thedrifter
01-17-09, 07:23 AM
LOOKING BACK: Inauguration Day
MARY BRASWELL mary.braswell@albanyherald.com
Making history
Many traditions are embedded in the activities of the vice president and president of the United States on the day of inauguration. Here is a look back at those traditions through the years as well as tidbits of trivia about the big day.
Morning Worship Service
• The first president to attend church on Inauguration Day was George Washington. In 1789, Washington attended a service at St. Paul’s Chapel in New York immediately following his swearing-in ceremony.
• On March 4, 1933, at 10:15 a.m., prior to his swearing-in ceremony, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, next to the White House. They did the same in 1937 and 1941 and arranged for a private service at the White House on the morning of FDR’s fourth swearing-in on Jan. 20, 1945. This Inauguration Day worship service set a precedent and has become a regular part of the day’s events.
• President Richard M. Nixon did not attend a church or prayer service on Inauguration Day in 1969 but did so the next day.
• President-elect Jimmy Carter participated in an interfaith prayer service at the Lincoln Memorial at 8 a.m. on Jan. 20, 1977.
Procession to the Capitol
• After the worship service, the president-elect, vice president-elect and their spouses proceed together to the White House.
• After a brief meeting, the president-elect and the outgoing president will proceed together to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony.
• This tradition has endured, with few exceptions, since 1837, when Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson rode together in a carriage made from wood taken from the U.S.S. Constitution.
• The vice president-elect and the outgoing vice president will follow, as will family members, cabinet members and others.
• Since the first inauguration in 1789, the procession has been a time of celebration. The parade that now follows the swearing-in first began as the procession.
• Abraham Lincoln did not join the procession to the Capitol for his second inauguration. He had gone early to the Capitol to sign last-minute bills. It was this procession that was the first to include African-Americans.
• Procedures changed in 1873, when President Ulysses S. Grant reviewed the troops from the stand at the front of the White House after the swearing-in.
• In 1881, a single military division escorted President-elect James Garfield to the Capitol with the full parade occurring after he was sworn in.
• Most presidents have traveled to the Capitol in a carriage (or later, an automobile). Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson both walked while William Henry Harrison rode a horse.
• Edith Galt Wilson became the first first lady to accompany her husband in the carriage to the Capitol in 1917.
• In 1921, Warren G. Harding became the first president-elect to ride to his swearing-in ceremony in an automobile.
• Lyndon B. Johnson’s procession to the Capitol in 1965 was marked by heavy security measures including a bullet-proof limo.
Swearing-in Ceremony
• Just before the president-elect takes the oath of office, the vice president-elect will step forward and repeat the oath.
• Although the U.S. Constitution specifically sets forth the oath required by the president, it only says that the vice president and other government officials should take an oath upholding the Constitution of the United States.
• Since the first inauguration in 1789, the oath of the president has been changed several times. The present oath, repeated by the vice president, senators, representatives and other government officers has been in use since 1884.
• By 1801, the nation’s seat of government had moved to Washington, D.C. The streets were muddy, almost impassable and overgrown with bushes. Crude dwellings for workers constructing buildings for the federal offices scarred the landscape. On March 4, President-elect Thomas Jefferson walked with a few attendants and little fanfare to the Capitol from his nearby lodgings at a boardinghouse.
• Presidents from Martin Van Buren in 1837 to Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 were sworn into office on the Capitol’s east front. In 1909 a raging blizzard forced the swearing-in ceremony indoors for William Howard Taft.
• Ronald Reagan’s 1981 ceremony was the first to be held on the west front of the Capitol. This move reduced construction costs and improved visibility for a greater number of spectators.
• While tradition dictates that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court administer the oath of office to the president-elect, a variety of officials have administered the oath to the vice president-elect. Since World War II, friends and associates most often administer the oath to the incoming vice president.
• While not an inauguration celebration, on Nov. 22, 1963, in a crowded cabin on Air Force One, at Love Field in Dallas, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in after the assassination of John n F. Kennedy. U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes became the first, and to date the only, woman to swear in a president.
• For most of the nation’s history, Inauguration Day was March 4. In 1937, the day was moved to Jan. 20, a change enacted by the 20th Constitutional Amendment.
Inaugural Address
• The custom of delivering an address on Inauguration Day began at the beginning with George Washington in 1789. His second address (1793) remains the shortest on record at just 135 words.
• William Henry Harrison delivered the longest address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 1841. The day was bitterly cold and wet. President Harrison died one month later of pneumonia.
• The inaugural address of John Adams in 1797 totaled 2,308 words and contained a record-holding 737-word sentence.
• In 1921, Warren G. Harding became the first president to take his oath and deliver his address over loud speakers. Harding was also the first president-elect to arrive for the ceremonies in an automobile.
• Calvin Coolidge’s 1925 address was the first to be broadcast nationally by radio.
