Themes of Inaugural Addresses

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The Presidents

1897-1901: William McKinley

1. President McKinley was born and raised in Niles, Ohio. He served fourteen years in the House of Representatives and eight as the Governor of Ohio before becoming president. During his presidency he led the nation to victory in the Spanish-American war and raised protective tariffs to promote American industry.

1901-1909: Theodore Roosevelt

1. President Roosevelt was born and raised in New York, New York. He served in the army during the Spanish-American War. As president, he championed progressive reforms and stronger foreign policy centered on a strong navy. He was the first president to receive the Noble Peace Prize for his work in mediating the Russo-Japanese War.

1909-1913: William H. Taft

1. President Taft was born and raised in Cincinatti, Ohio. He continued the platform of progressive reforms begun by his predecessor, breaking up several large monopolies. Following his presidency, Taft served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930 and is still the only individual to hold both these positions.

1913-1921: Woodrow Wilson

1. President Wilson was born and raised in Staunton, Virginia. Prior to politics, he practiced law and was elected as the Governor of New Jersey in 1910. During his presidency, he led the Progressive Movement, entered World War I, and played an important role in the formation of the League of Nations.

1921-1923: Warren G. Harding

1. President Harding was born and raised in Blooming Grove, Ohio. Prior to politics, he worked as a newspaper editor. As president, he faced the challenge of post-war depression and embraced technological advancements. His presidency was tarnished by scandals like the infamous “Teapot Dome” that largely stemmed from a corrupt bureaucracy.

1923-1929: Calvin Coolidge

1. President Coolidge was born and raised in Plymouth, Vermont. He pursued law for a short time before transitioning into politics. He quickly grew through the ranks and became the Governor of Massachusetts. During his presidency he strengthened the American economy and shrank the regulatory rule of the federal government.

1929-1933: Herbert Hoover

1. President Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa but grew up in Oregon. Prior to politics, he worked as a mining engineer and briefly worked in China for a private corporation as China’s lead engineer. During his presidency he continued the economic policies of President Coolidge and fed war-torn Europe by providing agricultural products from the United States.

1933-1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt

1. President Roosevelt was born and raised in Hyde Park, New York. He was famously stricken with polio which left him in a wheelchair. He assumed the presidency at the height of the Great Depression and instituted his “New Deal” of economic reforms. He is the only president to have served more than two terms, having been elected four times.

1945-1953: Harry S. Truman

1. President Truman was born and raised in Lamar, Missouri. He served in the Army during World War I and was elected as a Senator following his service. As president, he ordered the dropping of two atomic bombs over Japan. He promoted the preservation of peace globally and famously instituted his “Truman Doctrine” of American foreign relations. He personally oversaw the signing of the charter of the United Nations.

1953-1961: Dwight D. Eisenhower

1. President Eisenhower was born in Texas but raised in Abilene, Kansas. He served as supreme commander of the Allied Forces for the invasion of France during World War II. As president, he ended the war in Korea and navigated Cold War tensions following Soviet development of the hydrogen bomb. Domestically, he continued New Deal programs and instituted the interstate highway system.

1961-1963: John F. Kennedy

1. President Kennedy was born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is still the youngest person ever elected president, doing so at the age of forty-three. His presidency included the disaster in the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Domestically, he called for civil rights reform and declared America’s intent to reach outer space. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 11, 1963.

1963-1969: Lyndon B. Johnson

1. President Johnson was born and raised in Stonewall, Texas and assumed the presidency following the assassination of his predecessor. He dramatically increased American military intervention in Vietnam hoping to prevent communist expansion in Southeast Asia. Domestically, Johnson called for a “Great Society” where all citizens would have basic needs cared for and signed groundbreaking civil rights legislation into law.

1969-1974: Richard M. Nixon

1. President Nixon was born and raised in Yorba Linda, California. He served as Vice President to Dwight Eisenhower and narrowly lost the 1960 election to John F. Kennedy. As president, he eased tensions with the USSR and opened diplomatic and economic relations with China. His presidency is tainted by the Watergate scandal and his administration's illegal bombing of Cambodia.

1974-1977: Gerald R. Ford

1. President Ford was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. Ford took office after Nixon’s resignation following the infamous Watergate Scandal. As president and against popular opinion, Ford granted Nixon a full pardon. President Ford limited underground nuclear testing with the Soviet Union and sought to rebuild American military power and prestige following defeat in Vietnam. Domestically, he reduced taxes and regulations on businesses and cut non-military government spending. President Ford was sworn in without giving an inaugural address.

1977-1981: James E. Carter

1. President Carter was born and raised in Plains, Georgia and served as governor of that state. His presidential campaign championed human rights and environmental improvements. As president, he created the Department of Education and increased diversity in government offices. Carter faced numerous troubles during his presidency that included inflation, rising unemployment, and the Iranian Hostage Crisis, which led to his electoral defeat after only one term.

1981-1989: Ronald Reagan

1. President Reagan was born and raised in Tampico, Illinois. Prior to his political career, Reagan was a successful Hollywood actor. As president, he instituted his “Reaganomics,” a plan for economic development based on cutting taxes and deregulating corporations. He strove for “Peace through Strength,” and increased defense spending by thirty-five percent over his time in office. Reagan was elected for his second term with the widest electoral margin in recent history.

1989-1993: George H.W. Bush

1. President Bush was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut but served in public office in Texas. He served as Ronald Reagan’s Vice President and was elected as president following Reagan’s second term. His time in office saw the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, but economic failings prevented him from being elected to a second term.

1993-2001: William J. Clinton

1. President Clinton was born and raised in Arkansas and served as governor prior to being elected president. His domestic victories included the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, low inflation, low crime rates, record home ownership, and a federal budget surplus. His presidency was tainted by scandals regarding sexual misconduct, and he was impeached for perjury in 1998.

2001-2009: George W. Bush

1. President Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut and raised in Texas. His race for president was one of the most contested elections in recent history. His presidency was marked by the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed. The latter years of his presidency saw the housing market collapse and the financial ruin that followed.

2009-2017: Barack Obama

1. President Barrack Obama was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was the first African American to hold the office of President and regulated the U.S. healthcare system, increasing affordability and access to healthcare for many Americans. His administration scored a major victory in the War on Terror, the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. His presidency also included the federal legalization of gay marriage.

2017-2021: Donald J. Trump

1. President Trump was born and raised in New York, New York. He built a career as a real estate developer and reality television star on his show The Apprentice. He was elected president with no political background on a platform of immigration security, protective tariffs, and increased military spending. In 2019, he was impeached for obstruction of justice and abuse of power but was acquitted by the Senate for both charges. The end of his presidency was marked by his supporters’ invasion of the Capitol following his claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

2021-2025: Joseph R. Biden

1. President Biden was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania but served as a Senator representing Delaware and as Vice President to Barack Obama. Prior to his inauguration, a mob claiming fraud stormed the Capitol to prevent the certification of his election. Assuming the presidency amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden rolled out trillions of dollars in healthcare funding and stimulus payments to boost a stagnant economy. President Biden faced difficulties internationally with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.