Inaugural Addresses
"I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
Office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my Ability,
preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States."
In 1817, James Monroe, our fifth President, became the first to give an Inaugural Address to an assembled public crowd. Since that time, the traditional Inaugural Address has been an opportunity for the President to speak directly to the American people. George Washington said juts 135 words after his second inauguration in 1793, while William Henry Harrison gave the longest Inaugural Address ever, taking almost two hours to deliver 8,445 words.
Inaugural Addresses are
often remembered as reflecting a particular
time in history. During the Civil War,
Abraham Lincoln called on Americans to
"…finish the work we are in, to bind up the
nation’s wounds," while in 1933 Franklin
Roosevelt reached out to citizens
discouraged by the Great Depression, saying,
"This great nation will endure as it has
endured, will revive and will prosper."
President John F. Kennedy inspired a
generation of young people in 1961 when he
urged, "…ask not what your country can do
for you—ask what you can do for your
country." And in 1993, President Bill
Clinton reassured a nation in transition
after the end of the Cold War by stating,
"There is nothing wrong with America that
cannot be cured by what is right with
America."
George Washington Inaugural Address
Franlin Delano Roosevelt Inaugural Address 1937
John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address
Lyndon B. Johnson Inaugural address
Jimmy Carter Inaugural Address





