On March 4, 1865, when Abraham Lincoln was set to deliver his second inaugural address, it looked as if there were better days ahead. It was a foregone conclusion that the Civil War would soon be at an end and that the Confederacy would be soundly defeated. The Confederate Army was running low on able-bodied soldiers and on the supplies of war, and ( Read more... )

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first inaugural address is memorable for its famous phrase "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself". These were eagerly awaited words as the nation was gripped in the pain of the great economic depression and it looked to Roosevelt for answers to ease that pain and fix their problems. The inauguration was held on ( Read more... )

The inaugural address, especially for a brand new President, is often thought to be a road map for the coming administration, and to give the public that President's vision for the next four years. In most cases, it is a matter of "the best laid plans", but things rarely seem to turn out the way. More often the words of John Lennon apply: "Life is ( Read more... )

Yesterday, on January 20, 2021, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. took the oath of office to become the 46th President of the United States. His inaugural address was 21 minutes long, and 2,535 words long. In the speech Biden sought to present his vision on how to unite the nation, noting the problems presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic strife, ( Read more... )

The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States will take place today at noon (EST). The inaugural ceremony will take place on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and will be the 59th presidential inauguration. Biden will take the oath of office as president, and Kamala Harris will take the oath ( Read more... )

It was almost four years ago today, on January 20, 2017, at noon, that Donald John Trump was sworn into office by Chief Justice John Roberts and became the 45th President of the United States. He took the oath, with his hand on his childhood Bible and the historic Lincoln Bible. At 1,433 words, the inaugural address delivered by President Donald ( Read more... )

Andrew Jackson came to the Presidency as a man of the people. He also entered the office a bitter man, convinced that he deserved to win the Presidency four years earlier, but that it had been stolen from him because of a "corrupt bargain" between John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay which made Adams the president and Clay the Secretary of State. He ( Read more... )

The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States remains a remarkable historic event. It was the first time that an African-American became President and it set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C. Its combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, made it the most- ( Read more... )

John F. Kennedy's inaugural address is memorable for many reasons. It was the first delivered to a televised audience in color. Kennedy was inaugurated on Friday, January 20, 1961 at the eastern portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The speech Kennedy gave is considered among the best presidential inaugural speeches. The address ( Read more... )

Probably no President had ever been as well-received into office as General Dwight Eisenhower. Prior to the 1952 election, both parties had head-hunted him as their candidate. Harry Truman had even offered to give up the top spot on the Democratic ticket to Ike. Eisenhower had never held political office before and much like another popular General ( Read more... )