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The inauguration of the president of the United States is a ceremonial event marking the commencement of a new four-year term of a president of the United States. The day a presidential inauguration occurs is known as "Inauguration Day" and occurs on January 20 (or 21st if the 20th is a Sunday). (Prior to the Twentieth Amendment, the date was March 4, the day of the year on which the Constitution of the United States first took effect in 1789; the last inauguration to take place on the older date was Franklin D. Roosevelt's first one on March 4, 1933.) The most recent public presidential inauguration ceremony, the swearing in of President Barack Obama to begin his second four-year term in office, took place on Monday, January 21, 2013.
The only inauguration element mandated by the United States Constitution is that the president make an oath or affirmation before that person can "enter on the Execution" of the office of the presidency. However, over the years, various traditions have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to a day-long event, including parades, speeches, and balls.
From the presidency of Andrew Jackson through that of Jimmy Carter, the primary Inauguration Day ceremony took place on the Capitol's East Portico.[1] Since the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the ceremony has been held at the Capitol's West Front. The inaugurations of William Howard Taft in 1909 and Reagan in 1985 were moved indoors at the Capitol due to cold weather. The War of 1812 and World War II caused two inaugurations to be held at other locations in Washington, D.C.
When George Washington was inaugurated, the oath was administered by Robert Livingston, Chancellor of New York State, in 1789, and by William Cushing, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, in 1793. Since Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth swore in President John Adams, no chief justice has missed an Inauguration Day. When Inauguration Day has fallen on a Sunday, the chief justice has administered the oath to the president on the Sunday privately and then again the next day publicly.
When a new president takes over mid-term due to the death or resignation of a president, the oath of office is administered but formal, public inauguration events have not been held.
The inauguration for the first U.S. president, Federal Hall in New York City[2] where he was sworn in by Robert Livingston, the Chancellor of the State of New York.[3] In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first to be sworn in as president in Washington, D.C., which officially became the federal capital only on June 11, 1800.[4] Inauguration day was originally on March 4, four months after election day, but this was changed to noon on January 20 by the Twentieth Amendment in 1933.[4]
The inaugural celebrations usually last ten days, from five days before the inauguration to five days after. However, in 1973, the celebrations marking Richard Nixon's second inauguration were marred by the passing of former President Lyndon B. Johnson two days after the inauguration. The celebrations came to an end as Washington began preparations for the state funeral for Johnson. Because of the construction work on the center steps of the East Front, Johnson's casket was taken up the Senate wing steps of the Capitol when taken into the rotunda to lie in state.[5] When it was brought out, it came out through the House wing steps of the Capitol.[5]
Inauguration Day is a Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, and the cities of Alexandria and Fairfax in Virginia, and who are regularly scheduled to perform non-overtime work on Inauguration Day. There is no in-lieu-of holiday for employees and students who are not regularly scheduled to work or attend school on Inauguration Day. The primary reason for the holiday is to relieve traffic congestion that occurs during this major event.
Since 1901, all inaugural ceremonies at the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.[6]
The commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Since the first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, that participation has been coordinated by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (now called the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee).
The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is the legal entity that raises and distributes funds for events other than the ceremony, such as the balls and parade.[7]
Most inaugural ceremonies were held at the 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. Due to the restoration work on the Capitol, James Monroe's 1817 inauguration ceremonies took place outside the Old Brick Capitol.[8] Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth address was given at the White House. Depending on the weather, the ceremonial swearing-in is held outside or inside of the Capitol building.
Outdoor ceremonies were traditionally held at the eastern front of the U.S. Capitol. Ronald Reagan broke with this precedent at his first inauguration in 1981, requesting to face west, toward his home state of California. All outdoor inaugurations since have taken place on the Capitol's western front.
Public inaugural ceremonies have been held on five different calendar dates in the year: April 30, March 4 and 5, and January 20 and 21. Washington gave his first address on April 30, 1789, and his second one on March 4, 1793, which was the commencement date for presidential terms. This March 4 date was changed to January 20 by the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
From 1793 to 1933, the inaugurations were held on March 4, with only four exceptions. Because of March 4 falling on a Sunday, Presidents Monroe (2nd inauguration), Taylor, Hayes and Wilson (2nd inauguration) each gave an address on Monday, March 5. Since 1937, addresses have been given on January 20 with only three exceptions (other than following a premature end to the presidential term): Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, and Obama each gave an address on Monday, January 21 (2nd inauguration for each). The most recent inauguration day that fell on a Sunday was January 20, 2013; the next will be on January 20, 2041.
