We in the United States take for granted the orderly and peaceful transition of power that occurs once every four or eight years, but before the Founding Fathers such a wonder was barely even dreamt of by oppressed citizenry.

Yet for more than 200 years we have witnessed precisely this wonder in the inauguration ceremonies of each new President of the United States. From the first inauguration of George Washington, in New York City in 1789, to today, the Presidential inauguration has always represented both national renewal and continuity of leadership. (Go here for a history of Presidential inaugurations and an official schedule of Inauguration events.)

As a new Presidential administration offers a vision for America’s future that promises change and progress, we look back at how similar promise has played out in the past.

Join us in reading about how America arrived at this historic moment in books including:

Through times of war and times of peace, times of prosperity and times of scarcity, through hours dark and bright, the continuation of the American government through legal, Constitutionally guaranteed means has never faltered. There can be no better representation of that marvel, unequaled in world history, than the inaugural addresses of incoming Presidents, gathered in our new edition of Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States: From George Washington, 1789 to George H.W. Bush, 1989.

This collection of the first speeches of each of the nation’s new leaders, plus the subsequent inaugural words of reelected Presidents-Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a record four inaugural addresses-gathers in one important volume the thoughts of every leader from George Washington to George Bush (41) as they entered office. Their words set the tenor for their administrations, and this firsthand document of American history is vital for understanding their work in the White House, and the legacy they left for the future ahead of them.

Aggressive voices promote minority special interests. Wealth is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. The middle class is under siege. Giant corporations and big business threaten democracy itself. Such was the state of the United States after the Civil War, and if it sounds familiar, then it only underlines the continuing relevance of Herbert Croly’s The Promise of American Life, first published in 1909.

In The Life of Abraham Lincoln: Volume I, a 1900 work as charming as it is important, American author Ida M. Tarbell — famous as a muckraking journalist — shows a softer side as she traces, with a laudatory and admiring spirit, the development of the character and morals of Abraham Lincoln. Volume I covers Lincoln’s life from before he was even born, with the origins of the Lincoln family back to the early 17th century, through his education, his service in the Black Hawk War, his early dabblings in politics, his experiences and attitudes as a lawyer, and the presidential campaign of 1860.

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