The history of inaugurations

America has a unique record of presidential swearing-in ceremonies in Washington

Today, Donald J Trump will take an oath to formally become the 45th president of the United States. Inauguration day is one of the most important days in American political life – but what is the history of the occasion? The ceremony that marks the start of a president’s term in office has developed over the decades, but the 35-word oath of office has remained unchanged for more than two centuries. The exact words of the oath are: “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.”

Even though it’s not required by the constitution, presidents usually take the oath with their left hand on a Bible. Some of the exceptions were Franklin Pierce and John Quincy Adams, who swore their oaths on law books, and Theodore Roosevelt, who used no book at all.

The oath is usually administered by the chief justice of the supreme court. Interestingly, there was only one woman who has taken the role: federal district judge Sarah T Hughes, who was called upon to swear in Lyndon B Johnson in 1963 in the minutes after the assassination of John F Kennedy.

The event’s main functions generally include the procession, in which the outgoing president accompanies the president-elect to the swearing-in ceremony, the vice president’s swearing-in ceremony, the inaugural address, the departure of the outgoing presi- dent, the inaugural luncheon, the inaugural parade and the inaugural ball. Some of these events have been introduced by presidents at different times and continued until today.

George Washington followed his swearing-in with the first inaugural address when he was elected as the first president of the United States. The first inaugural ball was thrown for James and Dolley Madison in 1809 at Long’s Hotel in Washington. Another tradition was attending a morning worship service on inauguration day, which began with President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1933. Some of the other events were introduced by the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies, which was established in 1901. It hosted the first inaugural luncheon in 1953 at the Old Senate Chamber for the new president, vice president and guests.

While the inaugural parade started with mostly military escorts, it was extended by 1841 to include citizens, groups and musical bands. There have been 56 formal presidential inaugural ceremonies, held at more than 10 different locations.

The first inauguration took place in 1789 in New York City, which was serving as the capital of the United States. Washington’s second inauguration and the swearing in of John Adams took place in Philadelphia. It was held in Washington for the first time in 1801, when Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated, a tradition that will be observed today.