Inauguration Day

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception


The First Inauguration

The first inauguration was in New York City, the nation’s first capital.  George Washington became the first President of the United States and Congress planned for the new government to begin work on March 4, 1789, but a harsh winter made travel difficult and not until April 6 did enough congressmen arrive in New York to count the electors’ votes and announce, "Whereby it appears that George Washington, Esq. was unanimously elected President and John Adams, Esq. was duly elected Vice President of the United States of America…"

It was several days before the exciting news reached Mount Vernon, General Washington’s home in Virginia. He set off for the capital, leaving behind his wife, Martha, who joined him later. He traveled by coach and on horseback through Baltimore, Wilmington, and Philadelphia, finally arriving in New York City aboard a grand barge that had been rowed from New Jersey across Newark Bay while John Adams, his Vice President-elect, and the Congress were deciding on the new Chief Executive’s official title. Adams preferred "His Most Benign Highness," but a congressional committee settled on the title: "President of the United States."

Inauguration Day on April 30, began with the sounds of ceremonial artillery as church bells rang across the city. At noon, General Washington made his way through large crowds to Federal Hall, where both houses of Congress had assembled for the swearing-in. New York Chancellor Robert Livingston read the oath, and Washington with his right hand on a Bible, repeated the words inscribed in the Constitution: "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."

President Washington added the words, "So help me God," a custom followed by every President since.

Inaugural Traditions

The First Inauguration birthed many traditions that still continue. President Washington followed his swearing-in with an Inaugural Address, a special speech written for the occasion.

In 1793, the oath of office for Washington’s second term was administered by William Cushing, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and the first in a long line of Supreme Court Justices to preside over Presidential Inaugurations.

Thomas Jefferson was the first to be sworn in as President in Washington, D.C., the location chosen for a permanent capital and the site of all but a handful of Inaugural ceremonies. Jefferson showed his taste for simplicity by going on foot to the Capitol to take his oath and returned to his boardinghouse afterwards for dinner.

After his second Inauguration, Jefferson rode on horseback from the Capitol to the President’s House (name then used for the White House) amid music and a spontaneous gathering of mechanics from the nearby Navy Yard – a procession that grew into today’s Inaugural Parade.

Jefferson’s second Inauguration also began the tradition of the Inaugural Open House, when the executive mansion was opened to all to greet the President after his swearing-in. The popularity of the Open House would later cause the seventh President, Andrew Jackson, to flee through a window after a mob of well-wishers stormed the White House, ruining furniture and breaking china in their eagerness to see him.

In 1865, despite growing concern about safety, Abraham Lincoln shook some 6,000 hands after his second Inauguration.

President Grover Cleveland realized the White House could no longer accommodate such crowds and instead held a review of the troops from a flag-draped grandstand just outside and so added another element to the Inaugural Parade.

Presidents have celebrated in many ways since George Washington danced the minuet after his Inauguration in 1789.

James Madison, America’s fourth President, and his wife, Dolley, were the guests of honor at the first official Inaugural Ball held at Long’s Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Martin Van Buren’s Inauguration had two balls and President William Henry Harrison held three to meet the growing demand for tickets.

Later Inaugurations have featured specially built pavilions for dancing; balls held at several sites throughout the capital; and Inaugural parties in other cities. Modern Inaugural festivities reflect not only the President they honor but also the desire to include as many Americans as possible who want to join the celebration of their nation's rich history and transfer of presidential power.

Technology and Ceremony

President Bill Clinton’s 1997 Inauguration was televised and heard on a radio broadcast. Today local newspapers carry photographs of the event or Internet web sites stream information about the ceremony and other Inaugural celebrations. Technology helps all of us to participate in and learn about government in ways previous generations of Americans had never dreamed.

Only members of Congress gathered in Federal Hall on April 30, 1789 to hear President Washington’s first Inaugural Address. Twenty years later, James Madison’s swearing-in speech was published in the newspaper for all to read.

James Polk took the oath of office in 1845 while Samuel Morse, inventor of the electric telegraph, sat near him on the platform tapping out the news on his miraculous machine.

1857 was the year James Buchanan became President and was the first Inaugural ceremony to be photographed. Citizens across the country shared in the festivities through pictures.

Four decades later movie cameras recorded highlights of William McKinley’s Inauguration giving viewers a new window into history.

In 1925 Americans gathered around their radios to hear Calvin Coolidge take the oath of office and in 1949 Harry Truman became the first President whose swearing-in was televised.

President Bill Clinton’s second Inauguration was the first with an official web site and seen live online by a global audience.

Inaugural Language

The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States delineating the country’s three-branched democratic system of government and the fundamental rights to which all citizens are entitled.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, the nation’s founders declared, "The executive Power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America," and provided an oath of office for the President-elect’s official swearing-in.

The 35-word oath has remained unchanged for more than two centuries, in part, because it so clearly and simply describes the responsibilities of the Chief Executive:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

In 1817, James Monroe, the fifth President was the first to give an Inaugural Address to an assembled public crowd. Since then the traditional Inaugural Address has become an opportunity for Presidents to speak directly to the American people.

George Washington said 135 words after his second inauguration in 1793 and William Henry Harrison gave the longest Inaugural Address in history, delivering 8,445 words in almost two hours.

Inaugural Addresses are often remembered as reflecting a specific time in history.

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln called on Americans to "…finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds," while in 1933 Franklin Roosevelt reached out to citizens discouraged by the Great Depression, saying, "This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper."

President John F. Kennedy inspired a generation of young people in 1961 when he urged, "…ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."

In 1993 President Bill Clinton reassured a nation in transition after the end of the Cold War by stating, "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America."

And today after renewing his oath of office, President Barack Obama said in his second inaugural address, “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still.”

“My fellow Americans,” Mr. Obama said, “we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.”