Today In History: Inauguration Day

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.

-- Executive Oath of Office, The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription, Article II, Section 1, Clause 8. America’s Founding Documents. U. S. National Archives and Records Administration

On January 20th,  1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States, and the date henceforth became tradition in marking the official transfer of executive duties and celebration of the new or continuing power of American political parties. Prior to 1937, Congress had established March 4th as Inauguration Day, but the date was moved to January with the 1933 passage of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Presidential and Vice-Presidential inaugurations, the most widely known of many ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol, are typically held on the grounds outside, with tickets freely available to the general public for the swearing in and inaugural address delivered at or around noon. Cold weather is often anticipated, but wet or frigid temperatures can move the ceremonies inside the Capitol -- last seen in 1985 with Republican President Ronald Reagan, and now in 2025, with Republican President-elect Donald Trump for his second, but nonconsecutive term in office, the last of which was 2017-2021. 

Often with the shift of government come new Cabinet, policies, practices, including those that affect education at the national, state, and city levels, and influence the work of institutions of higher education, whether they are public or private.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• Hyde, C. (1929, Mar 03). Moving Day in Washington: Every Four Years on Inauguration Day the Capital Experiences a Big Shake-Up, with Nearly Every One Moving for One Reason or Another From the President Down. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Reed, J. (1941, Jan 19). Some Presidents Preferred Pomp, Others Disliked It: Famous Inaugurals of the Past. The Washington Post (1923-1954) 
• Hyman, I.  (1953, Dec 13). What Makes a 'Strong' President: It Is the Talent for Vigorous Leadership, Combined with Compassion and a Sense of History.  New York Times (1923-) 
• Johnson, G.W. (1953, Jan 18). Nine Inaugurations, Nine Turning Points: These Inaugurations Were Mileposts in American History.  New York Times (1923-) 
• Graff, H.F. (1960, Oct 02). Problem of the Interregnum: The Transition from One Administration to Another Is Still Largely a Matter of Improvisation. New York Times (1923-) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/problem-interregnum/docview/115072140/se-2
• Thomas, B. A. (1981, Jan 17). ..And Measuring the Oval Office: History Looks Ahead. Boston Globe (1960-) 
• Faber, H. F. (1985, Jan 22). Cold and Snow Chilled : Other Inaugurations, Too. New York Times (1923-) 
• Barron, J.  (1997, Jan 15). Feasts and Follies of Inauguration Day: Feasts and Follies of Inauguration Days Past Menus with an Eye to Older Nations. New York Times (1923-) 
• Chung, J. (2008, Nov 08). Between the Acts: Sometimes, History Is Made in the Transition Periods. A Look at the Interregnums of Popes, Kings and Presidents. Wall Street Journal (1923-) 
• Chung, J. (2009, Jan 20). All the Presidents' Speeches: From 'The Unheeded Disease' to 'A New Breeze,' A Complete History of Inaugural Soundbites. Wall Street Journal (1923-) 
• Hauser, C. (2021, Jan 20). Who Was the First New President To...? New York Times (1923-) 

Tips:

• Armacost, M. H. (2015). Ballots, Bullets, and Bargains : American Foreign Policy and Presidential Elections. New York: Columbia University Press e-book.
• Hess, S. (2008). What Do We Do Now? :  A Workbook for the President-Elect (1st ed.). Brookings Institution Press. e-book.
• Humes, J. C. (2016). Presidents and Their Pens :  The Story of White House Speechwriters. Hamilton Books. e-book.
• Lim, E. T. (2008). The Anti-Intellectual Presidency :  The Decline of Presidential Rhetoric from George Washington to George W. Bush. Oxford University Press. e-book.
• Patty, S. (2009). U.S. Presidential Inaugural Adresses from Washington to Obama (1st ed.). Floating Press. e-book.
• Vile, J. R. (2023). The Drama of Presidential Inaugurations and Inaugural Addresses from Washington through to Biden. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. e-book.

Images:

• New York Welcomes the President-Elect. (1930). From the Rothman Lantern Slide Collection, Courtesy of Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Inauguration Day, Courtesy of Canva.