United States presidential inaugurations

Inauguration Day 2005 on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol.

The swearing-in of the President of the United States occurs upon the commencement of a new term of a President of the United States. The United States Constitution mandates that the President make the following oath or affirmation before he or she can "enter on the Execution" of the office of the presidency:

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.

The swearing-in traditionally takes place at noon on Inauguration Day at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., with the Chief Justice of the United States administering the oath. From the presidency of Martin Van Buren through Jimmy Carter, the ceremony took place on the Capitol's East Portico. Since the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the ceremony has been held at the Capitol's West Front. The inauguration of William Howard Taft in 1909 and Reagan in 1985 were moved indoors at the Capitol due to cold weather. Until 1933, Inauguration Day was March 4. Since then, Inauguration Day has occurred on January 20 (the 1933 ratification of the Twentieth Amendment changed the start date of the term).

Since Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth swore in President John Adams, no Chief Justice has missed the Inauguration Day swearing-in. When Inauguration Day has fallen on a Sunday, the Chief Justice has administered the oath to the President either on inauguration day itself or on the preceding Saturday privately and the following Monday publicly. Eight presidential deaths and Richard Nixon's resignation have forced the oath of office to be administered by other officials on other days. The War of 1812 and World War II forced two swearing-ins to be held at other locations in Washington, D.C.

From 1789 through 2005, the swearing-in has been administered by 14 Chief Justices, one Associate Justice, three federal judges, two New York state judges, and one notary public. Though anyone legally authorized to administer an oath may swear in a President, to date the only person to do so who was not a judge was John C. Coolidge, Calvin Coolidge's father, a notary whose home the then-Vice President was visiting in 1923 when he learned of the death of President Warren G. Harding.

[edit] Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States

Newly sworn-in presidents give a speech referred to as an inaugural address. Five presidents gave no address: Tyler, Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Arthur, and Ford. In each of these cases, the incoming President was succeeding a President who had either resigned or died in office. Fifty-five addresses have been given by 37 presidents. George Washington's second address was the shortest (135 words) and William Henry Harrison delivered the longest (8,495 words).

[edit] Locations

All but one of the inaugural addresses were given at the building housing the United States Congress. Washington gave his first address at Federal Hall in New York City and his second address in Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Adams also gave his in Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Jefferson gave both of his addresses at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and all addresses since then have been given there, except for Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth address, which he gave at the White House.

[edit] Dates

Presidents have delivered addresses on five different calendar dates in the year: April 30, March 4, March 5, January 20 and January 21. Washington gave his first address on April 30, 1789 and he his second one on March 4, 1793, which was the commencement date for presidential terms. This March 4 commencement date was changed to January 20 by the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

[edit] Sunday exceptions

From the years 1793 to 1933, the addresses were given on March 4 with only four exceptions. Because March 4 fell on a Sunday in each of their respective inaugural years, Monroe, Taylor, Hayes and Wilson each gave an address on Monday, March 5. Since 1937, addresses have been given on January 20 with only three exceptions. Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan each gave an address on Monday, January 21.

[edit] Religion

George Washington's second address is the only one to contain no mention of the Christian God. Thirty-four of the 55 addresses contain the word "God." The addresses that refer to, but do not contain, the word "God" instead say Giver of Good, Heaven, Almighty, Divine, or Providence. The last president not to say "God" was Franklin D. Roosevelt (second address).

[edit] Details

There is no requirement that any book, or in particular a book of sacred text, be used to administer the oath, and none is mentioned in the Constitution. Use of the Bible being customary for oaths, at least in the 18th and 19th centuries, a Bible was generally used. On some occasions, the particular passage to which it was opened has been recorded, as below.

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (April 2008)

• William H. Taft is the only former President to become Chief Justice, and in that capacity he administered the oath of office to both Calvin Coolidge (in 1925) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929).
• Most presidents have taken the oath with their left hand on a Bible and some presidents have even selected a specific Biblical verse to place their hand on.
• Though Reagan's initial swearing-in at the White House for his second term is properly styled as "private" (since it was not open to the public), it was televised. The same location was used later in the day when, with a National Football League official present (and in uniform), Reagan made the televised coin toss to open Super Bowl XIX.
• President Zachary Taylor refused to take the inaugural oath on Inauguration Day, 1849, because it fell on a Sunday. He took the oath of office one day later, on March 5, 1849.
• Chief Justice Roger Taney swore in seven presidents, more than any other Chief Justice: Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln. John Marshall administered more oaths of office - nine - but only swore in five men since Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Jackson had won re-elections and were inaugurated twice.
• President George H. W. Bush spent $30 million on his inaugural celebration, a 20th century record.

[edit] Further reading

• Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States (ISBN 1-58734-025-9)

[edit] See also

• Category:United States presidential inaugural addresses
• Inauguration
• State of the Union Address
• President of the United States

[edit] External links

Wikisource has several original texts related to:

U.S. Presidency Inaugural Addresses

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

United States presidential inauguration

• Full texts of all U.S. Inaugural Addresses at Bartleby.com
• Presidential Oaths of Office (Library of Congress)
• Bibles and Scripture Passages Used by Presidents in Taking the Oath of Office, Library of Congress
• Video at YouTube Video of inaugurations from Franklin D. Roosevelt - George W. Bush

[edit] References