• It was 1949 when Harry S. Truman became the first president to deliver his address over television airwaves.
• The inaugural addresses of presidents have been some of the most eloquent and powerful speeches delivered in this nation’s history and their quotes are still repeated today. In 1933, FDR spoke these famous words: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." It was John F. Kennedy’s address that included this now-famous proclamation: "And so my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country."
• It is after the swearing-in and the address that the outgoing President and First Lady depart the Capitol. This departure is done with little fanfare and since Gerald Ford’s departure in 1977, the exit is made by helicopter, weather permitting.
Inaugural Luncheon
• There was no planned meal for the new president when Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801. While he was the first president to be inaugurated in the nation’s new capital city, afterwards he returned to his boarding house to eat.
• The tradition of a luncheon following the inaugural address dates back to 1897 when a meal was served to William McKinley and several guests.
• From the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, presidents left the ceremony and went to the White House for a meal prepared by the outgoing president and first lady.
• The luncheons have become more elaborate through the years. In 1945, the Roosevelts hosted what would be the last White House post-ceremony luncheon. There were over 2,000 guests.
• It was 1953 when the luncheon began to be much as it remains today. President and First Lady Eisenhower and 50 guests dined on creamed chicken, baked ham, and potato puffs.
• The inaugural luncheon often features cuisine reflecting the home state of the new president as well as short speeches and toasts to the new administration.
Inaugural Parade
• After the luncheon, the newly sworn president and vice-president make their way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. The pair, along with spouses and special guests will review the parade from a stand built for that purpose.
• While dating back to the first inauguration, the size of the parade began with just a few escorts. Washington’s first parade included a company of riflemen, friends and fellow citizens. For his second parade, there was a procession formed by the navy yard (including mechanics) and the Marine Band. The Marines have provided music at every inaugural parade since that time in 1805.
• The first organized parade was in 1809 for James Madison.
• William Henry Harrison’s parade in 1841 included the first floats as well as clubs, political groups,several military bands, and college students.
• Despite a blizzard that forced the inauguration ceremony indoors for William H. Taft in 1909, the parade proceeded as planned. Workers went ahead of the parade clearing snow from the route.
• The largest parade, with 73 bands, 59 floats, horses, elephants and more, lasted four hours and 32 minutes in 1953 for President Dwight Eisenhower.
• The only known cancellation of the parade was in 1985 for Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration when the weather was frigid to the point of being dangerous.
Inaugural Ball
• George Washington’s ball was held one week after he took office. It was not until 1809, after the inauguration of James Madison, that the tradition of the same-day Inaugural Ball began. First Lady Dolley Madison hosted the gala for which 400 tickets were sold for $4 each.
• Multiple balls were held up until 1857 when a temporary building was built for one grand ball for James Buchanan. Food purchased for that ball included $3,000 worth of wine, 400 gallons of oysters, 500 quarts of chicken salad, 1,200 quarts of ice cream, 60 saddles of mutton, eight rounds of beef, 75 hams, and 125 tongues.
• The second ball for Ulysses S. Grant was a disaster. The temporary building for the event had no heat or insulation. Guests danced with their hats and coats on as the musicians struggled to play their instruments. The coffee and hot chocolate ran out and some foods froze on the serving tables. The temperature was so low that the decorative canaries froze in their cages.
• In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson requested that the ball be canceled. He felt that the event was too expensive and not appropriate for the solemn occasion. President Warren G. Harding, in a effort to set an example of thrift and simplicity, also did not have a ball in 1921. The next three presidents had charity balls.
• It was Harry Truman that revived the official ball in 1953. Following that presidency, Eisenhower had two balls, then four balls. Kennedy attended five balls in 1961. Jimmy Carter tried to strip the balls of their glitz and glamour by calling them parties and charging no more than $25 per ticket. By Clinton’s second inauguration, the number of balls had reached an all-time high of 14.
A few more firsts and facts
• John Quincy Adams (1825) was the first president sworn in wearing long pants.
• Franklin Pierce (1853) was the first president to affirm rather than swear the oath of office. Herbert Hoover followed suit in 1929.
• William McKinley’s inauguration (1897) was the first to be recorded by a motion picture camera.
• John F. Kennedy’s inauguration had Robert Frost as the first poet to participate in the official ceremony (1961).
• Jimmy Carter’s inaugural parade featured solar heat for the reviewing stand and handicap-accessible viewing (1977).
• The oath is taken with a hand upon a Bible, opened to the passage of the president-elect’s choice. Theodore Roosevelt’s 1901 oath was the only one not sworn on a Bible.
• The warmest Inauguration Day on record was Ronald Reagan’s first (Jan. 20, 1981). It was 55 degrees. The coldest on record was Reagan’s second (Jan. 21, 1985) when the temperature plunged to 7 degrees.
