Download 10 Interesting Things You Should Know About Inauguration Day

10 Interesting Things You Should Know
About Inauguration Day
Inauguration Day History
By Jennifer Rosenberg,
1. Shortest Inaugural Address
George Washington gave the shortest inauguration address in history
during his second inauguration on March 4, 1793. Washington's
second inaugural address was only 135 words long! The second
shortest inaugural address was given by Franklin D. Roosevelt at his
fourth inauguration and was only 558 words long.
2. Inauguration Blamed for President's Death
Even though there was a snowstorm on William Henry Harrison's
inauguration day (March 4, 1841), Harrison refused to move his
ceremony indoors. Wanting to prove that he was still a hardy general
who could brave the elements, Harrison took the oath of office as well
as delivered the longest inaugural address in history (8,445 words,
which took him nearly two hours to read) outside. Harrison also wore
no overcoat, scarf, or hat.
Shortly after his inauguration, William Henry Harrison came down with a
cold, which quickly transformed into pneumonia. On April 4, 1841,
having only served 31 days in office, President William Henry Harrison
died. He was the first President to die in office and still holds the record
for serving the shortest term.
3. Sundays
Inaugurations are never held on Sundays. If January 20 falls on a
Sunday, the oath is then given privately on Saturday or on Sunday and
then the public inauguration day celebrations are held on Monday with
the oath repeated.
4. Few Constitutional Requirements
It is a bit surprising how little the Constitution prescribes for inauguration
day. In addition to the date and time, the Constitution only specifies the
exact wording of the oath taken by the President-elect before he begins
his duties. The oath states: "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." (Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution)
5. So Help Me God
Although not officially part of the official oath, George Washington is
credited with adding this line after he finished the oath during his first
inauguration. Most Presidents have also uttered this phrase at the end of
their oaths. Theodore Roosevelt, however, decided to end his oath with the
phrase, "And thus I swear."
6. An Embarrassing Vice President
In the past, the Vice President took his oath of office in the Senate
Chamber, but the ceremony now occurs on the same platform as the
President's swearing-in ceremony on the west front terrace of the Capitol.
The Vice President takes his oath and gives a short speech, followed by
the President. This usually goes very smoothly, except for in 1865.
Vice President Andrew Johnson hadn't been feeling very well for several
weeks before inauguration day. To get him through the important day,
Johnson drank a few glasses of whiskey. When he got up to the podium
to take his oath, it was obvious to everyone that he was drunk. His
speech was incoherent and rambling and he didn't step down from the
podium until someone finally pulled on his coattails.
7. The Oath Givers
Although it is not stipulated in the Constitution, it has become a tradition
to have the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court be the oath giver to the
President on inauguration day. This, surprisingly, is one of the few
traditions of inauguration day not begun by George Washington, who had
the Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston give him his oath
(Washington was sworn in at Federal Hall in New York). John Adams was
the first President to have a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court swear him
in.
Chief Justice John Marshall, having given the oath nine times, holds the
record for having given the most presidential oaths on inauguration day.
The only President to become an oath giver himself was William H. Taft,
who had become a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after he had
served as President. The only woman to have ever sworn in a President
was U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes, who swore in Lyndon B.
Johnson on board Air Force One.
8. Traveling Together
In 1837, outgoing President Andrew Jackson and President-elect Martin
Van Buren rode together to the Capitol on inauguration day in the same
carriage. Most of the following Presidents and President-elects have
continued this tradition of traveling together to the ceremony. In 1877,
the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes began the tradition of the
President-elect first meeting the outgoing President at the White House
for a short meeting and then traveling from the White House together to
the Capitol for the ceremony.
9. The Bible
The tradition of the President taking his oath of office with his hand on a
Bible was first begun by George Washington during his first inauguration.
Some Presidents have opened the Bible to a random page (like George
Washington in 1789 and Abraham Lincoln in 1861) while most others
have opened the Bible to a specific page because of a meaningful verse.
Of course, there is always the option to keep the Bible closed like Harry
Truman did in 1945 and John F. Kennedy in 1961. Some Presidents even
had two Bibles (with either both opened to the same verse or two
different verses), while only one President refrained from using a Bible at
all (Theodore Roosevelt in 1901).
10. The Lame Duck Amendment
Back in a time when news was carried by messengers on horses, there
needed to be a great length of time between Election Day and inauguration
day so that all the votes could be tallied and reported. To allow this time,
inauguration day used to be March 4.
By the early twentieth century, this huge amount of time was no longer
needed. The inventions of the telegraph, the telephone, automobiles,
and airplanes had greatly cut the reporting time needed. Rather than
make the lame duck President wait for four whole months to leave office,
the date of inauguration day was changed in 1933 to January 20 by the
addition of the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The
Amendment also specified that the exchange of power from the lame
duck President to the new President would take place at noon. Franklin D.
Roosevelt was both the last President to be inaugurated on March 4
(1933) and the first President to be inaugurated on January 20 (1937).