Watch 14 historic Presidential Inauguration speeches on Decades

By: Decades Staff Posted: January 5, 2017

Hosted by award-winning journalist Bill Kurtis, Inauguration Day Through the Decades is a historic and unique programming event presented by Decades, beginning on Thursday, January 19, at 7 am/ET and continuing through Saturday, January 21, at 10 am/ET. It begins with a special half-hour Through the Decades look at past inaugurations, featuring each President from Harry Truman through Barack Obama.

Through the Decades is followed by 14 inauguration speeches, beginning with President Kennedy in 1961 and continuing with each successive President in sequence. This special eight-hour programming event will be rebroadcast continuously for two days. See a complete program schedule below.

“Inauguration Day Though the Decades offers a remarkable opportunity to watch democracy in action as we peacefully transfer leadership every four years. We’ll watch inaugural speeches most of us have never seen before and be able to study the effect of broadcast television as it has shaped politics in America. The Decades is making history by letting us relive history in an unprecedented television commitment," said Kurtis, host of Through the Decades.

Tapping the resources of the CBS News Archives, Decades will mark Inauguration Day by featuring the televised speeches of each President of the modern era. Viewers will see Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama, and hear the historic inauguration speeches from each leader, just as they happened on Inauguration Day. Find out where to watch on TV, or come back to Decades.com on Thursday, January 19, to watch the speeches online.

January 19th, 2017

7:00 am / ET Inauguration Day Through the Decades

7:30 am / ET John F. Kennedy 1961 Inauguration Speech

8:00 am / ET Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 Inauguration Speech

8:30 am / ET Richard Nixon 1969 Inauguration Speech

9:00 am / ET Richard Nixon 1973 Inauguration Speech

9:30 am / ET Jimmy Carter 1977 Inauguration Speech

10:00 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1981 Inauguration Speech

10:30 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1985 Inauguration Speech

11:00 am / ET George H.W. Bush 1989 Inauguration Speech

11:30 am / ET Bill Clinton 1993 Inauguration Speech

12:00 pm / ET Bill Clinton 1997 Inauguration Speech

12:30 pm / ET George W. Bush 2001 Inauguration Speech

1:00 pm / ET George W. Bush 2005 Inauguration Speech

1:30 pm / ET Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration Speech

2:00 pm / ET Barack Obama 2013 Inauguration Speech

3:00 pm / ET Inauguration Day Through the Decades

3:30 pm / ET John F. Kennedy 1961 Inauguration Speech

4:00 pm / ET Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 Inauguration Speech

4:30 pm / ET Richard Nixon 1969 Inauguration Speech

5:00 pm / ET Richard Nixon 1973 Inauguration Speech

5:30 pm / ET Jimmy Carter 1977 Inauguration Speech

6:00 pm / ET Ronald Reagan 1981 Inauguration Speech

6:30 pm / ET Ronald Reagan 1985 Inauguration Speech

7:00 pm / ET George H.W. Bush 1989 Inauguration Speech

7:30 pm / ET Bill Clinton 1993 Inauguration Speech

8:00 pm / ET Bill Clinton 1997 Inauguration Speech

8:30 pm / ET George W. Bush 2001 Inauguration Speech

9:00 pm / ET George W. Bush 2005 Inauguration Speech

9:30 pm / ET Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration Speech

10:00 pm / ET Barack Obama 2013 Inauguration Speech

11:00 pm / ET Inauguration Day Through the Decades

11:30 pm / ET John F. Kennedy 1961 Inauguration Speech

January 20th, 2017

12:00 am / ET Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 Inauguration Speech

12:30 am / ET Richard Nixon 1969 Inauguration Speech

1:00 am / ET Richard Nixon 1973 Inauguration Speech

1:30 am / ET Jimmy Carter 1977 Inauguration Speech

2:00 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1981 Inauguration Speech

2:30 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1985 Inauguration Speech

3:00 am / ET George H.W. Bush 1989 Inauguration Speech

3:30 am / ET Bill Clinton 1993 Inauguration Speech

4:00 am / ET Bill Clinton 1997 Inauguration Speech

4:30 am / ET George W. Bush 2001 Inauguration Speech

5:00 am / ET George W. Bush 2005 Inauguration Speech

5:30 am / ET Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration Speech

6:00 am / ET Barack Obama 2013 Inauguration Speech

7:00 am / ET Richard Nixon 1969 Inauguration Speech

7:30 am / ET Richard Nixon 1973 Inauguration Speech

8:00 am / ET Jimmy Carter 1977 Inauguration Speech

8:30 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1981 Inauguration Speech

9:00 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1985 Inauguration Speech

9:30 am / ET George H.W. Bush 1989 Inauguration Speech

10:00 am / ET Bill Clinton 1993 Inauguration Speech

10:30 am / ET Bill Clinton 1997 Inauguration Speech

11:00 am / ET George W. Bush 2001 Inauguration Speech

11:30 am / ET George W. Bush 2005 Inauguration Speech

12:00 pm / ET Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration Speech

12:30 pm / ET Barack Obama 2013 Inauguration Speech

1:30 pm / ET Inauguration Day Through the Decades

2:00 pm / ET John F. Kennedy 1961 Inauguration Speech

2:30 pm / ET Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 Inauguration Speech

3:00 pm / ET Richard Nixon 1969 Inauguration Speech

3:30 pm / ET Richard Nixon 1973 Inauguration Speech

4:00 pm / ET Jimmy Carter 1977 Inauguration Speech

4:30 pm / ET Ronald Reagan 1981 Inauguration Speech

5:00 pm / ET Ronald Reagan 1985 Inauguration Speech

5:30 pm / ET George H.W. Bush 1989 Inauguration Speech

6:00 pm / ET Bill Clinton 1993 Inauguration Speech

6:30 pm / ET Bill Clinton 1997 Inauguration Speech

7:00 pm / ET George W. Bush 2001 Inauguration Speech

7:30 pm / ET George W. Bush 2005 Inauguration Speech

8:00 pm / ET Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration Speech

8:30 pm / ET Barack Obama 2013 Inauguration Speech

9:30 pm / ET Inauguration Day Through the Decades

10:00 pm / ET John F. Kennedy Inauguration 1961 Speech

10:30 pm / ET Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 Inauguration Speech

11:00 pm / ET Richard Nixon 1969 Inauguration Speech

11:30 pm / ET Richard Nixon 1973 Inauguration Speech

January 21st, 2017

12:00 am / ET Jimmy Carter 1977 Inauguration Speech

12:30 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1981 Inauguration Speech

1:00 am / ET Ronald Reagan 1985 Inauguration Speech

1:30 am / ET George H.W. Bush 1989 Inauguration Speech

2:00 am / ET Bill Clinton 1993 Inauguration Speech

2:30 am / ET Bill Clinton 1997 Inauguration Speech

3:00 am / ET George W. Bush 2001 Inauguration Speech

3:30 am / ET George W. Bush 2005 Inauguration Speech

4:00 am / ET Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration Speech

4:30 am / ET Barack Obama 2013 Inauguration Speech

5:30 am / ET Inauguration Day Through the Decades

6:00 am / ET John F. Kennedy 1961 Inauguration Speech

6:30 am / ET Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 Inauguration Speech

7:00 am / ET Through the Decades Inauguration Special