Each week, Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or e-mail mary.braswell@albanyherald.com.
Ellie
MARY BRASWELL mary.braswell@albanyherald.com
Making history
Many traditions are embedded in the activities of the vice president and president of the United States on the day of inauguration. Here is a look back at those traditions through the years as well as tidbits of trivia about the big day.
Morning Worship Service
• The first president to attend church on Inauguration Day was George Washington. In 1789, Washington attended a service at St. Paul’s Chapel in New York immediately following his swearing-in ceremony.
• On March 4, 1933, at 10:15 a.m., prior to his swearing-in ceremony, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, next to the White House. They did the same in 1937 and 1941 and arranged for a private service at the White House on the morning of FDR’s fourth swearing-in on Jan. 20, 1945. This Inauguration Day worship service set a precedent and has become a regular part of the day’s events.
• President Richard M. Nixon did not attend a church or prayer service on Inauguration Day in 1969 but did so the next day.
• President-elect Jimmy Carter participated in an interfaith prayer service at the Lincoln Memorial at 8 a.m. on Jan. 20, 1977.
Procession to the Capitol
• After the worship service, the president-elect, vice president-elect and their spouses proceed together to the White House.
• After a brief meeting, the president-elect and the outgoing president will proceed together to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony.
• This tradition has endured, with few exceptions, since 1837, when Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson rode together in a carriage made from wood taken from the U.S.S. Constitution.
• The vice president-elect and the outgoing vice president will follow, as will family members, cabinet members and others.
• Since the first inauguration in 1789, the procession has been a time of celebration. The parade that now follows the swearing-in first began as the procession.
• Abraham Lincoln did not join the procession to the Capitol for his second inauguration. He had gone early to the Capitol to sign last-minute bills. It was this procession that was the first to include African-Americans.
• Procedures changed in 1873, when President Ulysses S. Grant reviewed the troops from the stand at the front of the White House after the swearing-in.
• In 1881, a single military division escorted President-elect James Garfield to the Capitol with the full parade occurring after he was sworn in.
• Most presidents have traveled to the Capitol in a carriage (or later, an automobile). Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson both walked while William Henry Harrison rode a horse.
• Edith Galt Wilson became the first first lady to accompany her husband in the carriage to the Capitol in 1917.
• In 1921, Warren G. Harding became the first president-elect to ride to his swearing-in ceremony in an automobile.
• Lyndon B. Johnson’s procession to the Capitol in 1965 was marked by heavy security measures including a bullet-proof limo.
Swearing-in Ceremony
• Just before the president-elect takes the oath of office, the vice president-elect will step forward and repeat the oath.
• Although the U.S. Constitution specifically sets forth the oath required by the president, it only says that the vice president and other government officials should take an oath upholding the Constitution of the United States.
• Since the first inauguration in 1789, the oath of the president has been changed several times. The present oath, repeated by the vice president, senators, representatives and other government officers has been in use since 1884.
• By 1801, the nation’s seat of government had moved to Washington, D.C. The streets were muddy, almost impassable and overgrown with bushes. Crude dwellings for workers constructing buildings for the federal offices scarred the landscape. On March 4, President-elect Thomas Jefferson walked with a few attendants and little fanfare to the Capitol from his nearby lodgings at a boardinghouse.
• Presidents from Martin Van Buren in 1837 to Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 were sworn into office on the Capitol’s east front. In 1909 a raging blizzard forced the swearing-in ceremony indoors for William Howard Taft.
• Ronald Reagan’s 1981 ceremony was the first to be held on the west front of the Capitol. This move reduced construction costs and improved visibility for a greater number of spectators.
• While tradition dictates that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court administer the oath of office to the president-elect, a variety of officials have administered the oath to the vice president-elect. Since World War II, friends and associates most often administer the oath to the incoming vice president.
• While not an inauguration celebration, on Nov. 22, 1963, in a crowded cabin on Air Force One, at Love Field in Dallas, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in after the assassination of John n F. Kennedy. U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes became the first, and to date the only, woman to swear in a president.
• For most of the nation’s history, Inauguration Day was March 4. In 1937, the day was moved to Jan. 20, a change enacted by the 20th Constitutional Amendment.
Inaugural Address
• The custom of delivering an address on Inauguration Day began at the beginning with George Washington in 1789. His second address (1793) remains the shortest on record at just 135 words.
• William Henry Harrison delivered the longest address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 1841. The day was bitterly cold and wet. President Harrison died one month later of pneumonia.
• The inaugural address of John Adams in 1797 totaled 2,308 words and contained a record-holding 737-word sentence.
• In 1921, Warren G. Harding became the first president to take his oath and deliver his address over loud speakers. Harding was also the first president-elect to arrive for the ceremonies in an automobile.
• Calvin Coolidge’s 1925 address was the first to be broadcast nationally by radio.
