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Inaugural
Quotes
Every President
from Washington to Bush has prayed, invoked prayer or otherwise
asked God for His continued blessing on the United States during
their Inaugural Address. Here are all 43 Presidents:
"No people
can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which
conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."
G. Washington, April 30, 1789
"And
may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the
Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world
of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and
its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent
with the ends of His providence." John Adams, March 4,
1797
"I shall
need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who
led our forefathers, as Israel of old, from their native land,
and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries
and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with his providence,
and our riper years with his wisdom and power; and to whose goodness
I ask you to join with me in supplications, that he will so enlighten
the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper
their measures, that whatsoever they do, shall result in your
good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation
of all nations." Thomas Jefferson, March 4, 1805
"…next
to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship
and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the
destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously
dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to
address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent
supplications and best hopes for the future." James Madison,
March 4, 1809
"I enter
on the trust to which I have been called by the suffrages of my
fellow-citizens with my fervent prayers to the Almighty that He
will be graciously pleased to continue to us that protection which
He has already so conspicuously displayed in our favor."
James Monroe, March 4, 1817
"…and
knowing that "except the Lord keep the city the watchman
waketh but in vain," with fervent supplications for His favor,
to His overruling providence I commit with humble but fearless
confidence my own fate and the future destinies of my country."
John Quincy Adams, March 4, 1825
"And
a firm reliance on the goodness of that Power whose providence
mercifully protected our national infancy, and has since upheld
our liberties in various vicissitudes, encourages me to offer
up my ardent supplications that He will continue to make our beloved
country the object of His divine care and gracious benediction."
Andrew Jackson, March 4, 1829
"Beyond
that I only look to the gracious protection of the Divine Being
whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently
pray to look down upon us all. May it be among the dispensations
of His providence to bless our beloved country with honors and
with length of days. May her ways be ways of pleasantness and
all her paths be peace!" Martin Van Buren, March 4, 1837
"I deem
the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn to justify
me in expressing to my fellow-citizens a profound reverence for
the Christian religion and a thorough conviction that sound morals,
religious liberty, and a just sense of religious responsibility
are essentially connected with all true and lasting happiness;
and to that good Being who has blessed us by the gifts of civil
and religious freedom, who watched over and prospered the labors
of our fathers and has hitherto preserved to us institutions far
exceeding in excellence those of any other people, let us unite
in fervently commending every interest of our beloved country
in all future time." William Henry Harrison, March 4,
1831
"…I
enter upon the discharge of the high duties which have been assigned
me by the people, again humbly supplicating that Divine Being
who has watched over and protected our beloved country from its
infancy to the present hour to continue His gracious benedictions
upon us, that we may continue to be a prosperous and happy people."
James Polk, March 4, 1845
"In conclusion
I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the high state of
prosperity to which the goodness of Divine Providence has conducted
our common country. Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting
care which has led us from small beginnings to the eminence we
this day occupy, and let us seek to deserve that continuance by
prudence and moderation in our councils, by well-directed attempts
to assuage the bitterness which too often marks unavoidable differences
of opinion, by the promulgation and practice of just and liberal
principles, and by an enlarged patriotism, which shall acknowledge
no limits but those of our own widespread Republic." Zachary
Taylor, March 5, 1849
"It must
be felt that there is no national security but in the nation's
humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence."
Franklin Pierce, March 4, 1853
"In entering
upon this great office I must humbly invoke the God of our fathers
for wisdom and firmness to execute its high and responsible duties
in such a manner as to restore harmony and ancient friendship
among the people of the several States and to preserve our free
institutions throughout many generations." James Buchanan,
March 4, 1857
"Yet,
if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the
bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall
be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall
be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand
years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord
are true and righteous altogether.'" Abraham Lincoln,
March 4, 1865
"In conclusion
I ask patient forbearance one toward another throughout the land,
and a determined effort on the part of every citizen to do his
share toward cementing a happy union; and I ask the prayers of
the nation to Almighty God in behalf of this consummation."
Ulysses Grant, March 4, 1869
"Looking
for the guidance of that Divine Hand by which the destinies of
nations and individuals are shaped, I call upon you, Senators,
Representatives, judges, fellow-citizens, here and everywhere,
to unite with me in an earnest effort to secure to our country
the blessings, not only of material prosperity, but of justice,
peace, and union--a union depending not upon the constraint of
force, but upon the loving devotion of a free people; 'and that
all things may be so ordered and settled upon the best and surest
foundations that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion
and piety, may be established among us for all generations."
