Political Thought and the American Presidency II. Reading 20th/21st Century Inaugural Addresses - Einzelansicht

The seminar will deal with the development of the 20^th and 21^st century presidency through the lenses of the President’s inaugural addresses. While it will build on the results of the winter term, newcomers to the seminar are welcome. We will read all the inaugural speeches from Teddy Roosevelt to Joe Biden. Through the issues addressed and through the topics raised we will get an understanding of the changing structures of the political discourse and the political system, but also of the way the American nation was perceived over time. The journey will start at the beginning of American world power and it will end with the current Biden presidency. The emphasis will be on the political ideas behind the politics of the day.

All Presidential inaugural addresses can be downloaded at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/inaug.htm

Jürgen Heideking, Geschichte der USA. 6. Aufl., Tübingen 2008

Christian Lammert, Markus B. Siewert, Boris Vormann (Hrsg.), Handbuch Politik USA, Wiesbaden 2020

Research paper (German or English)

Inaugural addresses provide a context for any presidency at its beginning. What were/are the issues of the day, what was contested, what was the theoretical background? Reading the addresses will provide us with an overview of the development of the presidency during the last century and into the presence, up to and including the election year 2024.

Anyone interested in US politics and political theory.