Just after 9/11, President George W. Bush sent a message of perseverance to all Americans, with a perfect pitch.

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On April 16, 1945, Harry Truman makes his first official appearance before Congress as president of the United States, after being sworn in following the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt four days earlier. In his speech, Truman pledges to bring World War II to a victorious end.

On a September 20, 1963, visit to New York that includes an address to the United Nations General Assembly on the nuclear test-ban treaty, President John F. Kennedy takes time out to express his appreciation to Americans working at the United Nations.

On August 18, 1988, George H. W. Bush received his party's nomination for president of the United States. In his acceptance speech, he calls for a "kinder, gentler nation."

President as a Symbol

After defeating incumbent President George H. W. Bush and ending 12 years of Republican leadership in the White House, President Bill Clinton emphasizes change and renewal in his inaugural address on January 20, 1993.

In a broadcast delivered from the White House by direct wire to the United Nations charter conference in San Francisco on April 25, 1945, President Harry Truman describes the challenges facing the new organization.