In recognition of Martin Luther King Day, we will discuss the significance of the famous march which is a positive "Perfect Storm," - The March on Washington. In 2020 and the start of 2021 there were many marches, some impressive and some sad - but the March on August 28, 1963 contributed significantly to the establishment today as a National Holiday.
On January 20, 2021 at noon there will be a ceremony to
swear in the President of the United States. The first Presidential inauguration that of George Washington,
took place on April 30, 1789. All inaugurations from 1793 until 1933, were
held on March 4, unless it was a Sunday. After a change to the 20th Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to have
his inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20 in 1937. New Presidents have also been
sworn in at other times upon the death of a sitting president or when President
Nixon resigned in 1974.
This
Presidential election cycle and transition has definitely been long, difficult
and very eventful. Perhaps one the most eventful. Inauguration days have been
eventful also. But a peaceful transition has always been a bulwark, a strong support
or protection of American Democracy. May it always be so.
We
do not yet know what forms the Inauguration ceremony, parade or balls will take
this year given the current pandemic and climate of unrest. But
here is a look at some times past.
Transitions
The bitter 1800 Presidential election destroyed a friendship which was not repaired until the former friends were old men. Adams also angered Jefferson by filling the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court position just before leaving office. In the middle of the night before Jefferson's inauguration, President John Adams took an early stagecoach out of Washington back to Quincy, Massachusetts and was not present during the ceremony. The two men would not exchange another word for 12 years. But then they began a famous correspondence recreating their bond.
An inauguration is associated with parties and dances called inaugural balls and parties. But nothing tops the party on March 4, 1829 at the White House Open House when Andrew Jackson became President. The crowd of admirers was huge and they backed Jackson against a wall. The new President fled the scene back to the hotel he had stayed in before the ceremony. White House furniture and china was destroyed in the crush. To keep more people from entering the building staff passed the free food and drink out to the people outside. There are varying accounts of rowdy the party was but all agreed it was memorable.
What was the first
inaugural ball is considered by some to be an event held by sponsors
on May 7, 1789 in New York City, one week after the first
inauguration of George Washington. The nation’s capital was New York City at
that time.
James Madison's Inauguration
Others consider the
first inaugural ball to be a gala held in Washington, D.C. after the first inauguration of James Madison. In 1809. The popular Dolley Madison hosted a gala for her
husband at Long's Hotel in Washington D.C.
"For the occasion of James' inauguration in 1809, a Navy captain asked Dolley if a formal dinner and dance could be thrown in the couple's honor. Upon saying yes, Dolley approved the tradition of the inaugural ball that continues to this day."
Inaugural Ball Gowns
The Inaugural Ball
Gowns (or another dress if there was no ball gown before inaugural balls became
a regular occurrence) of the Presidential First Ladies are on display at the
National Museum of American History, the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
Another dress is
selected if there was no ball gown. Inaugural balls have been a regular part of
modern-day inaugurations but that wasn’t always the case.
The exhibition
features more than two dozen gowns from the Smithsonian’s almost 100-year-old
First Ladies Collection. To date the
Presidents have been male so the presidential spouses have been First Ladies.
When there was no spouse often another relative served as “hostess” at the White House.
The role of the First Lady, an unpaid position, has grown considerably. There
is money allotted for a staff for a First Lady’s office.
The term "first lady"
had been used for Martha Washington in a retrospective profile of her written
by a Mrs. Sigourney in 1838. The term "first lady"
started being commonly used in the late 1800s for Harriet Lane, the niece of
bachelor President James Buchanan.
Inaugural Parades
Inaugural parades are now big events requiring tremendous planning including security precautions. The first organized parade was for James Madison in 1809. There had been informal processions before.
Freezing Weather
William Henry Harrison
had ridden up Pennsylvania
Avenue on a
white horse to take the oath of office on March 4, 1841. He wore no gloves or
overcoat despite the freezing weather. He said he was as pleased with the
presidency “as a young woman with a new bonnet.” In the cold drizzle he
delivered an inaugural address that lasted almost two hours. He took to his bed
afterwards. Harrison died of pneumonia just one month later. His tenure is the
shortest of any U.S. President. His grandson Benjamin Harrison would become
President in 1889.
When Ronald Reagan was sworn in at his inaugural ceremony the temperature was a dangerous 7 degrees Fahrenheit. The ceremony could not be held outside as it usually has been. The parade had to be cancelled.
Jimmy Carter started the tradition of getting out of his vehicle during hisinauguration parade in 1977. He and his wife Rosalyn walked more than a mile to the White House.
Because of an alleged assassination
conspiracy, President Lincoln traveled to his first term inaugural in 1861
through to Baltimore, Maryland in the middle of the night on a special
train in the middle of the night. He transferred from the President Street
Station to the Camden Station at 3:30 a.m., before finally completing his
journey in Washington.
At Lincoln’s second inaugural on
March 4, 1865 the Vice President-elect Andrew Johnson was recovering from a
nasty bout of typhoid fever but was thought also to be intoxicated.
Johnson spoke in a slurred and incoherent fashion. Hannibal Hamlin had been Vice President in
Lincoln’s first term. For his second
Presidential election contest Lincoln had tried to balance his ticket (list of candidates)
with a Southerner and a Democrat, even though Lincoln was a Republican. The
nation was still in the turbulent time of the Civil War.
Andrew Johnson became President
following President Lincoln’s assassination. Lincoln was shot by actor John
Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. Booth had attended the swearing-in weeks
earlier. President Lincoln died one day after the shooting. A mere forty-one
days after his second inauguration.
Thank you to the following Logue Librarians with helping me with this blog:
Mary Jo Larkin, SSJ Dean of Library & Information Resources and Gail Cathey, Print Resources/ Access Services Librarian with editing and research for this blog.
Posted by J. Presley, Systems Management Librarian.
Here are the results on this topic in the EBSCO Database in Logue Library...
Magazines (122)
Academic Journals (119)
News (71)
Books (42)
Reports (15)
Videos on this topic:
The 25th Amendment Explained: American Government Review
David Hawkings' Whiteboard: What is the 25th Amendment?
Grey Reads The 25th Amendment
What is the 25th Amendment? How Does it Work? An Animated Motion Comics Constitution Tutorial
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Thank you to the following Logue Librarians with helping me with this blog: Mary Jo Larkin, SSJ Dean of Library & Information Resources and Gail Cathey, Print Resources / Access Services Librarian with editing and research for this blog Posted by J. Presley, Systems Management Librarian
