Commentary: Inaugural address can tell a lot about a president

The inaugural address of a president gives an insight into the personality of the president, of his awareness of the solemn responsibility of the office, a view of the issues that he faces and a strategy for future directions.

George Washington’s trip from Mount Vernon to the new nation’s temporary capital in New York City took eight days. As he passed through the colonial villages and towns, cheering crowds of adoring citizens came out to greet him.

After he took the oath of office on April 30, 1789, he humbly acknowledged his new role as the leader of this new nation in his inaugural address.

He fervently “appealed to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe ... that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States....,” according to the National Archives. He gave homage to “the Great Author of every public and private good ... to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men.”

Andrew Jackson’s inaugural address was given in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 1929. In his speech he hailed the “common man.”

“Government,” he said, “is administered for the good of the people and is regulated by their will ... securing the rights of the person and their property.”

He emphasized, according to Yale Law School, the importance that “a million armed freemen possessed of the means of war, can never be conquered by a foreign foe ….”

He concluded with “a recognition of a firm reliance on the goodness of that power whose providence mercifully protected our national infancy.”

Jackson then invited the enthusiastic crowd of some 20,000 people to the White House! The celebration turned into a mob causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to the White House. Jackson finally escaped by climbing out a back window of the building!

After the intense election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln entered Washington on a secret train because of the many threats of assassination he faced.

The Capitol building was still under construction on that cold March 4 day in 1861 when Lincoln gave his inaugural address. The southern states were already in the process of seceding, but Lincoln reassured them that “there had never been any reasonable cause” to think that their “property, peace or personal security are to be endangered.”

Then he warned the southern states that, if they did decide to withdraw from the Union, they would face a continual fracturing of their own new confederation when disagreements could not be resolved among themselves. In conclusion, “We are not enemies, but friends,” he assured his fellow countrymen.

Probably the most memorable words of an inaugural address were uttered by John F. Kennedy on Jan. 29, 1961:

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

JFK passionately reiterated the call for the “survival and the success of liberty” and the desire for peace with all nations ... remembering that “civility is not a sign of weakness.”

Ronald Reagan spoke from the West Front of the Capitol on Jan. 20, 1981. It was the first time a president spoke facing the broad expanse of the Washington Mall.

In his speech, Reagan reminded Americans of the miracle of the orderly transfer of authority under the Constitution. The nation was afflicted with a bad economy, high taxes and high public spending. A big federal government was smothering opportunity instead of encouraging productivity.

“If no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?” he asked, according to UC Santa Barbara.

He also saw America as a nation of free people who provide an example of freedom and a beacon of hope for those oppressed peoples around the world.

“Together, with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.”

Presidents have expressed many thoughts in their inaugural addresses to the nation. Most have expressed gratitude for the many blessings that God has bestowed upon American people, and they expressed hope that peace and prosperity would prevail during their years in office.

They also reminded the nation that the best of what is American should be protected for future generations. They also expressed the desire to promote peace around the world with strength through preparedness.

SHERRY NORD MARRON is a former adjunct professor at Orange Coast College and the University of Connecticut.