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Presidents have tinkered with the ceremony to reflect their personal style and the state of the nation.
There've been top hats and bare heads, cheers and boos along parade routes, unruly mobs in the White
House, poets and preachers, brilliant sunshine and bitter cold, glamorous balls and tragic circumstances.
Almost always the day has featured a solemn swearing in, an inaugural address, one or more parades, plus parties,
receptions and fancy balls far into the night.
The heart of the affair is the inaugural oath, first recited by George Washington on the balcony of New
York City's Federal Hall, the original seat of government, on April 30, 1789.
The 35-word oath is prescribed in the Constitution, but Washington added the phrase "So help me God," and
placed his left hand on a Bible hastily borrowed from a Masonic Lodge on Wall Street. Most later presidents have
followed the founding father's precedent.
Washington's successor, John Adams, took the oath in Philadelphia's Independence Hall. Thomas Jefferson
did it in the new Senate chamber in the District of Columbia in 1801. James Monroe moved the ceremony outside to
the east front of the Capitol in 1817.
It remained there until 1981, when Ronald Reagan switched it to the Capitol's west front as a giant stage
prop for his inauguration.
Sub-zero temperatures drove Reagan inside the Capitol building in 1985 for his second oath-taking and forced the
cancellation of his parade, disappointing 12,000 marchers, 66 floats and 57 bands.
Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson showed their common touch by eschewing carriages and walking up
to Capitol Hill to be sworn in. Jimmy Carter delighted the crowd and horrified the Secret Service by leaving his
armored limousine after the swearing in, and strolling down Pennsylvania Avenue with his wife and children to
the White House. Both Bushes and the Clintons walked part of the way at their inaugurals as well.
JIMMY CARTER LIBRARY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES/MCT
President Jimmy Carter, center left, and wife Rosalynn walk down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington during his 1977 inauguration.
Until Benjamin Harrison's 1889 inauguration, the parades usually moved up the hill to the Capitol. Since
then, they've flowed down the hill past the White House reviewing stand. Some grander parades lasted well into darkness.
After his 1829 parade, Andrew Jackson opened the White House to thousands of his hungry and thirsty followers,
who tracked in mud, broke windows and wrecked furniture. After Lincoln's second inaugural in 1865, unruly guests
stole silver and draperies.
There've been awkward moments between incoming and outgoing presidents. Adams boycotted Jefferson's
inauguration in 1801. Ulysses Grant refused to ride in the same carriage as Andrew Johnson in 1869. Herbert
Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt drove to the Capitol in chilly silence in 1933.
Not all inaugurals have been joyous occasions. Andrew Johnson took the oath in his boarding house the day after
Lincoln's assassination in April 1865. In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in in Buffalo, N.Y., where
William McKinley had died earlier that day.
A grim-faced Lyndon Johnson was sworn in aboard Air Force One on the day John F. Kennedy was shot in
Dallas. Gerald Ford took the oath in the East Room of the White House after Richard Nixon resigned in 1974.
Ever since Washington, most presidents have launched their term with a formal address, usually calling for
national reconciliation and setting out their vision for the future.
Washington and Adams gave their inaugural speeches in person. Jefferson and a century of his successors sent
theirs to Congress in writing. Wilson renewed the personal address in 1913.
Some inaugural addresses have etched lines in the national memory:
Thomas Jefferson: "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists." Abraham Lincoln: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, (let us) bind up the nation's wounds." Franklin Roosevelt: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." John Kennedy: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." Gerald Ford "Our long national nightmare is over."
At Kennedy's snow-swept inaugural in 1961, the glare of the sun and a stiff breeze kept Robert Frost from reading
a poem he had written for the occasion. Vice President Lyndon Johnson tried to shade the lectern with his top hat, but
the 86-year-old poet protested "I can't see in this light." Instead, he recited from memory one of his earlier poems,
"The Gift Outright."
William Henry Harrison's 1841 address -- an hour and 40 minutes long, delivered without hat or coat on a cold,
damp day -- turned tragic. The 68-year-old Harrison developed pneumonia and died a month later. His vice
president, John Tyler, was sworn in at his hotel and never gave an inaugural address.
The most recent inaugural, George Bush's second, was marred by scuffles with angry protestors. Cries of "warmonger"
and "impeach Bush" clashed with chants of "USA" and "support our troops" as 13,000 police and soldiers
stood guard.
This year, Obama's whistle-stop train ride from Philadelphia to Washington, picking up Vice President-elect
Joseph Biden on the way, follows a long line of travels to the capital by incoming presidents. George Washingon
rode his horse and carriage from his beloved home at Mount Vernon to New York. Lincoln whistle-stopped from
Springfield, the Illinois capital where Obama declared his candidacy Feb. 10, 2007.
To read the inaugural addresses of former presidents: www.homeofheroes.com/presidents/inaugural/index.html
Trivia Quiz
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Q: Who gave the longest inaugural address?
William Henry Harrison, March 4, 1841. His speech was 8,445 words long, delivered on an incredibly cold day.
Q: Who gave the first televised inaugural address?
Harry S. Truman on Jan. 20, 1949.
Q: Who gave the first inaugural address to be broadcast live on the Internet?
Bill Clinton in his second address, Jan. 20, 1997.
