Date: 01/05/85
PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL ADDRESSES
by
FRANCIS J. GORMAN
On Monday, January 21, President Reagan will deliver the 50th Inaugural Address in the
history of the United States. Reports from the Inaugural Committee indicate that the festivities
surrounding the inauguration will highlight the youthful voters who turned out in surprising
numbers for the oldest elected President. There is a possibility of an Air Force flyover during the
inauguration ceremonies, the first time since the inauguration of Harry Truman in 1949.
In his first inaugural address in 198l, President Reagan stated his goals of economic
recovery, reduction in the size of government, and restoration of national pride and confidence.
The President has presided over an economic recovery and the sense of national pride and
confidence seems high. He may not feel satisfied, however, about his goal to reduce the size of
government. Indeed, these, words from his 1981 address could be repeated in his 1985 address:
“ . . .we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and
our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present.
To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social,
cultural, political and economic upheavals.”
It will be interesting to see if his second inaugural address reveals any changes or
refinements in his goals. The Inaugural address is uniquely suited for the President's assessment
of the nation situation and his own principles against the backdrop of history.

This article is based on a speech given to the Wednesday Law Club in Baltimore.
In modern times, presidential inaugural addresses have taken a back seat to more frequent
and specific presidential communications, such as televised press conferences, radio and
television speeches, and the annual State of the Union address. Nevertheless, the Inaugural
Address is the oldest regular presidential communication. It is addressed to the members of
Congress, to the American people, and to the World at large. An historical review of he content
of presidential inaugural addresses is a parade of American history, as well as a revelation about
the policies and personalities of our Presidents.
The Inaugural Address is not required by the Constitution or by any statute. It is a
custom that was established by George Washington in 1789 when, after the oath had been
administered on the balcony of Federal Hall overlooking Wall Street in New York, Washington
returned inside to the Senate Chamber and delivered an address to the combined Houses of
Congress.
Subsequent Presidents have noted that custom is the origin of the inaugural address.
Martin Van Buren began his 1937 inaugural address as follows:
The practice of all my predecessors imposes on me an obligation I
cheerfully fulfilled – to accompany the first and solemn act of my
public trust with an avowel of the principles that will guide me in
performing it and an expression of my feelings on assuming a
charge so responsible and vast.
The custom of the inaugural address contrasts with the requirement for a state of the union
address. Under Section 3 of Article II of the Constitution, the President “shall from time to time
give to the Congress information of the State of the Union.”
Thirty-four Presidents have given inaugural addresses. Five have not had the opportunity
and privilege to do so. Each President has taken the oath of office prescribed by Article 2,
Section 1 of the Constitution:
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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 recent history, the Inaugural Address has been given after the oath of office was administered
to the President, but this has not always been the case. Washington's first inaugural address was
delivered after the oath was administered. His second inaugural address was given before he
took the oath, as was the case with John Adams and both of Jefferson's inaugural addresses.
Throughout much of the 1800's, the order vacillated between giving the address before and after
the oath. Since McKinley’s first inaugural address in 1897, the Presidents have consistently
given their inaugural address after taking the oath of office.
A judicial officer has always administered the oath office to the President. Chief Justice
Marshall delivered the oath more times than any other person, having delivered the oath nine (9)
different times to five (5) different Presidents. Chief Justice Taney of Maryland administered the
oath to more Presidents than any other person. He delivered the oath seven (7) different times to
seven (7) different men – Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Polk, Taylor, Pierce, Buchanan,
and Lincoln. As for more recent Chief Justices, Earl Warren delivered the oath four (4) times
(Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon) and Warren Berger four (4) times (Nixon, Ford,
Carter and Reagan). On January 21, 1985, Chief Justice Berger should administer the oath a
fifth time.
Administering the oath to the President always follows the administration of the oath of
office to the Vice President. The vice presidential oath is administered by the President of the
Senate, who is either the outgoing Vice President or the President pro tempore of the Senate.
Most inaugural addresses have been in the 2000-word range, but there have been some
notable exceptions.
