Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States: From George Washington, 1789, to Donald J. Trump, 2017

President Donald Trump’s inaugural address at 1,433 words and 15 minutes was the shortest since President Carter in 1977 and second-shortest since President Kennedy in 1961. Still, it was far longer than the shortest-ever address by the first president of the United States, George Washington, in his second inaugural address on March 4, 1793, with just 135 words. On the other hand, will we remember President Trump’s address or any of his quotes as we do with President Franklin Roosevelt’s quote in 1933: 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 ; or President John Kennedy’s quote in 1961: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country?

Time will tell.

This volume, Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States, with inaugural addresses from each of the nation’s new leaders, and the subsequent inaugural words of re-elected Presidents, collects the thoughts of the first leader, President George Washington, entering office on April 30, 1789, through the forty-fifth leader, President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. Their words set the tenor for their administrations, and this firsthand document of American history is vital for understanding their work in the White House and the legacy they left for the future.