What do you think?
Rate this book
The Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents: Revised and Updated
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." These words from John F. Kennedy's immortal inaugural address may be read in full context in this up-to-date collection of the inaugural speeches of every president of the United States from George Washington to George W. Bush. Reprinted in their entirety, the 54 speeches are accompanied by line drawings and profiles and background on each of the 43 presidents who gave them. Inspiring, moving, and even surprising, these rich pieces of oratory are a compelling way to track the history of our great nation.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published May 20, 1997
4 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Read
September 26, 2014Reading through the speeches of the presidents is an interesting way of seeing the story of America. All of our Presidents were conscious that their words would be around for a while, and this creates greater unity in the content of the speeches and also the narrative of the country. What usually comes across is the unflagging optimism of religious zeal to create a better, freer, world. That's about the best way I could put it in one sentence, I think.
It wasn't exactly a joyride to read straight through this thing, but to the stouthearted it gives a quite fascinating pattern of ups and downs in the different issues that concerned the nation. For instance, the first mention of slavery, only an allusion to it really, comes in support of it (basically) by Martin Van Buren. From the standpoint of retrospect you can easily see how pretty much every president up to Lincoln tried pretty hard to appease the Southern interest. Besides being the first inaugural to deprecate slavery, Lincoln's 2nd was also one of the most somber and least optimistic, and rightly so.
It also interested me how different references to God or religion in different periods reflected the times they were spoken in. The Founders and their followers - again, up until Lincoln - usually referred to "that Divine Being" or "divine Providence", typical of their understanding of themselves as Enlightenment men and God as watchmaker. Lincoln refers to God out right as "Almighty God", something which many after him repeated. It is only during Ronald Reagan that the benediction, "God bless you, and..." became tradition, and that has been followed since then except for Clinton's 2nd. There were other great moments, where Eisenhower even prays to God before speaking to the people or when Lincoln draws heavily from the Bible, but in general it seems that the rhetoric says that America has continued to become MORE religious. Again, just from the standpoint of their rhetoric is this the case (Any bolder claim is above my paygrade. Debt grade is maybe more accurate).
As far as the illumination of the speeches is concerned, it seems like we have been dumbing-down our speeches over time, mostly for reasons of clarity, I would assume. No longer are we graced with references to Roman history (thank you, J.Q. Adams & William Henry Harrison), but rather, old high school teachers (no thank you, Carter). Even then, however, the Presidents after the Founders were terribly wordy without actually saying much (From Tyler to Buchanan seems to blend together). Then again, there is the rare gem that inspires you and makes you want to punch a mountain lion in the face (Teddy Roosevelt). And also, the simplicity of the folksy style of many Presidents actually allowed their speeches to be clear as well as lofty (I'm looking at you FDR, H.W. Bush).
I guess the only way to end this review is comment on Obama's 2nd, which happened a few days ago. To it I give an emphatic, "...meh." A time or two I really thought Obama was gonna go somewhere, especially when he referenced Dr. King, but there were no great climaxes. All in all, in comparison to his forebears, his speech seemed overly concerned with the issues of the day and not particularly lofty or passionate or sweet-and-folksy (and he used the word "revamp", which horrified me. It really did). Did he even reference the rest of the world at all? He DID quote from the right places and drop the right words here and there but it seemed pretty rote. I also realized that along with most Presidents since the Vietnam War, he seemed to be saying that the American people were great but it's government was, well, not so great. This stands in great contrast to much of our history, in which our government structure was praised all day long. (I'm not meaning to single Obama out, I just forgot to mention it until now.) These days, it's hard to get excited about Congress. Maybe they should make more references to the Roman Republic. You know, I heard they switched to an Emperor and it worked really great for them. It's time for a change, America.
It wasn't exactly a joyride to read straight through this thing, but to the stouthearted it gives a quite fascinating pattern of ups and downs in the different issues that concerned the nation. For instance, the first mention of slavery, only an allusion to it really, comes in support of it (basically) by Martin Van Buren. From the standpoint of retrospect you can easily see how pretty much every president up to Lincoln tried pretty hard to appease the Southern interest. Besides being the first inaugural to deprecate slavery, Lincoln's 2nd was also one of the most somber and least optimistic, and rightly so.