There were 8445 words in William Henry Harrison’s 1841 Inaugural
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Address. The shortest inaugural address was Washington’s second which consisted of only 135
words. In recent times the Democratic presidents have been briefer than their Republican
counterparts. Kennedy, Johnson and Carter each delivered inaugural addresses of less than 1,500
words. Both of Eisenhower’s addresses exceeded 2,400 words, Nixon’s two were 2,130 words
and 1,668 words respectively, and Reagan’s first inaugural address was 2,463. Whether the
record deficits will cause Reagan to be more conservative or more lavish with his words remains
to be seen.
Every inaugural address since Jefferson’s first in 1801 has been given in Washington,
D.C. The only other cities that can claim an inaugural address are New York (Washington’s first
in 1789) and Philadelphia (Washington’s second in 1793 and Adams’ in 1797).
The traditional date for the presidential inauguration was March 4. The reason seems to
be that the Continental Congress, as its last act, decreed that its successor (the First Congress of
the United States under the new Constitution) should convene in New York City on March 4,
1789 to receive the results of the electoral college vote. Things did not go as planned because on
March 4, 1789, a quorum was not present in New York. It was not until April 6 that enough
congressmen were on .hand to permit the Congress to receive the vote of the electoral college.
Consequently it was not until April 30, 1789, that George Washington was inaugurated.
Inaugurations continued to be scheduled for March 4. The exceptions were when March
4 fell on a Sunday. The first such situation was in 1821 when Monroe was scheduled to be
inaugurated for his second term. Because March 4 was a Sunday, Chief Justice Marshall advised
that the inauguration should be held on Monday, March 5. Since Monroe had been elected to a
4-year term which under the constitution expired at noon on Sunday, March 4, 1821, the nation
was technically without an elected President for a day. Fortunately, in 1792 Congress had
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foreseen such a possibility and passed a bill which gave the powers of the presidency to the
President pro tempore of the Senate. On March. 4-5, 1821, the president pro tempore of the
Senate was: Senator John Gaillard of South Carolina, the only man to hold the powers of the
President for a day.
The date of the inauguration was changed to January 20 by the 20th Amendment to the
Constitution, ratified on February 6, 1933. As a result President Roosevelt's inauguration in
1935 was he last inauguration to take place on March 4. Since that time the inauguration has
taken place on January 20, except when that date falls on Sunday, as in 1985. Chief .Justice
Marshall's advice is still followed as this year’s inauguration will be on Monday. January 21,
1985. There will be no President-for-a--day as in 1821 because the 20th Amendment also
decrees that the term of office begins at noon on January 20 without reference to when the oath is
administered. Modern events have provided an additional reason not to hold the inauguration
this year on Sunday, January 20 – it’s Super Bowl Sunday!
Reading the inaugural addresses back-to-back is a walk through American history. Many
interesting themes run through the presidential inaugural addresses. I have selected for comment
only a few of the major themes of interest.
God. He has been referred to (by one expression or another) by every President. God is
referred to in every Inaugural Address except Washington's second address in 1793. Lincoln in
his second inaugural address of only 698 words made 13 references to God.
The Constitution. The most constant theme in the inaugural addresses is the Constitution
of the United States. It is especially noticeable in the address during the early years of our
Republic. Not surprisingly, Lincoln's first inaugural address contains the most references to the
Constitution. This address was delivered when the nation was facing the most serious challenge
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to government under the Constitution. A few Presidents did not refer to the Constitution (Teddy
Roosevelt, Wilson, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Carter).
Indians were a recurring theme up to the end of the 1ast century. Monroe was the first
President to mention Indians in an inaugural address. In 1817 he said:
With the Indian tribes it is our duty to cultivate friendly relations
and to act with kindness and liberality in all our transactions.
Equally proper is it to persevere in our efforts to extend to them the
advantages of civilization.
The last president to refer to the Indians was Cleveland in his first inaugural address in 1885.
The theme was the same:
The conscience of the people demands that the Indians within our
boundaries shall be fairly and honestly treated as wards of the
Government and their education and civilization promoted with a
view to their ultimate citizenship.
Financial themes in the inaugural addresses are economy in Government, repayment of
the national debt, and tax reform. One example, perhaps applicable to today’s voters and
taxpayers, is a remark by Cleveland in 1893 that the people who elected him voted favor of a
more just and equitable system o federal taxation.”
There are some discernible foreign policy themes in the inaugural addresses. I was able
to detect five. First, an awareness of the relationship to the world community, whether it be one
of non-entanglement during our early years, isolation in 1920’s, or world leadership in the postWorld War II era. A second theme is promotion and participation in commerce and trade with
foreign nations. Third, our Presidents have been aware that government under our Constitution
is an experiment in democracy and. self-government and an example to the entire world.
