The only constitutionally mandated event on Inauguration Day is for the president-elect to take the oath of office. But on the first Inauguration Day, in 1789, George Washington did something else.
He gave a speech.
Every president since has followed his example and delivered an inaugural address as part of the national celebration.
These addresses are more than just a series of individual speeches. Rhetoric scholars Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Kathleen Hall Jamieson argue that each inaugural address is not simply marking one stage in the ritual of political transition. Each is also part of a genre that has characteristics which, at some level, are expected and understood by speakers and audiences. There have been 59 inaugural addresses, starting with Washington, and while they may have differed in style and even specific subjects, virtually all feature these characteristics, which range from calls to unify the country to setting forth political principles.
The political history collections at the National Museum of American History, where I am a curator specializing in the history of presidential campaigns and campaign rhetoric, include several objects that illustrate these characteristics.