My Fellow Americans: Memorable Inauguration Speech Quotations

Famous lines from presidential inauguration speeches.

What's in a Speech? - The presidential inauguration speech is an oratorical tradition begun by George Washington in 1789. It is an opportunity to not only mark the start of the president's term of office and outline goals, but also to heal, inspire or unite the nation. Here are some of the most memorable lines. — Joyce Jones (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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What's in a Speech? - The presidential inauguration speech is an oratorical tradition begun by George Washington in 1789. It is an opportunity to not only mark the start of the president's term of office and outline goals, but also to heal, inspire or unite the nation. Here are some of the most memorable lines. — Joyce Jones (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

March 4, 1865 - During President Abraham Lincoln's ceremony, African-Americans were allowed to participate in the inaugural parade for the first time. (Photo: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

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Abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861 - "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." (Photo: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Jan. 20, 1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first and only president sworn in for a fourth term. The 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution now limits presidential terms to two. (Photo: National Archive/Getty Images)

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt, March 4, 1933 - "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror, which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."  (Photo: National Archive/Getty Images)

John F. Kennedy, Jan. 20, 1961 - "My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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John F. Kennedy, Jan. 20, 1961 - "My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Lyndon B. Johnson, Jan. 20, 1965 - "Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, 'His color is not mine,' or 'His beliefs are strange and different,' in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this nation." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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Lyndon B. Johnson, Jan. 20, 1965 - "Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, 'His color is not mine,' or 'His beliefs are strange and different,' in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this nation." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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Richard M. Nixon, Jan. 20, 1973 - "Let us build a structure of peace in the world in which the weak are as safe as the strong — in which each respects the right of the other to live by a different system — in which those who would influence others will do so by the strength of their ideas, and not by the force of their arms." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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Richard M. Nixon, Jan. 20, 1973 - "Let us build a structure of peace in the world in which the weak are as safe as the strong — in which each respects the right of the other to live by a different system — in which those who would influence others will do so by the strength of their ideas, and not by the force of their arms." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Gerald Ford, Aug. 9, 1974 (after Nixon's resignation) - "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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Gerald Ford, Aug. 9, 1974 (after Nixon's resignation) - "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Ronald Reagan, Jan. 20, 1981 - "My fellow citizens, our nation is poised for greatness. We must do what is right and do it with all our might. Let history say of us, 'Those were the golden years — when the American Revolution was reborn, when freedom gained new life, when America reached for her best." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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Ronald Reagan, Jan. 20, 1981 - "My fellow citizens, our nation is poised for greatness. We must do what is right and do it with all our might. Let history say of us, 'Those were the golden years — when the American Revolution was reborn, when freedom gained new life, when America reached for her best." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

George H.W. Bush, Jan. 20, 1989 - "America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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George H.W. Bush, Jan. 20, 1989 - "America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Bill Clinton, Jan. 20, 1993 - "Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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Bill Clinton, Jan. 20, 1993 - "Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." (Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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George W. Bush, Jan. 20, 2001 - "America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens." (Photo: Mark Wilson/Newsmakers)

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George W. Bush, Jan. 20, 2001 - "America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens." (Photo: Mark Wilson/Newsmakers)

Lots of Gratitude - President Obama gives a big wave to the crowd after taking the oath of office. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Barack Obama, Jan. 20, 2009 - "This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)