In addition to the public, the attendees at the ceremony generally include Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, high-ranking military officers, former presidents, living Medal of Honor recipients, and other dignitaries.
The outgoing president customarily attends the inauguration, barring those cases where succession was due to his death. There have been four exceptions:
Richard Nixon left Washington, D.C., before his resignation took effect and did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Gerald Ford, who had no inauguration.
Inauguration procedure is governed by tradition rather than the Constitution, the only constitutionally required procedure being the presidential oath of office (which may be taken anywhere, with anyone in attendance who can legally witness an oath, and at any time prior to the actual beginning of the new president's term).[9] Traditionally, the president-elect arrives at the White House and proceeds to the inaugural grounds at the United States Capitol with the incumbent president. Only three have refused to accompany the president: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Johnson.[9] Around or after 12 pm, the president takes the oath of office, usually administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and then delivers the inaugural address.
Since 1937, the vice president-elect takes the oath of office at the same ceremony as the president-elect; before then, the vice presidential oath was administered in the Senate. The vice-president-elect takes the oath first. Unlike the president, the United States Constitution does not specify an oath of office for the vice president. Several variants of the oath have been used since 1789; the current form, which is also recited by Senators, Representatives and other government officers, has been in use since 1884:
Immediately after the vice-presidential oath, the United States Marine Band will perform four ruffles and flourishes, followed by Hail, Columbia.
According to [11] However, the only contemporaneous source that fully reproduced Washington's oath completely lacks the religious codicil.[12] The first newspaper report that actually described the exact words used in an oath of office, Chester Arthur's in 1881,[13] repeated the "query-response" method where the words, "so help me God" were a personal prayer, not a part of the constitutional oath. The time of adoption of the current procedure, where both the chief justice and the president speak the oath, is unknown.
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. With the use of the Bible being customary for oaths, at least in the 18th and 19th centuries, a Bible was generally used. Several presidents were sworn in on the John Quincy Adams was sworn in on a book of laws.[14] At his 1963 swearing aboard Air Force One, Lyndon Johnson was sworn on a Catholic missal that belonged to his predecessor.[15][16] In addition, Franklin Pierce is definitely known to have affirmed rather than sworn by using a Law Book. There are conflicting reports concerning Herbert Hoover, but the use of a Bible is recorded and suggests that he swore in the usual fashion. Barack Obama used the Lincoln Bible for his oaths in 2009 and 2013.[17] In 2013 Obama also used a Bible that belonged to Martin Luther King, Jr..[18]
The presidential oath has been administered by 15 chief justices, one associate justice, and two New York state judges (including only those administered at the inauguration).
Immediately after the presidential oath, the United States Marine Band will perform four ruffles and flourishes, followed by Hail to the Chief, while simultaneously, a 21-gun salute is fired using artillery pieces from the Presidential Guns Salute Battery, 3d United States Infantry Regiment "The Old Guard" located in Taft Park, north of the Capitol. The actual gun salute begins with the first ruffle and flourish, and 'run long' (i.e. the salute concludes after Hail to the Chief has ended).
Newly sworn-in presidents usually give a William Henry Harrison delivered the longest (8,495 words).
Since 1937, the ceremony has incorporated two or more prayers. Musical works and poetry readings have been included on occasion.[20]
Since 1953, the president and vice president have been guests of honor at a luncheon held by the leadership of the United States Congress immediately following the inaugural ceremony. The luncheon is held in Statuary Hall and is organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and attended by the leadership of both houses of Congress as well as guests of the president and vice president. By tradition, the outgoing president and vice president do not attend.
Since Thomas Jefferson's second inaugural on March 4, 1805, it has become a tradition for the president to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. The only president not to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue was Ronald Reagan in his second inauguration in 1985, due to freezing cold temperatures made dangerous by high winds. Reagan paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue during his first inauguration, in 1981, amid the celebrations that broke out across the country because of news just minutes into his term that the 52 American hostages held in Iran for the previous 444 days had been released. In 1977, Jimmy Carter walked from the Capitol to the White House, although for security reasons, subsequent presidents have walked only a part of the way.
