The full text of every presidential inaugural address, from George Washington in 1789 to the present day.
"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."
— United States Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 8
It is traditional for the President to give a speech after he is sworn in on Inauguration Day. This is called an Inaugural Address. A Vice-President who becomes President upon the death or resignation of the President does not give an Inaugural Address; hence, several American Presidents (such as John Tyler and Gerald Ford) are not on this list.
Policy goals of the new President are often presented in the Inaugural Address, and references to recent events are common: both George W. Bush and Rutherford B. Hayes referred to the disputed elections that brought them to power. The addresses run from George Washington's 135-word second inaugural, the shortest, to William Henry Harrison's 8,445-word address, the longest, delivered bareheaded in freezing rain a month before his death.