Echoes of the Presidential Past

American historian Bruce Kuklick shares his thoughts on this inaugural moment.

B. Davin Stengel

Click play to hear Professor Kuklick discuss notable inaugural addresses in American history, as well as popular comparisons between Barack Obama and his presidential predecessors.
	Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address, 1801  “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.” Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 1865  “With malice toward none, with charity for all…” John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, 1961 A New Turn in American Politics Challenging Times in 1933 vs. 2009 High Expectations Comparing Barack Obama to Franklin D. Roosevelt An Aura of Hope

As President Barack Obama commenced his inaugural address on Tuesday, the pundits and journalists who've spent recent months drawing (and debating) comparisons between Obama and past presidents were not the only ones expecting to hear invocations of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Bruce Kuklick is the Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History.

“If Obama is shrewd, you’ll hear some hints of Lincoln-esque phrases,” said history professor Bruce Kuklick in an interview conducted two weeks before the inauguration. “But you can’t do it verbatim. You’ve got to make people think, ‘Oh, that sounds like…‘ And then, before they can figure it out, you’ve moved on.”

Most inaugural addresses aren’t memorable, says Kuklick, and only time will tell if Obama’s will be “enshrined in the pantheon of terrific speeches” that includes the inaugural addresses of the abovementioned, as well as those of Thomas Jefferson and John F. Kennedy.