Following the arrival of the presidential entourage to the White House, it is customary for the president, vice-president, their respective families and leading members of the government and military to review an Inaugural Parade from an enclosed at the edge of the [21] The presidential review has also made milestones, with the 1865 parade being the first to include African-Americans, the 1917 parade being the first to include female participants, and the 2009 parade being the first to include openly lesbian and gay participants.
A tradition of a national prayer service, usually the day after the inauguration, dates back to
George Washington's first inauguration took place at Federal Hall in New York City [...] George Washington's first inaugural address, April 30, 1789
Before the assembled crowd of spectators, Robert Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York, administered the oath
Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be sworn in as president in Washington DC, which did not officially become the US capital until 1801. [...] Inauguration Day was originally set for March 4, giving electors from each state nearly four months after Election Day to cast their ballots for president. In 1933, the day of inauguration was changed by constitutional amendment from February 4 to Jan. 290 to speed the changeover of administrations.
John Quincy Adams, according to his own letters, placed his hand on a constitutional law volume rather than a Bible to indicate where his fealty lay.
On the day of the Inaugural ceremony, President Obama will take the oath of office on two historic Bibles–one that belonged to Abe Lincoln and the other to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is a list of the 57 inaugural ceremonies. Also noted (parenthetically) are the nine presidencies for which inaugurations were not celebrated. For a list of the 73 events when the presidential oath of office has been taken, see Oath of office of the President of the United States.
The George Washington University hold the two most complete collections of presidential medals in the United States.
Saint-Gaudens' practice of creating a portrait sculpture of the newly elected president is still used today in presidential medal creation. After the president sits for the sculptor, the resulting clay sketch is turned into a life mask and plaster model. Finishing touches are added and the epoxy cast that is created is used to produce the die cuts. The die cuts are then used to strike the president's portrait on each medal. The most recent Presidential Inauguration Medal released was for President Obama in 2013.[25]
Unlike his predecessor, when Theodore Roosevelt took his oath of office in 1905, he found the previous presidential medal unacceptable. As an art lover and admirer of the ancient Greek high-relief coins, Roosevelt wanted more than a simple medal—he wanted a work of art. To achieve this goal, the president hired Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a famous American sculptor, to design and create his inauguration medal. Saint-Gaudens's obsession with perfection resulted in a forestalled release and the medals were distributed after the actual inauguration. However, President Roosevelt was very pleased with the result.
Beginning with George Washington, there has been a traditional association with Inauguration festivities and the production of a presidential medal. With the District of Columbia attracting thousands of attendees for inauguration, presidential medals were an inexpensive souvenir for the tourists to remember the occasion. However, the once-simple trinket turned into an official presidential election memento. In 1901, the first Inauguration Committee on Medals and Badges was established as part of the official Inauguration Committee for the re-election of President McKinley. The Committee saw official medals as a way to raise funding for the festivities. Gold medals were to be produced as gifts for the president, vice president, and committee chair; silver medals were to be created and distributed among Inauguration Committee members; and bronze medals would be for sale for public consumption. McKinley's medal was simple with his portrait on one side and writing on the other side.[24]
The security for the inaugural celebrations is a complex matter, involving the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service (DHS-FPS), all five branches of the Armed Forces, the Capitol Police, the United States Park Police (USPP), and the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Federal law enforcement agencies also sometimes request assistance from various other state and local law-enforcement agencies throughout the United States.
This tradition resumed in 1985 with President Reagan and continues under the auspices of a Presidential Inaugural Prayer Committee based at Old St. Georges. [23]
Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Republican Party (United States), Gerald Ford, Berlin Wall
Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Franklin, President of the United States, Quincy, Massachusetts
John Adams, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, James Monroe, Virginia
Harry S. Truman, Four Freedoms, United States presidential election, 1936, United States presidential election, 1940, United States presidential election, 1944
New York City, United States, Washington, D.C., National Park Service, San Francisco
Richard Nixon, United States presidential election, 1968, Washington, D.C., President of the United States, Spiro Agnew
Richard Nixon, United States presidential election, 1972, Washington, D.C., President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge
Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, United States presidential election, 1960, Assassination of John F. Kennedy