InaUgural Addresses
Over the course of 220 years, every United States president has addressed the body politic, delivering an inaugural address that articulates the president’s vision for the nation’s future. Investigating the language of the speech—its rhetorical flourish, its implications, its semantics—is crucial to developing a deeper understanding of the power it upholds and thereby the power of the respective president. Looking at aspects of the speech from a purely visual standpoint, via typography, exposes elements of the address typically overshadowed by history.
A selection of inaugural addresses—starting with the very first president, followed by every ninth incumbent and concluding with the current and 45th president—is presented here in its entirety. One need only glance at these speeches to see how the mediated message has influenced patterns of public oratory: the density of the early speeches compared to the more open nature of later ones. Typographic depictions of the first and last phrases of each address, using a typeface designed around the time the incumbent took office, go a step further, demonstrating not only the changing nature of public oratory over the course of more than two centuries, but the changing nature of the Office of the President itself.
