Everything about the Scandinavian law of conduct
The day a president-elect is inaugurated as President of the United States by taking the presidential oath of office is a very important one. The ceremony, the speech, the parade, and subsequent inaugural balls and festivities, are all moments that go down in history.
Some of these moments, however, did not go as smoothly as planned. A number of mishaps have occurred throughout the years, and in this gallery, we remember the most famous ones.
Click on to remember the biggest presidential inauguration controversies in American history.
In 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower improvised a prayer after taking the oath, instead of simply kissing the Bible. He then had a cowboy named Montie Montana lasso him!
The US Constitution says that the president must swear "that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States." But on Obama’s first oath in 2009 he said: "I will execute the office of president of the United States faithfully."
Because Barack Obama stumbled over his words while taking his first oath of office, he retook the oath a few days later at the White House.
Andrew Jackson’s first term inauguration in 1829 was a huge mess. A crowd of around 20,000 people joined him at the White House and all hell broke loose. Jackson even had to escape through a window.
As one Washington socialist wrote: “Ladies fainted, men were seen with bloody noses and such a scene of confusion took place as is impossible to describe.”
In January 1977, America witnessed President Jimmy Carter and his family walking at the head of his inaugural parade. This was the first time a president had done this since Thomas Jefferson in 1803.
A rooster escaped from a farm exhibit during Richard Nixon’s second inauguration in 1973 and joined the guests. The party was held at the Smithsonian’s Museum of History & Technology (now known as the American History Museum).
The thermometers during Ulysses S. Grant’s second inauguration in 1873 marked 16˚F (-8.8 °C) at noon. Sadly not only did guests have to endure the cold, but several canaries actually froze to death during the inaugural party.
Abraham Lincoln’s vice president, Andrew Johnson, was drunk during Lincoln’s second inauguration on March 4, 1865.
One senator at the time mentioned it in a letter to his wife, where he wrote: “The Inauguration went off very well except that the Vice President Elect was too drunk to perform his duties & disgraced himself & the Senate by making a drunken foolish speech.”
Eta Jones was not very happy to witness Beyoncé singing ‘At Last’ during the Obamas' first dance together as president and first lady in 2009. "The great Beyoncé. She had no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' president day… singing my song," she said.
And we mean that literally. An electrical short caused Cardinal Richard Cushing’s podium to catch on fire. John F. Kennedy kept his composure during the incident.
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson messed up his oath by saying “without any mental reservation whatsoever” rather than “without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.”
Poet Robert Frost, who was supposed to read a text originally written for the occasion, was unable to do so due to the sun’s glare on the snow. Instead, he recited a poem from memory called ‘The Gift Outright.’
The idea was to swear in using the Masonic Bible used by his father, George H. W. Bush.
The Bible in question (which had also been used by George Washington), was shipped from New York to DC, but didn't make it due to the weather conditions.
Speaking of the Masonic Bible, the one used by George Washington wasn’t really a matter of choice (even though he was a Freemason). It turns out that the inauguration organizers had to borrow it from the nearby Masonic Lodge after realizing there was no Bible at hand for the ceremony.
The election of 1800 was the first one where a president didn’t attend the inauguration of the president-elect. In this case, it was John Adams who wasn’t present when Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as president.
In 1829, John Quincy Adams left Washington a day before Andrew Jackson’s inauguration.
Andrew Johnson refused to attend Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration in 1869.
There were yet more presidential no-shows at inaugurations. Richard Nixon didn't show when Gerald R. Ford took the oath on August 9, 1974.
President Donald Trump was another no-show. Trump didn’t attend Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth Inaugural Parade didn't take place. The reason? Gas rationing and lumber shortage due to World War II.
Obama’s first choice to deliver the benediction at his inauguration, Rev. Louie Giglio, had to step down due to previous homophobic comments. As a result, Rev. Luis Leon took his place.
George Washington’s second inaugural address was short and sweet. The speech was in fact, the shortest ever delivered by an American president.
George Washington’s second inaugural address in the Senate Chamber of Congress Hall in Philadelphia on March 4, 1793, had only 135 words.
It turns out, not all presidents like to keep their speeches short. William Henry Harrison’s inaugural address is, so far, the longest on record, at more than 8,000 words.
The address had a duration of two and a half hours. William Henry Harrison contracted pneumonia shortly after and died, serving the shortest tenure in American history. It has been speculated that he fell ill because he didn't wear a coat while delivering the long speech in cold weather.
The inauguration of Franklin Pierce was held on March 4, 1853. President Pierce did however cancel his inaugural ball because he was mourning the death of his son.
George Washington’s wife failed to make it to his inaugural ball in New York, so Washington danced with other guests instead.
Sources: (Politico) (History) (The White House Historical Association) (BBC)
See also: First Ladies' inauguration day fashion throughout history
The biggest presidential inauguration controversies in American history
From sloppy speeches to no-shows
LIFESTYLE Us presidents
The day a president-elect is inaugurated as President of the United States by taking the presidential oath of office is a very important one. The ceremony, the speech, the parade, and subsequent inaugural balls and festivities, are all moments that go down in history.
Some of these moments, however, did not go as smoothly as planned. A number of mishaps have occurred throughout the years, and in this gallery, we remember the most famous ones.
Click on to remember the biggest presidential inauguration controversies in American history.