It also interested me how different references to God or religion in different periods reflected the times they were spoken in. The Founders and their followers - again, up until Lincoln - usually referred to "that Divine Being" or "divine Providence", typical of their understanding of themselves as Enlightenment men and God as watchmaker. Lincoln refers to God out right as "Almighty God", something which many after him repeated. It is only during Ronald Reagan that the benediction, "God bless you, and..." became tradition, and that has been followed since then except for Clinton's 2nd. There were other great moments, where Eisenhower even prays to God before speaking to the people or when Lincoln draws heavily from the Bible, but in general it seems that the rhetoric says that America has continued to become MORE religious. Again, just from the standpoint of their rhetoric is this the case (Any bolder claim is above my paygrade. Debt grade is maybe more accurate).
As far as the illumination of the speeches is concerned, it seems like we have been dumbing-down our speeches over time, mostly for reasons of clarity, I would assume. No longer are we graced with references to Roman history (thank you, J.Q. Adams & William Henry Harrison), but rather, old high school teachers (no thank you, Carter). Even then, however, the Presidents after the Founders were terribly wordy without actually saying much (From Tyler to Buchanan seems to blend together). Then again, there is the rare gem that inspires you and makes you want to punch a mountain lion in the face (Teddy Roosevelt). And also, the simplicity of the folksy style of many Presidents actually allowed their speeches to be clear as well as lofty (I'm looking at you FDR, H.W. Bush).
I guess the only way to end this review is comment on Obama's 2nd, which happened a few days ago. To it I give an emphatic, "...meh." A time or two I really thought Obama was gonna go somewhere, especially when he referenced Dr. King, but there were no great climaxes. All in all, in comparison to his forebears, his speech seemed overly concerned with the issues of the day and not particularly lofty or passionate or sweet-and-folksy (and he used the word "revamp", which horrified me. It really did). Did he even reference the rest of the world at all? He DID quote from the right places and drop the right words here and there but it seemed pretty rote. I also realized that along with most Presidents since the Vietnam War, he seemed to be saying that the American people were great but it's government was, well, not so great. This stands in great contrast to much of our history, in which our government structure was praised all day long. (I'm not meaning to single Obama out, I just forgot to mention it until now.) These days, it's hard to get excited about Congress. Maybe they should make more references to the Roman Republic. You know, I heard they switched to an Emperor and it worked really great for them. It's time for a change, America.
June 21, 2018
Joseph, Central patron, June 2018, 5 stars:
Inaugural Addresses is an excellent way for us to see how American Presidents George Washington to George Bush started out their terms in office. Sometimes, it is important to see our leaders' first words, instead of merely focusing on their final acts and everything in-between. Each leader offered a gem, which I enjoyed learning, and every other reader will find their own gems too!
Inaugural Addresses is an excellent way for us to see how American Presidents George Washington to George Bush started out their terms in office. Sometimes, it is important to see our leaders' first words, instead of merely focusing on their final acts and everything in-between. Each leader offered a gem, which I enjoyed learning, and every other reader will find their own gems too!
August 11, 2020
Surprisingly good speech:
Thomas Jefferson 1st inaugural
William Henry Harrison died
James Garfield killed
Benjamin Harrison
Great speeches:
Abraham Lincoln 1st and 2nd inaugural. killed
Franklin D Roosevelt 1st inaugural died
John F Kennedy Killed
Of the 7 presidents listed, five died in office
Thomas Jefferson 1st inaugural
William Henry Harrison died
James Garfield killed
Benjamin Harrison
Great speeches:
Abraham Lincoln 1st and 2nd inaugural. killed
Franklin D Roosevelt 1st inaugural died
John F Kennedy Killed
Of the 7 presidents listed, five died in office
November 7, 2025
“Much has been given us, and much will rightfully be expected from us. We have duties to others and duties to ourselves, and we can shirk neither.” Theodore Roosevelt 🗣️🔥🗣️🔥
March 30, 2013
If you want perspective on the addresses of our current president's and why they mean little with regard to policy read this book. Compare the inauguration address to what happened the next four years for any president and you'll understand why the pundit class blows nothing but hot air when debating the meaning of inauguration addresses.
May 2, 2013
Yes I'm this much of a nerd! This book is awesomw
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews