"I do
solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the
United States..."
This is a
slightly abbreviated version of the origin article that appears at http://www.Presidential-inauguration.com/a-brief-history-of-the-u-s-inauguration/, where you’ll also find hyperlinks and
pictures as well.
The first
President, George Washington, was inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York on
April 30, 1789. Washington repeated the oath, read by Chancellor Robert
Livingston of New York, with one hand on the Bible: “I do solemnly swear that I
will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and
will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution
of the United States.” Establishing a custom that has been followed by all
succeeding Presidents, Washington added, “So help me God” at the end. In
eloquent Enlightenment form, Washington’s inaugural address spoke of “the Great
Author of every public and private good,” “the Invisible Hand which conducts
the affairs of men”, and civic virtue required for successful government.
Washington
needed only 135 words to complete the address at his second inauguration in
1793. Some 48 years later, President William Henry Harrison needed 8495 words
to complete his address. During that address, which lasted some two hours in
the cold weather, Harrison failed to wear a winter coat and developed
pneumonia. He died a month later.
The
tradition of Presidential procession of both the President-elect and
soon-to-be-ex-President has its roots in the 1837 inauguration. On inauguration
day that year, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren met and traveled to the
Capitol together in a wooden carriage built from the remains of the U.S.S.
Constitution. This processional tradition has been followed by all Presidents
with the exception of outgoing-President Andrew Johnson, who in 1869 remained
in the Capitol signing legislation until the noon expiration of his term.
Thought to
be the greatest of all addresses, Abraham Lincoln gave his second inaugural
address in March, 1865. With the Union embroiled in civil war, Lincoln invoked
God to bring a speedy end to the fighting. However, he went on to state his
acceptance if God were to allow bloodshed to continue after hundreds of years
of slavery, because “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.”
Under the
Twentieth Amendment, the date of the Presidential Inauguration was moved from
March to January 20, [a couple of weeks after] the certification of votes of
the Electoral College. The last President to be inaugurated in March … was
Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. After re-election in 1936, Roosevelt was the
first President to be inaugurated under the new amendment on January 20, 1937.
Roosevelt’s
1933 inauguration is also noteworthy because of what he did before his
swearing-in. FDR went with his wife to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a church
service on the morning of March 4, setting a Presidential precedent of
attending an inaugural-day worship event.
In 1961,
John F. Kennedy became the United States’ youngest and first Catholic
President. During his inaugural address on January 20, he delivered his
now-famous words, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can
do for your country.”
Ronald
Reagan broke with tradition in 1981 by having his Presidential inauguration at
the U.S. Capitol’s west front, which could hold more visitors than the normally
used east front.
On Monday the
Presidential inauguration carried on the traditions of inaugurations past. To learn more about Presidential
inauguration history, visit the inauguration website at http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/days-events
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