final project Presidents

Abraham Lincoln

Mar 4, 1861

Lincoln's procession to the Capitol was surrounded by heavily armed calvary and infantry, providing an unprecedented amount of protection for the President-elect as the nation stood on the brink of war.

Andrew Johnson

Apr 15, 1875

Abraham Lincoln had been shot at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. He died the next day. Johnson took the oath of office in the presence of cabinet members, several Senators and House members, and other dignitaries.

Rutherford B. Hayes

Mar 5, 1877

March 4, 1877 fell on a Sunday, so Hayes privately took the oath of office on March 3 in the White House Red Room, prior to the public ceremony on March 5.

Grover Cleveland

Mar 4, 1885

Grover Cleveland is the only President to have served two non-consecutive terms, first in 1885 and again later in 1893. He is, therefore, referred to as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.

Benjamin Harrison

Mar 4, 1889

Nominated for President on the eighth ballot at the 1888 Republican Convention, Benjamin Harrison conducted one of the first "front-porch" campaigns, delivering short speeches to delegations that visited him in Indianapolis.

Theodore Roosevelt

Mar 4, 1905

This was the first time telephone lines were installed at the U.S. Capitol for an Inauguration

William Howard Taft

Mar 4, 1909

Taft's Inauguration was held indoors, in the Senate chamber, due to the snowfall. Strong winds toppled trees and telephone poles, trains were stalled and city streets unpassable. City workers shoveled sand and snow through half the night. It took 6,000 men and 500 wagons to clear 58,000 tons of snow and slush from the parade route.
Helen Herron Taft became the first First Lady to accompany her husband on the return ride from the Capitol to the White House following his Inauguration.

Woodrow Wilson

Mar 4, 1913

The Inaugural ball was not held for the first time since 1853. Wilson requested that the ball be cancelled because he found it inappropriate for the solemn occasion.

Calvin Coolidge

Mar 4, 1925

This was the first Inaugural ceremony broadcast nationally by radio. Coolidge's Inauguration was the first time a former President (William Taft) administered the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Herbert Hoover

Mar 4, 1929

President and Mrs. Hoover, Vice President Curtis, members of the JCCIC, members of the PIC, cabinet members, Chief Justice and Mrs. Taft, Speaker and Mrs. Longworth, and the G.A.R. guard of honor returned to the White House for a private luncheon before the parade.