Let’s have some fun with Inauguration Day trivia
This isn’t the first time a presidential ending or beginning has carried a share of the odd, notorious and good ol’ LOL
Wednesday’s Presidential Inauguration will be historic, for so many reasons. There’s the swearing-in of Joe Biden, who, at 78, will be the oldest candidate to take office. He also garnered the most popular votes in U.S. history. There’s incoming Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and woman of color to be elected to the post. Then there’s the outgoing president, Donald Trump, who has said he will break with tradition and won’t participate in the festivities. He earned his own slew of mentions for history books in the last week: He became the first U.S. president impeached twice, this time charged with inciting the insurrection two weeks ago at the U.S. Capitol, the site of tomorrow’s inauguration.
Oh, and all of this is happening in the middle of a surging coronavirus pandemic.
This seemed an appropriate time to look back and remind ourselves that this isn’t the first time a presidential ending or beginning has carried a share of the odd, notorious and good ol’ LOL.
Blame it on the booze.
On Inauguration Day, March 4, 1829, President Andrew Jackson held an open house at the White House following the ceremony, a tradition established by Virginian and the nation’s third president, Thomas Jefferson. Thousands of people jammed into the building trying to meet the new president, drinking as they went. Reports said that the crowd muddied the furniture, destroyed decorations and trampled food into the carpets. It took a week to clean the place.
The horde, reports say, was lured out of the house after servants set tubs filled with whiskey and other beverages on the lawn.
Speaking of drinking.
President Abraham Lincoln’s second inauguration was almost upstaged by the performance of his vice president, Andrew Johnson. The two were sworn in on March 4, 1865. Johnson was recovering from a bout of typhoid fever and thought a few doses of his own prescription would pep him up. Inauguration morning Johnson knocked back some brandy and followed it with whiskey. He was sloshed by ceremony time. He gave a slurred, belligerent speech in which he called out people by name. People tugged at his jacket to get him to quit. After he finished, someone had to grab Johnson by the waist and make him take a seat. These were the waning days of the Civil War, yet Sen. Charles Sumner still described Johnson’s act as “the most unfortunate thing that had ever occurred in our history.”
Take it outside.
Virginia’s James Monroe was about to be sworn in for a second term in 1821 when chaos ensued. The service was going to be inside the Old Brick Capitol, the temporary house for Congress after the burning of the
U.S. Capitol in the War of 1812. Most presidents before him, except fellow Virginian George Washington, had taken their oaths indoors. Monroe’s ceremony was scheduled for the House chamber, but a squabble erupted between the Senate and House representatives over which chairs to use. Monroe squashed the feud and moved the ceremony to an outdoor platform in front of the building.
The Old Brick Capitol was razed in 1929 to make way for the current U.S.
Supreme Court building.
Hit the road, George. George Washington took his first oath of office on April 30, 1789 in New York, on the balcony of Federal Hall. He then retreated indoors to the Senate chambers to deliver his address. At the end of a day filled with speeches, gun salutes and fireworks, the streets were still so packed with revelers that the president’s carriage couldn’t get through. One account said the crowd was so dense that folks could walk on the heads of people. The president and his entourage abandoned their ride and walked to their lodging that night. (Probably not on the heads of people, though.)
Party pooper. President Woodrow Wilson, another son of Virginia, canceled the traditional ball for his first inauguration in 1913. He thought the party didn’t fit into the solemnity of the occasion. The New York Times, however, ran an article that said sources close to Wilson said the president-elect was concerned that people party too much and break
out in dances like the “turkey trot” and “bunny hug.” The frenetically paced dances were considered vulgar and dangerous. They had been barred from many public venues, and doctors even issued warnings. It was the first time the inaugural ball had been canceled since 1853.
This year’s inaugural ball and in-person events have been canceled or limited because of COVID19 concerns. The day will consist of virtual events and a televised special hosted by Tom Hanks titled “Celebrating America.” It will include performances by John Legend and Bruce Springsteen.
A future president saves a new one.
Washington’s first draft of his 1789 inaugural speech meandered for more than 70 pages. James Madison, a Virginia statesman who’d become the country’s fourth president, stepped in and grabbed the quill. He even later called Washington’s first tome a “strange production.” Madison whittled the speech, which Washington, who didn’t enjoy public speaking, appreciated.
The cautious one.
Following a contentious and drawn-out election, Thomas Jefferson kept his first 1801 inauguration a simple affair. It was the first inauguration held in Washington, D.C., after the federal government moved there in 1800. He wore plain clothes, unlike the finery of his predecessors Washington and John Adams. He opted to walk to the ceremony at the Capitol Building from his boarding house instead of using a posh carriage. Later at dinner, a guest wanted to offer him best wishes — Jefferson stopped him. Jefferson answered with a smile, “I would advise you to follow my example on nuptial occasions when I always tell the bridegroom I will wait until the end of the year before offering any congratulations.”
When being first isn’t a good thing.
Vice President John Tyler was at home in Williamsburg on April 5, 1841, when he got the news. He was told that President William Henry Harrison, who’d only been in office a month, had died the day before. Harrison, who was born in Charles City, had given a nearly two-hour inaugural speech — still the longest in presidential history — on a bitterly cold and rainy morning. He later developed a fatal case of pneumonia.
Tyler rushed to Washington, D.C., the next day and took the oath of office in a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. Tyler would become the first of nine vice presidents who ascended to the presidency after a commander-in-chief died from illness or assassination or resigned. Tyler was such an unpopular president that he managed to get thrown out of his own political party. He became the first president to have an impeachment resolution drawn against him, though it eventually failed. He was also the first president to have Congress override his veto.
The wait used to be longer.
The 2020 presidential election — like the whole year — seemed to drag on forever. Yet, the Constitution first established March 4 as Inauguration Day to allow time to tally votes and for the elected officials to travel to the ceremony. The first election was held on Feb. 4, 1789 and George Washington didn’t get notified of his win until April 14. He was then sworn in on the 30th.
The 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933, changed Inauguration Day to Jan. 20.
Sources include nps. gov, constitutioncenter.org, history.com, loc.gov, www. inaugural.senate.gov,mallhistory.org, archives.gov, history.house.gov and whitehousehistory.org.