By: Rachel L. MSW, LMSW
The fifty-seventh presidential Inauguration Day is upon us. Officially Inauguration Day is January 20th, but because that day falls on a Sunday this year the official swearing-in will take place on Monday January 21st. As the nation prepares to witness President Barack Obama take the oath of office for a second term, let us take a look at the history of this event.
- The Inauguration of America’s fourth president, Thomas Jefferson, was the first to take place in Washington, DC. George Washington took his first oath of office in New York City, which was where the first US Capital was located at the time. His second inauguration was held in Philadelphia, PA as was John Adams’ in 1797.
- Weather wise, the worst Inauguration Day was in 1909 when William Howard Taft took the oath of office. 10 inches of snow fell that morning along with heavy winds that pushed the ceremonies indoors. Severely cold weather on Inauguration Day has even been linked to the death of a president.
After delivering one of the longest inaugural speeches in history while stand outdoor in freezing temperatures, William Henry Harrison developed a cold and died a month later. This gives Harrison the distinction of being the US President with the shortest term. Furthermore, It is believed that cold weather on inauguration day lead to the illness and subsequent death of President Fillmore’s wife. After attending the swearing-in ceremony of Franklin Pierce, Abigail Fillmore came down with a cold and fever. She died a few weeks later.
- Harry S. Truman’s 1949 inauguration was the first to be televised. It was Bill Clinton’s 1997 inaugural that was the first to be broadcasted on the internet.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt was the last president to take the oath of office on March 4th. The Twentieth Amendment, ratified in 1933, changed the date of presidential inaugurations to January 20th. President Roosevelt also happens to be the first president to be sworn in on January 20th and the only president to serve four terms.
After Roosevelt’s unprecedented third re-election, the twenty-second amendment was passed, limiting the number of terms a president can serve to two four-year terms.
- President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 had the largest attendance in presidential inauguration history and was also the most attended event in Washington, DC history.
- This Monday marks the second time a presidential inauguration has coincided with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The first time this happened was in 1997 at Bill Clinton’s second swearing-in ceremony. One of the two bibles President Obama will be using for the ceremony belonged to Dr. King. The second was a bible owned by Abraham Lincoln.
Starting Monday at 10 am (EST) I will be live blogging the inauguration on Twitter. You can join in the discussion by using #swunited and following me at @poliSW.
Photo Credit: By English: Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo, U.S. Air Force [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Defense.gov_News_Photo_090120-F-3961R-304.jpg
