Their first words: What incoming presidents say on Inauguration Day
Through the years, certain subjects have been touchstones of the inaugural address. Some incoming presidents have focused on overarching themes such as the Founding Fathers and the role of democracy. Others concentrate on the issues of the day — crime, terror or the economy. Here’s a look at what new commanders-in-chief in the past 84 years told the American people when they first assumed the highest office of the land.
Unity
Presidents often use the inaugural address to pivot from campaigning to governing. Richard M. Nixon, who was elected during the Vietnam War and a period of civil unrest, emphasized this theme several times in his 1969 speech, including when he said: “To go forward at all is to go forward together.”
Jimmy Carter also emphasized a theme of unity and cooperation in his 1977 speech.
“You have given me a great responsibility — to stay close to you, to be worthy of you, and to exemplify what you are. Let us create together a new national spirit of unity and trust. Your strength can compensate for my weakness, and your wisdom can help to minimize my mistakes.”
Division
Many incoming presidents have addressed the need to overcome divisions. Nixon, for example, said: “The simple things are the ones most needed today if we are to surmount what divides us, and cement what unites us.”
In contrast, Donald J. Trump emphasized the gulf between Washington and the rest of the country.
“Politicians prospered, but the jobs left, and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.”
Freedom
Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the country during the advent of the Cold War, used their speeches to emphasize the idea of democratic ideals worldwide. After World War II, America’s leaders focused on fighting the spread of communism. This included the decision to involve American troops in the Korean War.
Here’s an excerpt from Eisenhower in 1953:
“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.”
Trump moved away from that international role in his speech:
“We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital and every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward it’s going to be only America First. America First.”
Crime and drugs
References to crime and drug use have been tied to the times. By the late 1980s drugs such as crack cocaine had captured the national attention, illustrated by references in George H.W. Bush’s 1989 inaugural speech:
“There are those who cannot free themselves of enslavement to whatever addiction — drugs, welfare, the demoralization that rules the slums. There is crime to be conquered, the rough crime of the streets.”
Bill Clinton, another president who continued the “war on drugs,” also spoke of the issue in his 1993 speech. Trump, addressing rising insecurity despite dropping crime rates, had this to say:
“...and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”
The Constitution and the Founding Fathers
Of the presidents elected since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Trump and Harry Truman are the only presidents who did not reference the Founding Fathers, the Constitution or other founding documents of the country at their inauguration. Truman’s 1949 speech, a takedown of communism, more generally embraced Democratic ideas.
This quote from Bill Clinton in 1993 highlights America’s beginnings:
“When our Founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change; not change for change's sake but change to preserve America's ideals: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.”
War and terror
For presidents who entered office during times of war or conflict, the threats were palpable.
Barack Obama in his first inaugural speech in 2009 said:
“And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
The economy
As the engine of growth and prosperity, the economy is one of the most frequently referenced topics in an inaugural speech. Ronald Reagan famously emphasized the economy repeatedly during his address in 1981:
“In the days ahead I will propose removing the roadblocks that have slowed our economy and reduced productivity.”
Sources: The American Presidency Project, Times analysis
Note: This graphic does not include President Gerald Ford, as he was not elected and never gave an inaugural speech.