Jefferson's Inaugural address was the conclusion of a long-standing rivalry between the Federalist Party and the Republican (Anti-Federalist) Party. The expectation for his address was that he would bash federalist policy, because he was a Republican, however, that did not happen at all. He ended up complimenting the fact that his party and his opposition could express their opinions freely, although there were many aggressive confrontations. This helped to calm down the Federalists' in light of their loss of the White House. In his address, Jefferson spoke about good government. He spoke about how good government would make sure that people did not hurt each other, would uphold freedom of pursuit for improvement and never take away property that citizens had earned for themselves. He says that a few principles would shape his "ideal" terms such as equal and exact justice to all men, peaceful commerce and honest relationships with other countries. He also states that he would not create entangling alliances, which was a reference to Washington's Farewell Address.
First Inaugural addresses are still considered extremely important today. Presidents often talk about important issues that they campaigned on, as well as problems that are plaguing the nation (as Obama did in his inaugural address), and then they talk about what they will do about it. In President Obama's inaugural address he talked a lot about the economy, and how he was going to set out to make jobs. He also talked about how America was involved with a war that they shouldn't be involved with. Just as Jefferson did in his inaugural address, Obama talked about the main issues of the country, as well as praised the person who came before him and the person he ran against.
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