The inauguration of the US president is a sacred act of democracy for many Americans. So far, everything has not always gone smoothly.
Inauguration. For most Americans, the inauguration of the head of state is still a sacred act of their democracy. This year the oath of the 46th US President Joe Biden (78, "Promise me: About hope on the edge of the abyss") on the Constitution of the United States is under very special auspices: The capital of the USA fears renewed unrest after on January 6th a mob of supporters of the outgoing Donald Trump (74) entered the Capitol in Washington DC stormed and devastated, killing five people in the process.
The inauguration has been going on for over 230 years and things have not always gone smoothly. The inauguration even cost one president his life.
George Washington didn't want a third term
The first president was General George Washington (1732-1799), one of the founding fathers of the United States. He took his oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall, the first venue for the US Congress in New York City.
Washington, who served from 1789 to 1797, did not want a third term. After him, it became common in the United States for presidential terms of office to be limited in time. It was not until 1951 that it became law that only re-election is possible and a person can be president for a maximum of two terms.
There was only one exception: Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945), had been elected President four times in a row for the Democrats. And one was counted twice: Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) was the only one to win two non-consecutive elections and was in the White House from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Therefore he is counted as the 25th and 27th President.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the leading author of the U.S. Constitution, was the first President to reside in the newly built capital Washington D.C. in 1801. was sworn in as the 3rd head of state of the USA.
William Henry Harrison's two hour speech brought him to the grave
The shortest introductory speech – Inaugural Address – was again given by the legendary George Washington. He only needed 135 words when he was inaugurated for the second time in 1793. The longest speech is attributed to former General William Henry Harrison (1773-1841). In 1841 he spoke more than 10,000 words for over two hours while an icy blizzard raged in Washington, which the President defied without a coat, hat and gloves. 31 days later, the 68-year-old was dead, died of pneumonia, which he allegedly picked up at the inauguration. Harrison set a second record: he had the shortest tenure of all presidents.
The 5th President James Monroe (1758-1831) said "great" 29 times in his second Inaugural Address in 1821 – also a record. The word later became the favorite vocabulary of the 45th President Donald Trump. But in his inaugural address, "Forty-Five" could not break the record of James Monroe.
Washington insiders initially saw Donald Trump as a possible rebirth of 7th President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845). The lawyer and co-founder of the Democratic Party was the candidate of the common people and "backwoodsmen". When he became president in 1828, it was the first victory over the political elite on the east coast.
Andrew Jackson's supporters ravaged the White House
Over 20,000 Jackson supporters came to Washington for his inauguration. The crowds broke through the barrier around the Capitol, and some even ravaged the interior of the White House. It wasn't until Jackson started pouring alcohol that the crowd calmed down.
In contrast to Trump, Andrew Jackson is regarded as one of the formative US presidents, and he managed the second term with ease. In 1935 he was the first president to be assassinated, but it had failed because Jackson beat the assassin with his walking stick.
Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) was sworn in as 12th President in 1949. When he was inaugurated, it was so bitterly cold that Taylor had wrapped himself in a coat and scarves beyond recognition. When he wanted to take the stage at the inauguration, he was mistaken for a vagabond who was initially refused entry. The following year, the summer heat gave him a lot of trouble at a parade on July 4th for the national holiday. Taylor ate plenty of fruit and drank iced milk with it. He developed gastrointestinal inflammation from which he died five days later.
When the Republican Ulysses Grant (1822-1885), 18th President of the USA was inaugurated, the weather also played an unpleasant major role in 1873. Hundreds of canaries that were supposed to give the nude an exotic touch have frozen to death.
Abraham Lincoln's vice looked too deep into the glass, Woodrow Wilson encountered headwinds from women's rights activists
In contrast, the first inauguration of the famous Republican Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was extremely cheerful: The 16th US President was allowed to kiss 34 beautiful girls who came on stage on behalf of the states of the time. His second inauguration in 1865 was rather embarrassing: Vice-President Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) gave a completely incoherent speech and was totally drunk. Less than six weeks later, Johnson was the 17th President, because Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.
The inauguration of the 28th President and later Nobel Peace Prize laureate Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) was not a good star either. The day before its inauguration in 1913, over 8,000 women's rights activists demonstrated for their right to vote. They were insulted, spat at and sometimes beaten by angry men. Washington's chief police officer had to resign as a result. The United States introduced women's suffrage in 1920, shortly before the end of Wilson's second term.
In modern times, when Barack Obama (59, "A Promised Land") was first inaugurated as the 44th President, there was a small faux pas: During the swearing-in in 2009, Chief Justice John Roberts wrongly pronounced the oath of office. Instead of "… I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States …", the lawyer said: "… I will execute the office of the President of the United States faithfully …" That was also Obama when he repeated the sentence of the judge verbatim, as the protocol also provides.
In order to make his presidency legally watertight, Obama took the oath of office again one day later in the White House, this time in the correct order and wording.