BOOZERS AND SORE LOSERS
Inauguration days haven't always gone to plan
The ceremony is over, the Trumps have left the White House and the United States has a new president, who this week delivered an inaugural address spelling out his pledges to his country. American presidential inaugurations have oft been colourful affairs, as this 15-question quiz from Arthur Milnes will confirm.
1
Which Canadian had direct input into the crafting of what is widely considered the greatest inaugural address of them all?
That high honour goes to the late John Kenneth Galbraith. Without being asked, he submitted a full-length suggested draft to president-elect John F. Kennedy. Later he was officially invited, at Kennedy's direction, to officially provide input for the real speech. Not bad for an Ontario kid born at tiny Iona Station in Elgin County.
2
Which vice-president was sworn into office on the island of Cuba?
Franklin Pierce's vice-president, William R. King, was given permission by a special act of Congress to be sworn in by the American consul general to Cuba.
King was suffering from severe health issues and had travelled to Cuba in hopes the warmer climate would benefit him. So, on March 24, 1853 — 20 days after Pierce was sworn in as president — King took his own oath. Sadly, he died soon after, never having performed any of his vice-presidential duties.
3
Which president was sworn into office by his own father?
In one of the most unique presidential swearings-in, Calvin Coolidge was given the oath by his dad, Col. J. Calvin Coolidge Sr., in the tiny hamlet of Plymouth Notch, Vermont.
The junior Coolidge, vice-president to President Warren Harding, was vacationing there when news came in the middle of the night on Aug. 23, 1923, that Harding had died suddenly. (With no phone at the Coolidge house, a team on horseback was sent from miles away, where there was a telegraph, to inform the soon-to-be president of Harding's passing.)
The senior Coolidge, a notary public, administered the oath to his son. The Coolidge homestead had no electricity or running water and the 30th president took his oath by candlelight in his father's living room.
4
Which presidential speech writ- er spent the rest of his life answering “Ask not,” when he was quizzed over and over about whether he or his president had written the famous inaugural address lines, “And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
“Ask not” became the standard reply to this question by John F. Kennedy's speech writer and friend, Theodore Sorensen.
5
Which future Ontario premier and Canadian diplomat heard JFK's famous inaugural address in person on Jan. 20, 1961?
Bob Rae, all of 13 years old, was taken by his father to hear Kennedy that historic day. Rae's father, Saul Rae, was then a senior Canadian diplomat assigned to Canada's Embassy in Washington.
6
Which president-elect, on inauguration day, famously insulted his predecessor by refusing, upon arrival at the White House, to enter and have the traditional tea with the outgoing president?
In what proved to be anything but a high moment in his illustrious career, Dwight Eisenhower snubbed Harry Truman this way on Jan. 20, 1953.
7
Who was the only “Canadian” to be sworn in as president of the United States?
Why, that would Chester Arthur, of course. Born in an isolated part of northern Vermont at the Canadian border, Arthur, who ran as James Garfield's vice-pres
idential pick in 1880, was accused by his and Garfield's opponents of being — you guessed it — Canadian throughout that campaign season.
Arthur became president after Garfield was shot by an assassin, with the “Canadian's” swearing-in taking place in New York City on Sept. 19, 1881.
8
Which president opened his own inaugural address with such a glowing tribute to his predecessor — from another party — that the former president in question had to stand to receive the continuing cheers of the crowd who had, in fact, gathered to see the man who had defeated him sworn in?
President Jimmy Carter, only moments after taking the oath of office, turned to his opponent, Gerald R. Ford, and thanked his predecessor for all he had done “to heal our land” in the aftermath of Watergate. “That was so unexpected, such a gracious thing for him to say,” Ford later wrote.
“The crowd began to applaud, and I bit my lip to mask my emotions. I didn't know whether to remain seated or to stand. But when the cheers continued, I decided to stand, and I reached over to clasp Carter's hand.”
9
Which presidential grandson, and future president's daughter, destined to marry later in life, were famously photographed together on an inauguration day?
The picture of David Eisenhower, grandson of President Dwight Eisenhower, and Julie Nixon, daughter of Vice-President
Richard Nixon, is one of the most famous photographs taken at the Jan. 20, 1957 inauguration of Eisenhower and Nixon, his running mate.
10
What classless act did both outgoing President John Adams and his son, President John Quincy Adams, perform on their respective last days in office?
Both Adamses left Washington, boycotting the inaugurals of their successors, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Andrew Johnson also did not attend the swearing-in of his successor,
U.S. Grant, and poor health kept Woodrow Wilson from attending Warren Harding's inauguration. Finally, Richard Nixon — for understandable reasons, I would suggest — did not attend the scaled-down inaugural ceremonies for Gerald R. Ford.
11
Which First Lady, on the way out of the White House door on inauguration day after her husband's defeat, told staff there to take care of the furniture because she would be back in four years to reclaim it?
That would be Frances Cleveland, who did indeed return to the White House as First Lady in 1893 when husband Grover became the only president ever to serve non-consecutive terms.
12
On his inauguration day in 2001, who was the first visitor President George W. Bush had to the Oval Office?
His father, former president George H.W. Bush.
13
At which president's inauguration concert did legend Bob Dylan perform?
That would be Bill Clinton's, in 1993, when Dylan sang his Chimes of Freedom for the incoming president at the Lincoln Memorial. Dylan fans, and any student of the U.S. civil rights movement, will recall that the musical legend had performed at that exact spot, two decades earlier, when he famously sang at Martin Luther King 's March on Washington.
14
Which president delivered the longest inaugural address?
The 8,000-word address by Ohio's William Henry Harrison took more than two hours to deliver in 1841.
Not wearing proper clothing, Harrison contracted pneumonia and died a month later. His grandson, decades later, had better luck and seems to have, obviously, worn a coat. Benjamin Harrison gave his own inaugural address in 1889 and lived on for his full four-year term.
15
Which U.S. vice-president, soon to be president, arrived on inaugural day so drunk that his first address was incoherent?
That would be Andrew Johnson, who was so drunk that after his first remarks as vice-president, he had to be excused from his first duty: swearing-in new U.S. senators. The scary part was the fact that Johnson would himself become president only a few weeks later, after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Legend has it that Johnson had to be woken up, as he was drunk again, to participate in his own swearing-in as president.
And who said history is boring?
Kingston's Arthur Milnes is a past speech writer to then-prime minister Stephen Harper, and was former prime minister Brian Mulroney's research assistant on the latter's best-selling Memoirs. His books include published studies of presidents George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Franklin Roosevelt.