President Reagan noted in 1981 that “in the eyes of many in the world, this every four year
ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.” Fourth is the theme of peace – a
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delicate, yet constant, theme that will face even stronger tests in the years ahead. Fifth, there is
the recognition that the United States would be (and now is) a world leader. As early as 1821
Monroe said that we "comprise within our limits the dimensions and faculties of a great power
under a Government possessing all the energies of any government ever known to the Old
World. . . .”
There are particular references in the inaugural addresses which would be of interest to
all of us. References to battles, foreign countries, rivers, mountains, etc. all provide interesting
grist for the mill of a history buff. Several categories that struck me as interesting were prophets,
the press, “confederacy,” the decision to make war and nuclear war.
Only two prophets have been mentioned, Kennedy in 1961 quoted Isaiah ("Undue the
heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free”), and in 1977 Carter quoted Micah ("He hath
showed the man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”)
There has been criticism of the press in inaugural addresses, but not by Nixon. Jefferson
in his second inaugural address stated:
During this course of the administration, order to disturb it, the
artillery of the press has been level against us, charged with
whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. . . . They might,
indeed, have been corrected by the wholesome punishments
reserved to and provided by the laws of the several states against
falsehood and defamation, but public duties more urgent press on
the time of public servants, and the offenders have therefore been
left to find their punishment in the public indignation.
Hurt feelings have also surfaced. Grant was offended by the abuse he had suffered in his
public life. In his second inaugural address in 1873 he complained that throughout the Civil War
and during his candidacies for office he was "the subject of abuse and slander scarcely ever equal
in political history."
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The existence and preservation of the Union is, of course, a major theme of the inaugural
addresses through Lincoln’s presidency. Prior to the Civil War many Presidents referred to the
Union as the “confederacy.” Jackson, Van Buren, Pierce, and Buchanan did so. With the start of
the Civil War, however, “confederacy” was no longer used to refer to the Union.
There are many references to slavery. The only anti-slavery reference in an inaugural
address prior to Lincoln is a statement by John Quincy Adams in 1825. He referred to progress
in the “effectual suppression of the African traffic in slaves” as one of Monroe’s
accomplishments. Most Presidents prior to Lincoln made clear their intent not to interfere with
slavery and stated their opposition to any attempt by others to interfere with the existence of
slavery. Indeed, even Lincoln in his first inaugural address in 1861 disavowed any intention to
interfere with slavery where it existed:
“I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the
institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have
no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."
Van Buren's description in 1837 of how the Unit d States enters war sounds ironic to
those who witnessed our involvement in Vietnam. He asserted that our democracy insured we
would not enter wars that were not supported by the popular will. After alluding to the comfort
foreign nations might take in the delays inherent in the democratic process, he stated:
"[T]hey overlook the far more important consideration that with us
war could never be the result of individual or irresponsible will,
but must be a measure of redress for injuries sustained, voluntarily
resorted to by those who were to bear the necessary sacrifice, who
would consequently feel an individual interest in the contest, and
whose energy would be commensurate with the difficulties to be
encountered."
Our Vietnam experience shows that undeclared war, can be the result of decisions by a relatively
few.
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The first President to refer to nuclear was Truman. Since then Eisenhower and Kennedy
made explicit references to the threat of nuclear war. In their inaugural addresses . Today the
world races the prospects of Soviet and American weapons in space ("star wars" defense, antisatellite, etc.) unless arms control agreements can he reached, a likely topic for President
Reagan’s second inaugural address.
A popular trend today is to rate things as the 10 best or 10 worst. No such rating of
inaugural addresses is possible.
Yet, there are several inaugural addresses which convey
particularly strong qualities that distinguish them. I have decided upon the most important, the
most pretentious, the most visionary for the times, the most persuasive, the most idealistic, the
most daring and dramatic, and the most stirring.
The most important inaugural address was Washington’s first. It was humble and modest
speech, even though the members of congress had considered addressing Washington as “His
Highness” or “His Serene Highness” or “His Excellency.” If there ever was a President who
might have become something like a king in this country, it was Washington. But his inaugural
address disavowed any such lofty ambitions:
“[T]he magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of
my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and
most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his
qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one
who (inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpractice in
the duties of civil administration) ought to be peculiarly conscience
of his own deficiency.”
