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Thomas Jefferson's Inaugural Address

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Thomas Jefferson is considered a gifted and accomplished writer. He is credited as being the author of “The Declaration of Independence,” which is considered by many to be the most important document in American history. (Foner 153) It comes as no surprise that Jefferson’s first inaugural address lives up to his legacy as a well-written, thoughtful speech. Jefferson’s inaugural address is an important primary document in United States history because it exemplified a peaceful turnover of power with a conciliatory tone towards the opposition. (Foner 236) In his first inaugural address, he was seeking to unite a divided country behind him as their elected President as well as to encourage public’s belief in a strong republic government based …show more content…

It was a basis for legitimizing his election and his call for unity. He wrote in his address “All too will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful, must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal laws must protect, and to violate would be oppression.” (Jefferson) Jefferson was masterful in his words of consolation and complementary in his call for unity and peace. Jefferson persisted in his theme of unity with these words “Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind.” (Jefferson) He continues to call for solidarity and reminds the people of their common heritage with these words “having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled…” (Jefferson) His speech reached a crescendo with these famous words “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.” (Jefferson) Jefferson endeavored to reach across party lines to give credence to his opponents as well as his supporters. Jefferson was passionate about his beliefs about government; he …show more content…

To further complicate matters both Thomas Jefferson and the Vice Presidential candidate Aaron Burr both received the same number of votes, as per the Constitution this unique situation caused the election to be decided in the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives was very divided, and after “thirty-five ballots, neither man received a majority of the votes.” (Foner 233) Alexander Hamilton intervened on behalf of Jefferson, as he believed him the better candidate and less likely to dismantle his financial program. This fact tipped the balance in the House of Representatives and Jefferson was awarded the Presidency. (Foner

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Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address Thomas Jefferson ran against Aaron Burr, in the 1800 Presidential Election. They tied with 73 electoral votes, and The House of Representatives was the group who had to make the final decision on who would be best to lead their country. In the end, Jefferson came out on top with Burr as his Vice President. During Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, he states that we need to create a better form of government, separate ourselves from other countries, and unite as a country. Jefferson had his own idea of how the American government should function.

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In his Second Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the topic of the Civil War and argued that the nation needed to change. He supported his claim with parallel structure to highlight the differences between the North and South, then mentioning biblical references to express the importance of religion, and finally the diction he used helped join the citizens together. President Lincoln’s purpose was to express the similarities between the North and South in order to unify the country once again. He uses a critical, yet hopeful tone towards the Americans of both the North and South. Just one month before the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln gave his Second Inaugural Address in the hopes of reuniting the country once

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During this section of the speech, Roosevelt connected himself with God and ended his speech with a prayer for America and its people. Conclusion Thought I was captivated by the opening statements of the speech. In such a critical time of hardship, Roosevelt appealed to the America people and captured the audience by explaining the importance of confidence.

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Thomas Jefferson's tone in his speech "Thomas Jefferson Inaugural Address is positive and optimistic. Thomas Jefferson delivers this Inaugural Address after he has won the presidency against Aaron Burr. Thomas Jefferson’s speech is intended for all American citizens and members of Congress. In his Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson began to speak about all the problems of the way the government operates. He believes that all the parties should come together to reach a common goal and believed that by changing the government, it will better the nations.

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When a president enters office, he often comes with a long list of demands and changes he plans on making for the nation that the man before him did not accomplish. The changes each president has made assisted the forever-growing nation, in hope of benefiting all of the population living within it. Thomas Jefferson, is no different when it comes to wanting to aid the United States, in fact he dedicated most of his life to fighting for what he believed in. Jefferson earned the nickname “The Apostle of Democracy” due to him introducing democracy to the nation (Inside Gov). During the early years of America, there were various different forms of the American Republic especially in between Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson.

