In the United States, Inauguration Day is the day on which the President of the United States is sworn in and takes office. Inauguration Day occurs once every four years, about two and a half months after the national election. The next Inauguration Day will occur on January 20, 2009, the date which the president-elect, Barack Obama, and vice-president elect, Joe Biden will take office. 2009 Obama Inauguration History The Oath Traditions Things to do and See in the Washington DC
2009 Obama InaugurationThe theme for Obama's Inauguration is "A New Birth of Freedom," which commemorates the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The words come from the Gettysburg address, and express Lincoln's hope that the sacrifice of those who died to preserve the nation shall lead to "a new birth of freedom" for our nation. Each U.S. Senator and Representative receives a limited quantity of free tickets to the January 20, 2009 swearing-in ceremony that they may distribute to the public at their discretion.
Inaugural balls and parties will take place at venues throughout the city, beginning approximately January 15 and ending the evening of January 20. The official balls are planned by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Other balls are planned by the state societies. Many more unofficial balls and parties will also be held during the week of the Inauguration.
History
The
inauguration for the first U.S.
president, George Washington, was held
on April 30, 1789 in New York City.
Inauguration Day was originally set for
March 15, giving electors from each
state nearly four months after Election
Day to cast their ballots for president.
In 1937, the day of inauguration was
changed by the Twentieth Amendment from
March 4 to noon on January 20, beginning
with Franklin Roosevelt's second term in
1937. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became
the first to be sworn in as president in
Washington, D.C., which did not
officially become the U.S. capital until
that year.
Since 1901, all inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol have been organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The U.S. Armed Forces have participated in inaugural day ceremonies since George Washington, because the president is 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 oath of office is traditionally administered on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The vice president-elect takes the oath of office at the same ceremony as the president-elect. This tradition began in 1937. Before then, the vice presidential oath was administered in the Senate. The Vice-President-elect takes the oath first:
| “ | I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same: that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. | ” |
This is followed by four ruffles and flourishes and "Hail, Columbia".
At noon, the president-elect becomes president. At about that time, the president-elect takes the oath of office, traditionally administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, using the form mandated in Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution:
| “ | 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. | ” |
According to tradition, in the first inaugural, President Washington added the words "so help me God" when reciting the oath, although there is no contemporary evidence of this. The words have been thereafter repeated by some presidents (as well as some vice presidents, while taking their oaths), including all since Franklin D Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt, for example, chose to conclude his oath with the phrase "And thus I swear." Only Franklin Pierce has chosen to affirm rather than swear. It is often asserted that Herbert Hoover also affirmed, because he was a Quaker, but newspaper reports prior to his inauguration state his intention to swear rather than affirm.
Traditions
Immediately following the oath, the
bands play four ruffles and flourishes
and "Hail to the Chief", followed by a
21-gun salute from howitzers of the
Presidential Salute Battery, 3d United
States Infantry (The Old Guard). The
President delivers an inaugural address,
setting the tone for the new
administration. Should January 20 be a
Sunday, the President is usually
administered the oath of office in a
private ceremony on that day, followed
by a public ceremony the following day.
Since 1953, the president and vice president have been guests of honor at a luncheon held by the United States Congress immediately following the inaugural ceremony. Other than at State of the Union addresses, Red Mass, and state funerals, it is the only time the president, vice president, and both houses of Congress congregate in the same location.
Since Thomas Jefferson's second inaugural on March 4, 1805, it has become 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. He paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue during his first inauguration, in 1981, amidst 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. Reagan did not do so in 1985 due to freezing cold temperatures made dangerous by high winds. In 1977, Jimmy Carter started a new tradition by walking from the Capitol to the White House, although for security reasons, subsequent presidents have only walked a part of the way.
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 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. When it was brought out, it came out through the House wing steps of the Capitol.
Inauguration Day is a Federal holiday observed only by federal employees who work in the District of Columbia; Montgomery or Prince George's Counties in Maryland; Arlington or Fairfax Counties in Virginia, or the cities of Alexandria or 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 who are not regularly scheduled to work on Inauguration Day. The primary reason for the holiday is to relieve traffic congestion that occurs during this major event.
