From Washington to Trump: America’s most iconic inaugural addresses

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to deliver his second inaugural address on Monday, Jan. 20, Straight Arrow News looked back at some of the most memorable, and quotable, of these presidential speeches. Some speeches are known for their famous lines, while others have significance for their place in history.

President George Washington

The first inaugural address was delivered by President George Washington on April 30, 1789. Washington stood on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City.

“No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States,” Washington said. “Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”

Now, almost 236 years later, Trump will deliver the 60th presidential inauguration address in U.S. history when he becomes the 47th president. While many other presidents have given more than one inaugural address, he will be only the second president to do so in non-consecutive terms.

The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.

President Donald Trump

President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland, the 22^nd and 24^th president, delivered his first speech in 1885.

“This impressive ceremony adds little to the solemn sense of responsibility with which I contemplate the duty I owe to all the people of the land,” Cleveland said.

Like Trump, he would give another speech eight years later.

While Cleveland’s speeches may not be quoted often these days, all presidents hope their words can withstand the test of time.

President Abraham Lincoln

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.

President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln gave his first speech in 1861 following the succession of seven states from the Union. His speech was also just weeks before the start of the Civil War.

“We are not enemies, but friends,” Lincoln told the entire nation. “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered the first of his four inaugural speeches, addressing a country amid the Great Depression.

“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper,” Roosevelt said. “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

President Harry S. Truman

In 1949, just a few years after the end of World War II, Harry S. Truman delivered his inaugural address. It was the first to be televised.

“The American people desire, and are determined to work for, a world in which all nations and all peoples are free to govern themselves as they see fit, and to achieve a decent and satisfying life,” Truman said. “Above all else, our people desire, and are determined to work for, peace on earth, a just and lasting peace, based on genuine agreement freely arrived at by equals.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Four years before signing the Civil Rights Act of 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said these words during his first inauguration speech: “Conceiving the defense of freedom, like freedom itself, to be one and indivisible, we hold all continents and peoples in equal regard and honor. We reject any insinuation that one race or another, one people or another, is in any sense inferior or expendable.”

President John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy’s 1961 address featured lines often topping the list of presidential quotes.

“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. This much we pledge, and more,” Kennedy said. “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

President Ronald Reagan

In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.

President Ronald Reagan

In Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address in 1981, he took time to appreciate the moment in U.S. history.

“To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our Nation, it is a commonplace occurrence,” Reagan said. “The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.”

He then gave one of his most famous lines.

“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” Reagan said.

President Bill Clinton

In 1993, the importance of America’s democracy was part of Bill Clinton’s first inaugural address.

“Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal,” Clinton said. “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”

President George W. Bush

As America entered the war on terror, the fight for freedom was a theme in George. W Bush’s second inaugural speech in 2005.

“We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands,” Bush said. “The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.”

President Barack Obama

…all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

President Barack Obama

In his first inaugural address in 2009, Barack Obama called for an end to petty grievances in politics.

“We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things,” Obama said. “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

President Donald Trump

In his first address in 2017, Donald Trump told the American people that change was on the horizon.

“We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action – constantly complaining but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action,” Trump said. “Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.”

President Joe Biden

In 2021, amid a global pandemic, President Joe Biden upon his inauguration spoke about bringing unity to the country.

“For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury, no progress, only exhausting outrage; no nation, only a state of chaos,” Biden said. “This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge and unity is the path forward. And we must meet this moment as the United States of America.”

As Donald Trump gets set to deliver his second inaugural address, this time inside because of the bitter temperatures in Washington, D.C., it is interesting to look back at George Washington’s second speech. After giving the first inaugural speech of 1,431 words, Washington had a much more concise address four years later. It was only 135 words, the shortest in history, and lasted less than two minutes.