as it might be to imagine, your daughter will grow up and become the president of the United States.”

Clinton’s speech, which she said she had never previously read aloud, enters a canon of speeches never given – for reasons that were variously a relief, a disappointment or a matter of ongoing political dispute. Here are some other examples of the genre.

‘Whatever terrors lie in wait for us all’: Queen Elizabeth II’s speech for the outbreak of nuclear war, 1983

Written by civil servants during one of the most tense periods of the cold war, and released in 2013 under the 30-year rule.

“The horrors of war could not have seemed more remote as my family and I shared our Christmas joy with the growing family of the Commonwealth. Now, this madness of war is once more spreading through the world and our brave country must again prepare itself to survive against great odds …

“I have never forgotten the sorrow and the pride I felt as my sister and I huddled around the nursery wireless set listening to my father’s [George VI’s] inspiring words on that fateful day in 1939 [at the start of the second world war]. Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me.

“But whatever terrors lie in wait for us all, the qualities that have helped to keep our freedom intact twice already during this sad century will once more be our strength … As we strive together to fight off this new evil, let us pray for our country and men of goodwill wherever they may be. God bless you all.”

‘Epic men of flesh and blood’: Richard Nixon’s ‘in event of moon disaster’ speech, 1969

Written by the speechwriter William Safire in case the crew of Apollo 11 were marooned on the surface of the moon, and unearthed in the Nixon archive in 1999. The document directs Nixon to telephone “the widows-to-be” before making the speech and suggests that a clergyman should “adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to ‘the deepest of the deep’”.

“Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice …

“In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

“Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.”

‘A nation reborn’: Alex Salmond’s speech for a yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum, 2014

Released by the former SNP leader to a university for research in 2015.

“In the early hours of this morning, Scotland voted yes. We are a nation reborn. The community of this realm has spoken. Scotland shall be independent once again. To those who voted no, I extend an immediate hand of friendship …

“To our friends and families across these isles waking to our new democracy, we say this: know that, in Scotland, you will always have your closest friend, greatest ally and most steadfast partner …

“This morning, I want every person – yes voters, no voters, everyone in this proud and ancient nation – to pause, reflect upon and remember this greatest day in Scotland’s history.

“We did this. We made it happen. We believed. We trusted ourselves and trusted each other. A country reborn. A democracy reclaimed. We reach towards the future.”

‘We are not waiting to lose before we get our act together’: David Miliband’s speech for the Labour leadership election, 2010

Obtained by the Guardian in 2011. Miliband is said to have recited the text to his wife in the back of the car on their drive home from party conference, where his brother Ed had prevailed.

“My parents devoted themselves to building a family on unconditional love and support. It was a warm household in which we were encouraged to think for ourselves; to argue; to make up our own minds. Haven’t I learned that in the last few months? …

“Only four Labour leaders have ever been elected prime minister. Out of 14. Reflect on that. Many good men … lots of hard work … but only four have led us to victory …

“This leadership election, the new members, the new councillors, shows something is stirring. Something inspiring. We are not waiting to lose three times before we get our act together.”

‘He’s no longer Alaska’s “first dude”’: Sarah Palin’s victory speech, 2008

Written by the Republican vice-presidential candidate’s speechwriter Matthew Scully, and leaked in 2009. Palin also prepared a concession speech for the event of defeat but was stopped from delivering it by the presidential candidate John McCain’s team.

“It’s been just 68 days since that afternoon in Dayton, Ohio, when Senator McCain introduced me as his running mate. He is truly the maverick. He took a chance on me. I will always be grateful for that.

“It will be the honour of a lifetime to work him as vice-president of the United States. And I pledge to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear conviction, and a servant’s heart …

“It’s been quite a journey these past 69 days. We were ready, in defeat, to return to a place and a life we love. And I said to my husband, Todd, that it’s not a step down when he’s no longer Alaska’s ‘first dude’. He will now be the first guy ever to become the ‘second dude’.”

‘Our landings have failed’: Dwight Eisenhower’s D-day defeat speech, 1944

Handwritten by the Supreme Allied Commander the night before the Normandy invasion and then put in his wallet. Now in the Eisenhower Library.

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops.

“My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available.

“The troops, the air and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.”