The arrival of the 40th President of the United States of America.
On a cold January morning in 1981, Ronald Reagan placed his hand on a tattered family Bible, recited the Oath of Office, and became the 40th President of the United States of America.
At a time when national trust in government had been shattered by the Watergate scandal and the embarrassment of the Iranian Hostage crisis, Reagan used his inaugural address to try and restore this trust and inspire a renewed sense of national pride. He also famously claimed: 'In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.'
Promising to reverse the growth of the United States' Government, tackle the looming economic crises facing the nation, and restore national morale, this speech marked the beginning of a new era for the United States. This is reflected in the theme chosen for Reagan's inaugural celebrations: 'America: A New Beginning.'
President Richard Nixon's resignation following the Watergate Scandal, combined with the nation's bruising defeat in Vietnam, meant that Americans' trust in their politicians had been badly damaged by the time Reagan took office. Though former Presidents would traditionally attend inaugurations, the disgraced Nixon and his successor Gerald Ford both opted not to attend Reagan's.
The economy had also been struggling, with a combination of stagflation and the 1979 energy crisis exacerbating the nation's financial concerns. That same year, incumbent President Jimmy Carter referred to a national 'crisis of confidence' and loss of 'unity of purpose' for the United States, in what later became known as his 'malaise' speech. During the 1980 presidential election campaign Reagan asked voters 'are you better off now than you were four years ago?' He went on to win the election in a landslide.
20 January 1981 also marked the 444th day of the Iranian hostage crisis, during which the American Embassy in Iran was held under siege, with 52 diplomats taken hostage. They were eventually freed just hours after Reagan took office, marking the end of the world's longest recorded hostage situation.
The crisis had marred the fourth and final year of Jimmy Carter's presidency. Indeed, there were even rumours that the Reagan campaign had negotiated that the release of the hostages be delayed until after the 1980 presidential election, in which Reagan carried 44 out of 50 states. These rumours were never substantiated, but the release of the hostages on the day of Reagan's inauguration dealt one final blow to the Carter administration. Rather than being able to announce the safe release of the hostages as his final act as President, Carter instead had to leave that privilege to his successor. Reagan did not announce the safe return of the hostages during his inaugural speech, instead waiting a few hours until they had safely left Iranian airspace.
The end of this gruelling hostage saga, combined with the inauguration of a new President, meant this day signified a moment of hope and optimism for many. However, for others, the lavish celebrations that signalled the beginning of the 'Reagan era' were symptomatic of national politics shifting in entirely the wrong direction. Reagan's four-day inaugural programme was the most expensive the nation had ever seen, and stood in stark contrast to Jimmy Carter's 'people's celebration' just four years previously.
Carter had used this occasion to cement his image as the 'people's President', and was reported to have taken the oath of office wearing a $175 suit he purchased from a department store in his home state of Georgia. By comparison, Nancy Reagan's inauguration day wardrobe was said to cost upwards of $25,000. No ticket to any event at Carter's five day celebration cost more than $25, so that anyone could participate in the inaugural festivities, whereas tickets to Reagan's most exclusive red carpet events were priced at up to $500.
The planned culmination of Reagan's inaugural fireworks display was a 50-foot high firework portrait of Reagan and his Vice-President, George H W Bush, to be complemented by a similar-sized firework depiction of the presidential inaugural seal. However, tragically the scaffolding for the latter display collapsed and killed one of the workers, so both displays were called off and replaced with more traditional fireworks. Nevertheless, this gesture is emblematic of the extravagance on show during the inaugural festivities, despite the nation's continuing struggle with rising unemployment rates and double digit inflation.
Every United States President to assume the office has taken the same Oath of Office, which is written into the United States' Constitution. The Constitution states that the previous President's term finishes at noon on 20 January, meaning presidential inaugurations are always scheduled for this date. In the event that 20 January falls on a Sunday, the President has a small private service, followed by a public ceremony on 21 January.
During his speech, Reagan described the peaceful transfer of power symbolised by his inauguration ceremony as 'nothing short of a miracle'. He wrote much of his inaugural address himself, rather than relying on his speechwriting team, and he was prone to disregarding the efforts of his speechwriters and writing his own speeches throughout his presidency.
Although Reagan's inauguration fulfilled these expectations, it also broke from several traditions. He was the first President to give his inaugural speech on the West Portico of the White House, a more scenic location than the traditional East Front, and with a view over the Washington Mall. From this vantage point he could see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and Arlington National Cemetery, the national military cemetery.
Reagan referred to these monuments as the 'shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand', and his speech was laden with presidential symbolism. Drawing attention to these monuments helped him to situate his presidency within the nation's long military and political history. He drew upon the memory of some of the United States' most famous Presidents — including Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington — within his speech.
Reminding Americans of the 'giants' who had previously held this office helped Reagan to position himself among these American heroes, rather than be associated with the recent Presidents who had done so much to impair Americans' trust in government. His allusion to the nation's great heroes was just one indicator of Reagan's desire to evoke patriotism among those who were suffering from the 'malaise' of the previous decade. One 'Washington Post' reporter went so far as to say that Reagan was offering Americans a return 'to the days when Americans were as dynamic as their dreams'.
The evolution of technology at the turn of the decade is reflected in the attention Reagan's team paid to how the inaugural proceedings would play out on television. One of the co-chairmen of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, Robert K Gray, told reporters: 'I will have succeeded in this job if I make the best seat at the inauguration the one in your living room sitting in front of the television.' Gray also justified the innovations in his staging of the inauguration by saying that it would set the tone for the incoming President's term, helping people to appreciate that 'Reagan has new ideas and will offer no-nonsense solutions'. Reagan's training as an actor meant he thrived in front of the camera, and his skill for public speaking led him to be dubbed 'The Great Communicator'. Throughout his presidency he gave weekly radio addresses to the American people, reminiscent of his predecessor and hero Franklin D Roosevelt's 'Fireside chats'.
Though the phrase 'Make America Great Again' most likely conjures images of the 2016 US presidential election, Reagan ran in 1980 using the slogan 'Let's Make America Great Again'. The optimism of Reagan's campaign slogan was on full display during his inaugural address. On the day he took office he told the world: 'We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look.' Reagan's optimism is now one of the things he is best remembered for, and his skill as a communicator is something his successors have aspired to emulate.
Though Donald Trump maintains he did not intentionally choose a slogan that would tie him to his fellow Republican president, Reagan's legacy has been deployed by many presidential hopefuls in the 30 years since he left office. During the 2008 Republican presidential primary race Reagan's name was used 36 times during one 90-minute debate held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, with each candidate vying to be the next Ronald Reagan. Candidates across the political spectrum have sought to stake a claim in the memory of Reagan's presidency, with Barack Obama coming under fire from his own party after saying that Reagan 'changed the trajectory of America'. Obama went on to say '[Reagan] put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it', giving a nod to the radical shift in American politics that began with Reagan's inauguration.
Since Reagan left office, there have been efforts to memorialise him by his supporters across the nation. Washington National Airport was renamed Reagan National Airport in 1998 (an 87th birthday present for the then-ailing former President). A campaign in the 1990s sought to 'Put Ron on the Rock', by making him the fifth president depicted on Mount Rushmore, and similar campaigns have tried to see Reagan added to the Mall in Washington DC, various denominations of currency, a mountain, a metro station, and numerous schools, roads and buildings.
Regardless of whether one personally supports or opposes Reagan's track record in office, it is hard to deny that his legacy remains valuable currency in 21st-century American politics.
