Presidential Speeches

Barack Obama

On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was elected president of the United States over Senator John McCain of Arizona. Obama became the 44th president, and the first African American to be elected to that office. More on Barack Obama >>

George Bush

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (1946- ) took office as the 43rd U.S. president in 2001. The son of former president George H.W. Bush, he had previously served as governor of Texas. Bush’s tenure was largely shaped by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to which he responded with a range of domestic and global initiatives aimed at strengthening national security. He established the Department of Homeland Security, launched an international “War on Terrorism” and ordered the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush served two terms. More on George Walker Bush >>

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (1946- ), the 42nd president of the United States, was elected in 1992 after serving as governor of Arkansas. He oversaw an era of peace and prosperity, marked by low unemployment, declining crime rates and a budget surplus. In his second term, a sex scandal led to Clinton’s impeachment by the House of Representatives; the Senate later acquitted him of all charges. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has also had a career in politics, serving first in the U.S. Senate and then as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state. More on William Jefferson Clinton >>

George H. W. Bush

George Bush George Herbert Walker Bush (1924- ) served as vice-president under Ronald Reagan before his election as the 41st U.S. president in 1988. He took office amid major shifts in the world order, including the collapse of the Soviet Union, making foreign policy a central focus of his presidency. When Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in 1990, Bush helped forge a military coalition that swiftly resolved the conflict. Despite this success, Bush served only a single term, losing to Bill Clinton in the midst of a faltering economy. More on George Herbert Walker Bush >>

Ronald Reagan

Conservative and charismatic, Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was a Hollywood actor and served as governor of California before becoming the 40th U.S. president in 1981. He implemented a vast and controversial economic program that involved curbing government spending and cutting taxes in order to stimulate growth. In foreign policy, Reagan expanded the military while taking diplomatic measures to improve relations with the Soviet Union. By the end of his second term, the country had entered an era of peace and prosperity. More on Ronald Reagan >>

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter (1924- ) took office as the 39th president of the United States in 1977, promising to clean up the corruption that had plagued Washington during the Watergate years. His major achievements include brokering a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, establishing a national energy policy and expanding human and social services. High inflation, unemployment and the Iranian hostage crisis contributed to his defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980. In his post-presidency years, Carter has been active in human rights, conflict resolution and various charitable causes; his work earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. More on Jimmy Carter >>

Gerald Ford

America's 38th president, Gerald Ford (1913-2006) took office on August 9, 1974, following the resignation of President Richard Nixon (1913-1994), who left the White House in disgrace over the Watergate scandal. Ford became the first unelected president in the nation's history. A longtime Republican congressman from Michigan, Ford had been appointed vice president less than a year earlier by President Nixon. He is credited with helping to restore public confidence in government after the disillusionment of the Watergate era. More on Gerald Ford >>

Richard Nixon

Richard M. Nixon Richard Nixon (1913-94), the 37th U.S. president, is the only president ever to resign from office. Nixon stepped down in 1974 rather than face impeachment over his efforts to cover up illegal activities by members of his administration in the Watergate scandal. He served two terms as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) in the 1950s. In 1960, Nixon lost his bid for the presidency to Democrat John F. Kennedy (1917-63). He ran for the White House again in 1968 and won. As president, Nixon's achievements included forging diplomatic ties with China and the Soviet Union, and withdrawing U.S. troops from an unpopular war in Vietnam. However, Nixon's involvement in Watergate tarnished his legacy and deepened American cynicism about government. More on Richard Nixon >>

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-73) became the 36th president of the United States following the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Many of the programs he introduced--including Medicare and Head Start--made a lasting impact in the areas of health, education, urban renewal, conservation and civil rights. Despite his impressive domestic achievements, however, Johnson's legacy was equally defined by his failure to lead the nation out of the quagmire of the Vietnam War (1954-75). He declined to run for a second full term in office, and retired to his Texas ranch after leaving the White House in January 1969. More Lyndon B. Johnson >>

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was born into an Irish-American family with aspirations resembling those of the British gentry. Overcoming limitations of health and doubts about his personal ambitions, he achieved the presidency by battling simultaneously on several fronts. Kennedy coasted to the inevitable first-ballot nomination at the Democratic party's Los Angeles convention in July 1960 and then pulled off what proved to be an essential political coup by selecting Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas as his running mate. At the age of 43, Kennedy he became the youngest man to reach the White House via the electoral college. His death by assassination three years later rattled the nation. More on John F. Kennedy >>

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) served as the Supreme commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and later became chief of staff of the U.S. Army. With his “I Like Ike” slogan, he won a sweeping victory in the 1952 presidential election and was reelected four years later. As the Cold War with the Soviet Union escalated, Eisenhower pursued a strong foreign policy but also focused on domestic issues such as civil rights and improving the highway system. More on Dwight D. Eisenhower >>

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) was inspired by his fifth cousin, the former president Theodore Roosevelt, to pursue a career in politics. After serving first in the New York Senate and then as the state’s governor, he became the 32nd president of the United States in 1932 and went on to serve four terms—more than any other U.S. president in history. During his 12 years in office, Roosevelt led the nation out of the Great Depression and remained at the helm through most of World War II. Ranging from new government agencies and economic initiatives to the Lend-Lease program and the United Nations, Roosevelt’s legacy would shape life in the U.S.—and America’s place in the world—for decades to come.
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Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), America's 31st president, took office in 1929, the year the U.S. economy plummeted into the Great Depression. Although his predecessors' policies undoubtedly contributed to the crisis, which lasted over a decade, Hoover bore much of the blame in the minds of the American people. As the Depression deepened, Hoover failed to recognize the severity of the situation or leverage the power of the federal government to squarely address it. A successful mining engineer before entering politics, the Iowa-born president was widely viewed as callous and insensitive toward the suffering of millions of desperate Americans. As a result, Hoover was soundly defeated in the 1932 presidential election by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945). More on Herbert Hoover >>