It was an eloquent address, balanced in its advice and desire to moderate between the extreme
positions of the Hamilton federalists and the Jefferson anti-federalists. By 1789 there was
already a debate about changing the Constitution. Washington’s quiet, modest, yet strong
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leadership (reflected in his inaugural address) brought important stability to the new experiment
in democracy.
The most pretentious of the inaugural addresses has to be the one delivered by William
Henry Harrison in 1841. It was the longest (8,445 words) and it took one hour and forty-five
minutes to deliver. Harrison delivered it on a cold, wet, and blustery day without a top coat, and
as a result, be became sick and died one month later. The speech purports to set the United
States in the full context of history, ancient and modern. There are references to the Roman
Rupublic, Athens, the Helvetic Confederacy, Gaul, Egypt, Octavious, Anthony, Brutus, Caesar,
Cromwell, Bolivar, and others. There are discussions of the veto power, states rights, patronage,
the need for an independent treasury, the press, metal or paper currency, and political parties.
There are 34 references to the Constitution. A most thorough and pretentious address indeed.
The most visionary for its time was Polk’s inaugural address in 1845. To those who
would dissolve the Union, he asked if they expected to find among the ruins of this Union “a
happier abode for a swarming millions than they now have?” “Our Federal Union – it must be
preserved.” He then laid out his vision for expansion and strength of the United States. In the
early years of the nation, the opinion prevailed that the government of the United States could
not operate successfully over an extended territory. Polk declared “that our system may be
safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial limits, and that as it shall be extended, the
bonds of our union, so far from being weakened, will become stronger.” He asserted “the right
of the United States to that portion of our territory which lies beyond the Rocky Mountains.” He
said:
“The world beholds the peaceful triumphs of the industry of our
immigrants. To us belongs the duty of protecting them adequately
wherever they may be upon our soil. The jurisdiction of our laws
and the benefits of our republican institutions should be extended
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over them in the distant regions which they have selected for their
homes.
Under Polk’s vision, the westward moving population would be promoted and followed by the
expansion of American democracy.
The most persuasive inaugural address was Lincoln’s first. The setting in March of 1861
was somber. Seven southern states had succeeded from the Union, and Jefferson Davis had been
inaugurated president of the Confederacy. The disruption of the federal Union was being
“formidably attempted.” In lawyer-like arguments, he established his view that the Union was
perpetual under universal law and the Constitution:
“Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of
all national governments. It is safe to assert that no government
proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own
termination. Continue to execute all the expressed provisions of
our national Constitution and the Union will endure forever.”
Then Lincoln examined whether any of the individual states had a right to leave the
Union. Using contract law, he argued that although one party to a contract may violate it, that
does not give the right to rescind it:
“If the United States be not a government proper, but an
association of states in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a
contract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who
made it? One party to a contract may violate it – break it so to
speak – but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it?”
Perpetuity of the Union was older than the Constitution itself. Union first was achieved
under the Articles of Association in 1774, continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776,
and further matured by the Articles of Confederation in 1778. Lincoln pointed out that one of
the declared objects who are establishing the constitution was “to form a more perfect union.”
Lincoln concluded:
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It follows from these views that no state upon its own mere motion
can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to
that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any
state or states against the authority of the United States are
insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances.
*
*
*
"Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove our
respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall
between them. A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of
the presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the different
parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to
face, and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue
between them."
Finally, Lincoln advised the succeeding states that the momentous decision of civil war is
in their hands. There would be no conflict without the succeeding states being the aggressor:
“You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government,
while I shall have the most solemn one to “preserve, protect and
defend it.”
Clearly, Lincoln was a persuasive writer. His second inaugural address, delivered in
1865 when the war was almost over, is typically simple, thoughtful and eloquent:
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in
the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish
the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him
who shall have born the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to
do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace
among ourselves and with all nations.”
Woodrow Wilson was a man of ideals, and this was reflected in his first inaugural
address. The nation had just completed 50 years of business and industrial growth. But Wilson
had another vision:
At last a vision has been vouchsafed us as of our life as a whole.
We see the bad with the good, the debased and the decadent with
the sound and vital. With this vision, we approach new affairs.
