First words as president

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First words as president

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 4:03:34 PM
The presidential oath of office

Today, Donald Trump took the inaugural oath to become the 45th president of the United States.

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 4:06:03 PM
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

- Article II, Section 1, United States Constitution

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 4:13:27 PM
Like those who came before him, President-elect Trump made the vow on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building:

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 4:20:44 PM
WATCH: Dwight D. Eisenhower takes the oath of office in 1953

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 4:21:27 PM
WATCH: Donald J. Trump takes the oath of office in 2017.

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 4:27:11 PM
The inaugural address

The custom of delivering an address on Inauguration Day started when George Washington read a speech in the Senate chamber after taking his oath on April 30, 1789.

Every president since Washington has delivered an inaugural address.

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 4:44:52 PM
The first-known photograph of a presidential inauguration shows James Buchanan at the east front of the U.S. Capitol in March 1857. Library of Congress/Handout via REUTERS

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 4:45:07 PM
Abraham Lincoln delivers his second inaugural address on the east portico of the Capitol in Washington, March 1865. Library of Congress/Handout via REUTERS

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 4:45:56 PM
Past presidents’ inaugural addresses

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“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

- Abraham Lincoln, 1865

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:09:35 PM
"We have reached a higher degree of comfort and security than ever existed before in the history of the world."

- Herbert Hoover, 1929

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:10:02 PM
WATCH: Franklin D. Roosevelt's inaugural address in 1933

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 5:12:53 PM
“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself..."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:13:13 PM
"The United States and other like-minded nations find themselves directly opposed by a regime with contrary aims and a totally different concept of life."

- Harry Truman, 1949

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:14:20 PM
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country."

- John F. Kennedy, 1961

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:19:45 PM
From the Reuters archives: Kennedy's inaugural address

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:21:02 PM
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

- Ronald Reagan, 1981

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:28:46 PM
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America."

- Bill Clinton, 1993

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:32:20 PM
Ronald Reagan sits at the Oval Office desk following his inaugural parade in Washington, January 1981. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library/Handout via REUTERS

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 5:33:45 PM
George H. W. Bush waves from the presidential limousine during his inaugural parade in Washington, January 1989. Library of Congress/Handout via REUTERS

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:35:42 PM
President Clinton takes the oath of office as his daughter Chelsea and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton look on, in Washington, January 20, 1997. REUTERS/Blake Sell

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 5:36:10 PM
President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush wave as they walk during the Inaugural parade, January 20, 2001. REUTERS

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 5:36:35 PM
In the words of a witness

Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason wrote a witness piece about covering President Obama's first inauguration in January 2009.

Read the full piece here.

The day started early. Journalists gathered near the Obamas' temporary quarters at 7:15 a.m. for a security sweep and then watched as family members left the house on their way to an early service at St John's Church.
When the future president came out with his wife, he helped her into the waiting limo before walking to his side to get in.
Beneath the stained glass windows of the Episcopal church, Joel Hunter, one of the pastors who spoke, exhorted people sitting near Obama to reach out and touch his arm or shoulder as part of a physical blessing.
I bet the Secret Service loved that.

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 6:03:40 PM
WATCH: Barack Obama's inaugural address in 2009

by elizabeth.culliford via null 1/18/2017 6:19:15 PM
If you want to look back, you can read full transcripts of previous inaugural addresses here and see more archive photos here.

If you want to get up to date on President-elect Trump's inauguration, join Reuters live politics coverage here.

by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 6:21:27 PM
by elizabeth.culliford 1/18/2017 7:12:06 PM

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