• It was 1949 when Harry S. Truman became the first president to deliver his address over television airwaves.
• The inaugural addresses of presidents have been some of the most eloquent and powerful speeches delivered in this nation’s history and their quotes are still repeated today. In 1933, FDR spoke these famous words: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." It was John F. Kennedy’s address that included this now-famous proclamation: "And so my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country."
• It is after the swearing-in and the address that the outgoing President and First Lady depart the Capitol. This departure is done with little fanfare and since Gerald Ford’s departure in 1977, the exit is made by helicopter, weather permitting.
Inaugural Luncheon
• There was no planned meal for the new president when Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801. While he was the first president to be inaugurated in the nation’s new capital city, afterwards he returned to his boarding house to eat.
• The tradition of a luncheon following the inaugural address dates back to 1897 when a meal was served to William McKinley and several guests.
• From the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, presidents left the ceremony and went to the White House for a meal prepared by the outgoing president and first lady.
• The luncheons have become more elaborate through the years. In 1945, the Roosevelts hosted what would be the last White House post-ceremony luncheon. There were over 2,000 guests.
• It was 1953 when the luncheon began to be much as it remains today. President and First Lady Eisenhower and 50 guests dined on creamed chicken, baked ham, and potato puffs.
• The inaugural luncheon often features cuisine reflecting the home state of the new president as well as short speeches and toasts to the new administration.
Inaugural Parade
• After the luncheon, the newly sworn president and vice-president make their way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. The pair, along with spouses and special guests will review the parade from a stand built for that purpose.
• While dating back to the first inauguration, the size of the parade began with just a few escorts. Washington’s first parade included a company of riflemen, friends and fellow citizens. For his second parade, there was a procession formed by the navy yard (including mechanics) and the Marine Band. The Marines have provided music at every inaugural parade since that time in 1805.
• The first organized parade was in 1809 for James Madison.
• William Henry Harrison’s parade in 1841 included the first floats as well as clubs, political groups,several military bands, and college students.
• Despite a blizzard that forced the inauguration ceremony indoors for William H. Taft in 1909, the parade proceeded as planned. Workers went ahead of the parade clearing snow from the route.
• The largest parade, with 73 bands, 59 floats, horses, elephants and more, lasted four hours and 32 minutes in 1953 for President Dwight Eisenhower.
• The only known cancellation of the parade was in 1985 for Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration when the weather was frigid to the point of being dangerous.
Inaugural Ball
• George Washington’s ball was held one week after he took office. It was not until 1809, after the inauguration of James Madison, that the tradition of the same-day Inaugural Ball began. First Lady Dolley Madison hosted the gala for which 400 tickets were sold for $4 each.
• Multiple balls were held up until 1857 when a temporary building was built for one grand ball for James Buchanan. Food purchased for that ball included $3,000 worth of wine, 400 gallons of oysters, 500 quarts of chicken salad, 1,200 quarts of ice cream, 60 saddles of mutton, eight rounds of beef, 75 hams, and 125 tongues.
• The second ball for Ulysses S. Grant was a disaster. The temporary building for the event had no heat or insulation. Guests danced with their hats and coats on as the musicians struggled to play their instruments. The coffee and hot chocolate ran out and some foods froze on the serving tables. The temperature was so low that the decorative canaries froze in their cages.
• In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson requested that the ball be canceled. He felt that the event was too expensive and not appropriate for the solemn occasion. President Warren G. Harding, in a effort to set an example of thrift and simplicity, also did not have a ball in 1921. The next three presidents had charity balls.
• It was Harry Truman that revived the official ball in 1953. Following that presidency, Eisenhower had two balls, then four balls. Kennedy attended five balls in 1961. Jimmy Carter tried to strip the balls of their glitz and glamour by calling them parties and charging no more than $25 per ticket. By Clinton’s second inauguration, the number of balls had reached an all-time high of 14.
A few more firsts and facts
• John Quincy Adams (1825) was the first president sworn in wearing long pants.
• Franklin Pierce (1853) was the first president to affirm rather than swear the oath of office. Herbert Hoover followed suit in 1929.
• William McKinley’s inauguration (1897) was the first to be recorded by a motion picture camera.
• John F. Kennedy’s inauguration had Robert Frost as the first poet to participate in the official ceremony (1961).
• Jimmy Carter’s inaugural parade featured solar heat for the reviewing stand and handicap-accessible viewing (1977).
• The oath is taken with a hand upon a Bible, opened to the passage of the president-elect’s choice. Theodore Roosevelt’s 1901 oath was the only one not sworn on a Bible.
• The warmest Inauguration Day on record was Ronald Reagan’s first (Jan. 20, 1981). It was 55 degrees. The coldest on record was Reagan’s second (Jan. 21, 1985) when the temperature plunged to 7 degrees.
Each week, Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or e-mail mary.braswell@albanyherald.com.
Ellie