First Inaugural Address
First Inaugural Address 1
Ronald Reagan
Breaking with historical precedent, Reagan's first inauguration was held on the Capitol's West Front, allowing him to refer in his speech to the presidential memorials and to Arlington National Cemetery in the distance. The first post-New Deal president to challenge the principles of the New Deal, Reagan presents his opposition in terms of reviving the idea of consent of the governed.
January 20, 1981
Senator Hatfield, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President, Vice President Bush, Vice President Mondale, Senator Baker, Speaker O'Neill, Reverend Moomaw, and My Fellow Citizens:
To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion; and yet, in the history of our nation ...