Charisma is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a personal spell of leadership that arouses special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure” (Merriam-Webster Online). Throughout history, successful public speaking is a dominant characteristic for influential historical figures: persuasive speakers use charisma and charm to captivate their audience and spark a difference in society. Political figures use charisma to campaign and advance their political ambitions. Every four years a politician is elected President of the United States. After taking office, that politician delivers an inaugural address in which he addresses his plans for the presidency. On Tuesday, January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan, remembered in history as the Great Communicator, delivered his influential inaugural address on the west side of the Capitol. Using his charismatic skills, Ronald Reagan delivered an influential inaugural address that connected with the average American. His inaugural address highlighted his political beliefs and caused the Republican Party to regain its former strength. Before that fateful day on the West Front of the Capitol, the Republican Party had spent years in a sort of slumber. Since the Great Depression, Democrats had ruled Congress and, for most of that period, the Presidency. According to George Tindall, in the textbook America, after the Great Depression the Republican Party had lost much of its former strength as its platform was similar to that of the Democrats. Political figures attempted to change the Republican Party but only Reagan was successful (Tindall 1247). In the 1960s conservatives began to fear that the Republican Party was being influenced by the “Eastern… middle of paper… online. March 14, 2009Danzer, George A. “A Conservative Tide.” American Reconstruction in the 20th Century. 9th ed. 2002.English, Jane A. and Tomas D. Jones. “World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War.” Encyclopedia of the United States at War 1998. Reagan, Ronald. Reagan's diaries. New York. Harper Collins Publishers, 2007. Reeves, Richard. President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination. New York: Simon and Schuster Publishers, 2005. Remini, Robert V. Fellow Citizens: The Penguin Book of US Presidential Inaugural Addresses. New York: Penguin Books Publisher, 2008. “Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator.” CNN 06 June 2004. 1-3. February 08, 2009. Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi, “A Conservative Insurgency.” America. 7th ed. 2007.