Does word-count matter? And what if it’s an Inaugural Address? It’s one of the most important speeches since this speech informs the people of the president’s intentions as a leader. Let’s take a look at the inauguration speeches of US presidents from a word-count perspective.
William Henry Harrison delivered the longest Inaugural Address in 1841. The speech lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes despite a snowstorm. How many words did he say? The word count was 8,445 words. Unfortunately, the president died one month later. It was the shortest presidential term in the White House.
George Washington delivered the shortest Inaugural Address in 1793, at just 135 words. An interesting fact that the most concise administration started with the longest inaugural address in US history and the shortest inaugural address happened at the midpoint of one of the most essential administrations in US history.
Here are all the Inaugural Addresses of Presidents in the United States’ history with their word count results.