Signs of the Time
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An inaugural address reflects the era in which it's delivered. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt explained in his third inaugural address on January 20, 1941 , every president faces a different challenge: "On each national day of inauguration since 1789, the people have renewed their sense of dedication to the United States. In Washington's day the task of the people was to create and weld together a nation. In Lincoln's day the task of the people was to preserve that Nation from disruption from within. In this day the task of the people is to save that Nation and its institutions from disruption from without." |
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The discussion of communism in inaugural addresses from the mid- to late-twentieth century offers one example of how ideas and platforms can change over time. In the wake of World War II, Harry Truman’s 1949 inaugural address defined communism as: "[A] false philosophy which purports to offer freedom, security, and greater opportunity to mankind. Misled by this philosophy, many peoples have sacrificed their liberties only to learn to their sorrow that deceit and mockery, poverty and tyranny, are their reward." |
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Dwight Eisenhower responded to the changing events in Eastern Europe in the 1950s. His 1957 inaugural address targeted “International Communism” as he proclaimed: "Budapest is no longer merely the name of a city; henceforth it is a new and shining symbol of man's yearning to be free." While John F. Kennedy didn't directly mention communism in his 1961 inaugural address, it was his apparent topic when he said:
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 John F. Kennedy shakes hands with Father Richard J. Casey |
| "Finally, to those
nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge
but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before
the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity
in planned or accidental self-destruction."
Today, national and global changes are swift and often dramatic. Recalling what our place in history has been may help us rediscover, as a nation, who we are and what we may be. Is it time to pause and take stock? As a nation, where are we? What are appropriate national goals for our time? |
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