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George Washington, being the first president, felt that in order to maintain structure in the government after he was no longer in charge, had to leave a letter to his country’s citizens. Washington began his address by giving thanks and appreciation to everyone for giving him the opportunity to lead their country and explaining his reasoning for declining another term. Along with these reasons, he pointed out some of the flaws of his presidency, admitting to the public that he was not a perfect American leader and that he is not a stencil into which all other presidents should be carved out of. While he stated that he was not impeccable, Washington did continue on in his address to offer some advice to the future of America. Washington

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Abraham Lincoln’s address to the American people can be applied in today’s current political climate. Sometimes, the country being one whole nation is more important than our own personal beliefs on current political issues. Even today, President Abraham Lincoln’s message of unity in his Second Inaugural Address rings

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Washington’s Farewell Address indicated his exit off the political stage but also it gave the people of America his principles and views including the importance of national unity, political tolerance, and exercising neutrality in foreign affairs. One of Washington’s primary goals of the address the underlying theme was the preservation of the union. Washington firmly believed that it was paramount to keep the things which established this union sacred especially in the Constitution (Washington’s Farewell Address, n.d.). For the preservation of the Union, he warned the people against sectionalism or restricting the interest of the nation (Washington’s Farewell Address, n.d.). Doing this will consequently destroy the virtue of what is America.

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Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the U.S.A, was an advocate for democracy, equality, and a minimalist government. In 1800 he was elected president, he did many great things for America,

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George Washington and Barack Obama had different views about how America would be like. On April 30, 1789 George Washington gave his inaugural speech and oathed to be the first president of the united states. On January 30, 2009 Barack Obama gave his inaugural speech. During George Washington speech senator William Maclay of pennsylvania remarked that George Washington looked agitated and embarrassed. During Obama's speech he looked confident and he acknowledge the crowd very well.

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Thomas Jefferson desired a democracy where governmental decisions would not be affected by religious beliefs and biased views of the situation. Thomas Jefferson viewed separation of church and state here is some of his insight on the topic, “...legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, ' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties” (Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists). Jefferson became the sole author for the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which became the the most important religious separationist papers of the 1700’s. Jefferson’s ideas and writings for separation of church and state helped to form the American Enlightenment period, and to further his ideals based upon his

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In 1796, President George Washington delivered one of the most famous and the very first Presidential farewell address from Congress Hall in Philadelphia. In his farewell address, President Washington advised American citizens to view themselves as a cohesive unit and avoid political parties and issued a special warning to be wary of attachments and entanglements with other nations. (ourdocuments.gov) Washington feared that local factors might be the source of some differences that would destroy the nation. His defense of national unity lay not only in abstract ideals, but also in the pragmatic reality. (U.S.history.org)

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Intro Growing up, we have all heard the many stories of George Washington. While many recognize him as one of the most important figures in U.S history, others only recognize him by one of his multiple accomplishments; he was the 1st president of the United States. With presidency comes the variety of duties and responsibilities, the main being a president 's inaugural adress. In George Washington 's very 1st inaugural, he uses three rhetorical strategies: personification, amplification, and last but not least, repitition to convey what he truly wants for the States and why a successful Constitution should be in order.

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Letting the reader know the purpose behind “The Declaration of Independence” and the reason it was made. He then follows this with a description of why the colonies need to break away from Great Britain and start to rely on God. It starts to become clear to the reader that the colonist need to gain their own rights and find happiness. That is one thing that Thomas Jefferson was giving to the people a chance of prosperity and hope. Because for so long they were beaten down and oppressed.

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In his inaugural speech given on January 20, 2001, George W. Bush address the country for the first time after being sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States. Millions of people from around the world tuned in to watch the president give his address. The people who voted for and against him are both wanting to hear what the president has to say. George W. Bush gives an effective inaugural address by using biblical allusions, collaborative language, and an anaphora in order to unite the country after a contentious election. Bush used biblical allusions to appeal mostly to the evangelicals who were listening to his speech.

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