Inauguration of the President of the United States

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Joe Biden took his oath of office as President of the United States on January 20, 2021 .

The inauguration of the President of the United States ( English United States presidential inauguration ) is accompanied by festivities beginning of the term of office of a US president . The Constitution of the United States sets time since 1933 on 20 January after the presidential election at 12 am EST fixed (effective from 1937).

Oath of office

According to Art. II, Sec. 1 of the United States Constitution , the President takes the following oath of office ( Oath of office of the President of the United States ):

"I (Name) 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."

"I, [Name], solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will faithfully carry out my duties as President of the United States and to uphold, protect, and defend the United States Constitution to the best of my ability."

Religious affirmation is not compulsory, but it is common in the form of So help me God .

Term of office

In the American Constitution, the term of office is specified in the first paragraph of the 20th Amendment . Accordingly, the term of office of the President and Vice President begins at 12:00 noon EST on January 20, even if, as happened for example with the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, the oath of office is taken a few minutes later. The inauguration can also take place on Saturdays or Sundays. The oath of office is taken in the presence of the Inauguration Committee . The Office start of a US president is a 72 to 78 days ending presidential transition ahead.

Inaugural Address

Inaugural speech by former President Donald Trump
The "spontaneous" swearing in of Lyndon B. Johnson in Air Force One

After the oath of office, the incumbent US president usually gives an inaugural address . A total of 37 presidents gave 54 inaugural speeches. To date, only four Presidents have not held an Inaugural Address : John Tyler , Millard Fillmore , Andrew Johnson, and Chester A. Arthur , all of whom succeeded an incumbent who died during his tenure. Gerald Ford , who succeeded Richard Nixon during an ongoing term in 1974 , made a speech to the American people after taking his oath of office, which was broadcast live on television and radio.
The shortest speech was given by the first US President, George Washington , on March 4, 1793 (the beginning of his second term); it had 135 words. The longest speech was given by William Henry Harrison in 1841 with 8,495 words.

The first inauguration of a US President took place on April 30, 1789 with George Washington at Federal Hall in New York City. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be sworn in in 1801 in the newly built city of Washington, DC , which became capital that year. Since then, almost all inaugurations have taken place in Washington. The exceptions mostly represented situations in which a president unexpectedly left office and a successor was urgently needed for a government capable of acting, for example the swearing-in of Lyndon B. Johnson after the assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy : Johnson took his oath of office just hours after the death of his predecessor on Air Force One on the tarmac at Dallas Love Field .

Since Thomas Jefferson's second inauguration on March 4, 1805 , every US president paraded the route from the Capitol to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue after taking the oath of office . The only exception to this tradition was when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated for the second time on January 20, 1985, because a cold spell in parts of North America meant that all of the celebrations took place in the White House.

Since the Shure SM57 was introduced in 1965, each speech has been spoken into several of the microphones. Donald Trump only used one such microphone in 2017.

Poetry lectures

Maya Angelou holds her poem On the Pulse of Morning at Bill Clinton's inauguration (1993).

In a total of six inaugurations since 1961, poems have been read out. List of the individual lectures:

Web links

Commons : Inauguration of the President of the United States  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Remarks By Gerald Ford On Taking the Oath Of Office As President .
  2. ↑ George Washington's speech (1793) as full text (English).
  3. ↑ Josh King: Trump's big league microphone. January 25, 2017, accessed January 19, 2021 .
  4. ↑ Michael E. Ruane: Selection Provides Civil Rights Symmetry. In: Washington Post. December 17, 2008, accessed January 15, 2009 .
  5. ^ Tuten, Nancy Lewis; Zubizarreta, John (2001). The Robert Frost Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-313-29464-8 .
  6. ↑ Kelloway, Kate. (January 24, 1993). "Poet for the New America," The Observer .
  7. ↑ . Harry Rosenthal: Poet Addresses Inaugural Event. In: The Washington Post. January 20, 1997, accessed February 1, 2013 .
  8. ↑ Katharine Q. Seelye: Poet Chosen for Inauguration Is Aiming for a Work That Transcends the Moment. In: The New York Times. December 21, 2008, accessed January 15, 2009 .
  9. ^ Mary Bruce: 'One Today': Full Text of Richard Blanco Inaugural Poem. In: ABC News. January 21, 2013, accessed January 22, 2013 .
  10. ↑ Camila Domonoske: Poet Amanda Gorman Reads 'The Hill We Climb'. In: NPR . January 20, 2021, accessed January 20, 2021 .