Rutherford B. Hayes, March 5, 1877
"…and,
above all, upon our efforts to promote the welfare of this great
people and their Government I reverently invoke the support and
blessings of Almighty God." James Garfield, March 4, 1881
"And
let us not trust to human effort alone, but humbly acknowledging
the power and goodness of Almighty God, who presides over the
destiny of nations, and who has at all times been revealed in
our country's history, let us invoke His aid and His blessings
upon our labors." Grover Cleveland, March 4, 1885
"Entering
thus solemnly into covenant with each other, we may reverently
invoke and confidently expect the favor and help of Almighty God--that
He will give to me wisdom, strength, and fidelity, and to our
people a spirit of fraternity and a love of righteousness and
peace." Benjamin Harrison, March 4, 1889
"Above
all, I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of
men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American
people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and
reverently seek His powerful aid." Grover Cleveland, March
4, 1893
"Our
faith teaches that there is no safer reliance than upon the God
of our fathers, who has so singularly favored the American people
in every national trial, and who will not forsake us so long as
we obey His commandments and walk humbly in His footsteps."
William McKinley, March 4, 1897
"My fellow-citizens,
no people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and
this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own
strength, but with gratitude to the Giver of Good who has blessed
us with the conditions which have enabled us to achieve so large
a measure of we ll-being and of happiness." Theodore Roosevelt,
March 4, 1905.
I invoke the
considerate sympathy and support of my fellow-citizens and the
aid of the Almighty God in the discharge of my responsible duties."
William Howard Taft, March 4, 1909
"I pray
Go d I may be given the wisdom and the prudence to do my duty
in the true spirit of this great people." Woodrow Wilson,
March 5, 1917
"I have
taken the solemn oath of office on that passage of Holy Writ wherein
it is asked: 'What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?' This I plight
to God and country." Warren G. Harding, March 4, 1921
"The
legions which she sends forth are armed, not with the sword, but
with the cross. The higher state to which she seeks the allegiance
of all mankind is not of human, but of divine origin. She cherishes
no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God." Calvin
Coolidge, March 4, 1925
"I ask
the help of Almighty God in this service to my country to which
you have called me." Herbert Hoover, March 4, 1929
"We can
gain it only if we proceed with the understanding, the confidence,
and the courage which flow from conviction. The Almighty God has
blessed our land in many ways. He has given our people stout hearts
and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom
and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has become
the hope of all peoples in an anguished world. So we pray to Him
now for the vision to see our way clearly--to see the way that
leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men--to
the achievement of His will to peace on earth." Franklin
Roosevelt, January 20, 1945
"It is
fitting, therefore, that we take this occasion to proclaim to
the world the essential principles of the faith by which we live,
and to declare our aims to all peoples. The American people stand
firm in the faith which has inspired this Nation from the beginning.
We believe that all men have a right to equal justice under law
and equal opportunity to share in the common good. We believe
that all men have the right to freedom of thought and expression.
We believe that all men are created equal because they are created
in the image of God. From this faith we will not be moved."
Harry S. Truman, January 20, 1949
"My friends,
before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem appropriate
to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of uttering
a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your
heads: Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future
associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching
that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service
of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.
Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong,
and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and
by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern
shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling.
May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who,
under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political
faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country
and Thy glory. Amen." Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jan 20, 1953
"With
a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final
judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love,
asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth
God's work must truly be our own." John F. Kennedy, Jan
20, 1961
"If we
fail now, we shall have forgotten in abundance what we learned
in hardship: that democracy rests on faith, that freedom asks
more than it gives, and that the judgment of God is harshest on
those who are most favored." Lyndon Johnson, January 20,
1964
"Let
us go forward from here confident in hope, strong in our faith
in one another, sustained by our faith in God who created us,
and striving always to serve His purpose." Richard M.
Nixon, January 20, 1973.
"Here
before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first President,
in 1789, and I have just taken the oath of office on the Bible
my mother gave me a few years ago, opened to a timeless admonition
from the ancient prophet Micah: 'He hath showed thee, O man, what
is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.' (Micah 6:
8)," Jimmy Carter, January 20, 1977
"I am
told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held
on this day, and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation
under God, and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would
be fitting and good, I think, if on each Inauguration Day in future
years it should be declared a day of prayer." Ronald Regan,
January 20, 1981
"And
my first act as President is a prayer. I ask you to bow your heads:
Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love.
Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared
faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do
Your work, willing to heed and hear Your will, and write on our
hearts these words: "Use power to help people." For
we are given power not to advance our own purposes, nor to make
a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use
of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord.
Amen" George Bush, January 20, 1989
"May
God strengthen our hands for the good work ahead, and always,
always bless our America." William Clinton, January 20,
1997
"We are
not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with His
purpose. Yet His purpose is achieved in our duty, and our duty
is fulfilled in service to one another." George Bush,
January 20, 2001
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