Thomas Jefferson's Inaugural Address Essay

Words: 665
Pages: 3

“Called upon to undertake the duties of the first executive office of our country, I avail myself of the presence of that portion of my fellow-citizens which is here assembled to express my grateful thanks for the favor with which they have been pleased to look toward me”. On March 4, 1801 Jefferson took the oath to office in hopes of bettering the United States. Immediately after that he gave his inauguration speech regarding his plane for the country. He talked about uniting the people as one and preserving the rights given to us in the Constitution. He also talks about his long term goals and opinions regarding the state of America while keeping things very positive and calm. By doing this he was able to maintain a peaceful transition of …show more content…
I believe that the speech is worthwhile and a vital part to switching presidents because it acts as an intro to the years to come. Despite the fact that the president's come from different parts of the US and have very different opinions, their inauguration speeches tend to share many of the same concepts. When they would talk about their their viewpoints in America, many of the would refer to the constitution to justify their reasoning behind them. When Jefferson said, “that the minority possess their equal rights, which law must protect...let us… unite with one heart and one mind”’ and Regan said, “‘it’s not my intention to do away with the government… Rather to make it work- work with us… Government can and must provide opportunity”. Even though the two presidents came from completely different times and had many different viewpoint, they still used the constitution to back up their reasonings. Along with creating similarities between presidents, the inaugural address also allowed a smooth transition between presidents. Next, the Inaugural Address allows a peaceful transition of power between two presidents. In all of the Inaugural Address speeches, they presents uned many of the same concepts like using the constitution to back things up, talking about future plans, while providing hope. Because of this, we are able to find similarities between two