The peaceful transfer of power has taken place in the United States from one incumbent to their successor for more than 200 years. But it hasn’t always gone smoothly.
The Oath of Office
The words that cap the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next are. “I do solemnly swear 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.” They may not have said them exactly in that order, and fumbled over a few words, but the utterance of these words, among a few other traditions, have been cited by each president on inauguration day for nearly 250 years.
The current day of Jan. 20 was decided in 1933 with the ratification of the 20th Amendment. It stated that the terms of the president and the vice president officially end at noon on Jan. 20. Before the 20th Amendment, presidents took the oath on March 4. George Washington was sworn into office on April 30, 1789.
Early Inauguration Address Events
The first presidential inauguration wasn’t held in Washington D.C. George Washington took the oath on April 30, 1789 on the second-floor balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, which was then the young country’s capital. A rough winter storm put the ceremony off from its original March date.
George Washington has the shortest inaugural address record at 135 words.
The first president to walk to his inauguration was Thomas Jefferson in 1801. He also chose to stroll back and was the first to be inaugurated at the Capitol in Washington. For his second term, he rode horseback and was joined by mechanics from the neighboring Navy Yard and others to form the first Inaugural parade.
The first time the peaceful transfer of power occurred was in 1797 when John Adams succeeded George Washington to become the second president of the United States under a constitutional order.
Firsts for First Presidents
Franklin Pierce was the first person to ditch the word “swear” and use “affirm” in 1853. He also didn’t kiss the Bible.
The longest Inaugural Address was delivered in 1841 by William Henry Harrison, coming in at 10,000 words.
The first inaugural address to be held outdoors was by James Monroe in 1817 in front of the Old Brick Capitol.
Zachary Taylor’s inauguration was postponed to March 5, 1849 due to March 4 falling on a Sunday. The newly elected president attended a 4th of July ceremony at the Washington Monument, which was then still under construction. He reportedly snacked on raw vegetables and a bowl of cherries and washed it down with a milk. Unfortunately, the combination made him rather ill and he died of acute gastroenteritis just 5 days later. He was the sconed president to die in office after William Henry Harrison.
The first time a successor joined the departing president was in 1837, when Andrew Jackson joined Martin Van Buren in a carriage ride to the Capitol for the inauguration.
The first president to add poetry to the event was John F. Kennedy. He invited celebrated poet Robert Frost to read verses he had prepared just for the occasion. But a glare on the paper tripped up the 86-year-old poet as vice president Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to shade the papers with his top hat. The esteemed master of moving words instead recited his passage “The Gift Outright” from heart.
The land was ours before we were the land’s.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England’s, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.
Modern and Historical Inaugural Events
Kamala Harris makes history Jan. 20, 2021 by breaking three barriers as the first Black and South Asian and woman to become vice president. Barack Obama was the first Black man elected to the office and served from 2008-20016.
Joe Biden is not the first president to arrive in the militarized capitol of the United States. Abraham Lincoln entered a militarized capitol when he took office in 1860 under threat of assassination from Southern successionist who would soon wage a civil war against the United States that killed more than 600,000 people before it ended.
Donald J. Trump is not the first person to shun the peaceful transfer of power in our country. John Adams did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of his successor, Thomas Jefferson.
A tragic and modern situation arose when Lyndon B. Johnson became the first president to take the oath of office on an airplane. The unusual event came after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated hours earlier. An often-overlooked fact is that the vice president was administered the oath by a woman, Northern District of Texas Judge Sarah T. Hughes. It occurred on the tarmac in Dallas before the plane lifted off to Washington, D.C.
For further reading about presidents, terms, service and the constitution:
Library of Congress
White House History – Presidential Inaugurations
History, Art & Archives – The First Inauguration of a Lame Duck President
History – Why Does Inauguration Day Fall on Jan. 20?
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