, literary style:
The special character of presidential inaugural addresses is defined by these general epideictic features and by the nature of the inauguration ceremony. Inauguration is a rite of passage, a ritual of transition in which a newly elected president is invested with the office of the presidency (Campbell and Jamieson 15).
The inaugural generates four interrelated elements differentiating it from other types of epideictic rhetoric: 1) it unifies the audience by reconstituting its members as "the people"; 2) it rehearses communal values drawn from the past; 3) it sets forth the political principles that will govern the new administration; 4) it demonstrates through enactment that the president appreciates the requirements and limitations of the executive functions; and 5) it achieves each of t
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