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William Henry Harrison
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Q: Who gave an inaugural address one year, then gave the one AFTER the next president?
Grover Cleveland gave his second inaugural address on March 4, 1893. To date, this is the only time a president has
been elected, lost to his opponent in the next election cycle, then been elected again to serve a second term.
Barack Obama Presidential Inauguration Articles
Reviewing Presidential Inaugural History
The inauguration of the first black president will long be remembered as a momentous day in history, but many past
inaugurals also have had their memorable moments. Inaugurals are a mixture of pomp, festival and gravity, the
American equivalent of a coronation. Their rituals are laden with symbols of national purpose, continuity and
unity. For 220 years, they have marked the peaceful transfer of power, a feat few other countries have achieved.
Obama Presidential Inauguration Schedule & Events
With all of the excitement surrounding the event, it’s easy to forget there have been many inaugurations before it. Over
the years, the inauguration has become highly formalized, with the day’s scheduled events taking on almost ritualistic
significance. A look at the Obama Inauguration schedule, events from past inaugurals and how & when certain inaugural
events became part of Inauguration Day.
Obama Inauguration Facts, Trivia and Information for Kids
Parade, luncheon, ball. Being inaugurated sounds like fun. But what exactly is an
inauguration? What happens? Here are answers to your most pressing questions. Plus Inauguration Trivia, Presidential
Pets and the Obama Girls
Obama's new Home was Slow to Integrate
Not too long ago, Barack Obama would have found when he moved his family to Washington that his daughters
couldn’t attend the same schools white children could. They couldn’t try on clothes or shoes at most
local department stores, or eat at downtown lunch counters. Or see a play at the National Theatre or a
movie just a block or two from the White House.
Top 43 Hits - Memorable Lines from Past Presidential Inaugurals
On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama will stand before Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and swear the
oath prescribed in Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution as the 44th President of the United States.
After taking the oath President Obama will give an inaugural address. Since George Washington's first
inaugural address, many memorable words have been spoken and are among the most enduring and frequently
quoted.
America Receives a Leading Man for the Dramas Ahead
Garrison Keillor
When President Obama takes his hand off the Bible and walks to the Capitol lectern, he carries real power in his pocket,
maybe more than any president since FDR, and some of it he has earned and some is a gift.
Don't Take that Oath, Barack
Mark Bazer
Personally, I'm hoping for a new piece of presidential trivia come Inauguration Day. I'm hoping Barack Obama becomes the
first person elected president to refuse to take the Oath of Office. In other words, I hope he turns down the job.
Don't get me wrong — I like and admire Obama. But that said, and for all Obama's clearly evident wisdom and sound judgment, I just don't
know if president of the United States is the ideal job for him.
Riding on the Wings of Change
Amy Dickinson
Our new president is offering us more than the promise of change. With his historic election, he offered us the
optimistic idea that we can do what we must do. In my experience studying the human condition, we only change
when there is no alternative. And now, there is no alternative. Our national challenges trickle down into our
households. We have family members at war, our jobs aren't secure, our retirement savings seem to be disappearing
and our material lifestyle is under assault.
America in Shock
Nathan Gardels
As we head into 2009, America is in shock. It is not because of the unusual sight of the first black president
taking up residence in the White House. Barack Obama's profile, after all, is familiar to the diverse
population of today's ethnically and racially hybrid America. America is in shock because our economic
and financial landscape is suddenly unrecognizable.
Great Expectations
Cal Thomas
With Barack Obama, it is the reverse. Perhaps because of his
eloquence, lithe body, handsome face and beautiful family (and because he is not George W. Bush),
expectations are so high that they are beyond the reach of any mortal. Perhaps that is why Obama
has been disparagingly referred to as "the messiah" and "the one."
Awaiting the Transformational Presidency
Arianna Huffington
President-elect Barack Obama is obsessed with Lincoln, who changed the country both by changing government policy and by
using the bully pulpit to help us change ourselves.
Europeans Love 'Alabama'
Rick Steves
With a new political era dawning in America, the world is paying attention. I remember the first time my Italian
friends expressed a curiosity and enthusiasm about some black politician named "Alabama." Now everyone knows
Obama's name, and we have a president whom people around the world want to look up to.
Is This the End of Black
Leonard Pitts
Those who claim we live in a post-racial America are guilty of no sin greater than wishful thinking. But
that doesn't make them any less incorrect. Not simply because people are still being pulled over for driving
black but, more fundamentally, because Obama's victory does not mean what some of us think it does. I don't
mean to suggest it does not embody breathtaking progress — it does.
A New Way of Being on this Planet
Robert Koehler
Something has to change about how we conduct our business and live our lives . . . no, that's putting it too mildly. A spiritual
awakening has to occur, the shock and awe of awareness as we look unblinking at the state of the world as it really is.
As the Decider, The True Barack Obama will Become Clear
Jonah Goldberg
Over the interminably long campaign, Obama's positions "evolved" to suit his political needs. This is hardly
extraordinary. Pretty much every successful presidential candidate embarks on a similar ideological migration
Special Inaugural Crossword Puzzle
Can you solve this special inaugural crossword with your mom, dad or your favorite grown-up?
Yes, you can! Kids solve the across clues while adults tackle the down ones.
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