Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was inaugurated for a second term on January 20, 1997, after winning the 1996 election.

Clinton, a Democrat, won re-election in the face of fierce opposition from his Republican Party opponents, which included a government shutdown. The opposition was to continue and result in Clinton’s impeachment in 1998.

• Listen to Clinton take the oath of office (2m)
  
• Listen to Clinton’s Inaugural Address (23m)
  
• Watch Clinton’s Inaugural Address (25m)
  
• Miller William’s Inaugural Poem
• Clinton’s First Inaugural Speech

President Bill Clinton’s Second Inaugural Address.

My fellow citizens:

At this last presidential inauguration of the 20th century, let us lift our eyes toward the challenges that await us in the next century. It is our great good fortune that time and chance have put us not only on the edge of a new century, in a new millennium, but on the edge of a bright new prospect in human affairs. A moment that will define our course, and our character for decades to come. We must keep our old democracy forever young. Guided by the ancient vision of a promised land, let us set our sights upon a land of New Promise. [Read more…]

William Jefferson (‘Bill’) Clinton was sworn into his first term as the 42nd President of the United States at 12 noon on January 20, 1993.

Clinton, a Democrat, was the former Governor of Arkansas. He defeated President George H.W. Bush to become the first Democrat to win a presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

• Watch Clinton take the oath of office and deliver his First Inaugural Address (18m)
  
• Listen to Clinton’s Inaugural Address (15m)
  
• On the Pulse of Morning – Maya Angelou’s inaugural poem

President William J. Clinton’s First Inaugural Speech.

My fellow citizens:

Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.

This ceremony is held in the depth of winter. But, by the words we speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring.

A spring reborn in the world’s oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America. [Read more…]