Our duty is to cleanse, to reconsider, to restore, to correct the evil
without impairing the good, to purify and humanize every process
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of our common life without weakening or sentimentalizing it.
There has been something crude and heartless and unfeeling in our
haste to succeed and be great. . . We have not forgotten our morals.
We remembered well enough that we had set up a policy which
was meant to serve the humblest as well as the most powerful, with
an eye single to the standards of justice and fair play and
remembered it with pride. But we were very heedless and in a
hurry to be great.
His idealism comes through in his concluding paragraphs:
“This is not a day of triumph; it is a day of dedication. Here
muster, not the forces of party, but the forces of humanity. Men’s
hearts wait upon us; men’s lives hang in the balance; men’s hopes
call upon us to say what we will do. Who shall live up to the great
trust? Who dares fail to try? I summon all honest men, all
patriotic, all forward-looking men to my side. God helping me I
will not fail them, if they will but counsel and sustain me.”
Ironically, this idealistic man found himself drawn into a bloody world war in Europe.
His post-war ideals as embodied in the League of Nations went unfulfilled when the United
States refused to join.
Do men make the times? Or do times make the man? An interesting question when
considering the daring and dramatic inaugural address given by Franklin Roosevelt on March 4,
1933. Those who are 60 years of age or older remember well the despair and paralysis caused by
the Depression. Against this background, a hopeful nation looked to its new President. His
opening words captured their hopes:
I am certain that my .fellow Americans expect that on my
induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and
a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels ...So,
first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have
to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror
which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
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Roosevelt recognized the need for action. "This nation asks for action and action now.”
The most pressing challenge was the unemployment, and Roosevelt proposed using the
government to cut back unemployment:
"Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no
unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can
be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the government
itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war,
but at the same time through this employment, accomplishing
greatly need projects to .stimulate and reorganize the use of our
natural resources."
He boldly assumed leadership of the nation:
With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of
this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon
our common problems.”
Although willing to work with Congress, Roosevelt implied that a Congressional failure
to act would not stand in his way:
But in the event that Congress shall fail to take one of these two
courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still
critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then
confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining
instrument to meet the crisis -- broad executive power to wage a
war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be
given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.
Roosevelt relied on the people as his fundamental source of power. He was not shy or
hesitant in assuming leadership. He simply took it:
The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they
have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action.
They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership.
They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the
spirit of the gift, I take it."
I confess my bias in labeling Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961 as the most stirring.
This address moved generation to involvement, to commitment, and to an idealism eventually
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frustrated by the hard realities of racial prejudice, the Vietnam war, and inflation. Nevertheless it
is as stirring to read today as it was 24 years ago:
"We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first
revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to
friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new
generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war,
disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient
heritage --- and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of
those human rights to which this nation has always been
committed, and to which we are committed today at home and
around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we
shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support
any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the
success of liberty."
After referring to the spread of the “deadly atom" and "mankind's final war" Kennedy
urged:
"So let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is
not a sign of weakness and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let
us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."
Kennedy’s welcome of the responsibilities of world leadership is comparable to
Roosevelt's unhesitating assumption leadership during the Depression.
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been
granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum
danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do
not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other
people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion
which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who
serve it -- and the glow from the fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do
for you ask what you can do for your country."
Nearly three years after Kennedy’s stirring call for the best from each of us, the nation
was stirred again. But this time it was the shock and confusion of his assassination. The
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generation inspired by Kennedy is still seeking to rebuild the sense of destiny and duty dislodged
by his assassination.
So we await the 50th Inaugural Address. It will take its place in history with Ronald
Reagan. It will also tell us and future generations where we think we are and what principles we
chose to guide us.
© 1985 Francis J. Gorman.
Bibliography and Credits'
Kitthen, Glenn D. Hail to the Chief, Chilton Books, 1965.
Chelsea House Publishers, The Chief Executive, Crown Publishers, New York, 1965
Durbin, Louise, Inaugrual Cavalcade, Dodd, Mead Co., New York, 1971
Litt, Davis Newton, The Presidents Speak, 1961.
Kane, Joseph Nathan, Facts About the Presidents, Fourth Edition, H.W. Wilson Co., New York,
1981
© 1985 Francis J. Gorman.
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