Many of the U.S. presidents' inaugural addresses have provided windows into the presidency and the state of the nation. The voices of sixteen presidents are preserved in this collection of great inaugural addresses—from George Washington's somber comments in 1789 and Abraham Lincoln's noteworthy addresses attempting to bind the nation together, to John F. Kennedy's stirring "Ask not what your country can do for you" and Ronald Reagan's 1981 speech stating his political mission.

Compelling, powerful and often inspiring, these seminal remarks also include the words of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Richard Nixon.

Ideal for political studies, this valuable reference will appeal to everyone interested in American history.