When American presidents take office

General George Washington, on April 30, 1789, took the office of the President of the United States with the words: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will, at the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” To which he then added the words, “So help me God.” Since then, every President sworn in has followed the exact same formula. Inauguration Day in 1789 took place in the first capital of the United States, New York City. Subsequently, it was held in Philadelphia, where the United States declared independence from the British Empire in 1776. The first President to be inaugurated in Washington D.C. was Thomas Jefferson in 1801.

The inauguration of the President of the United States has often been a time of pomp and celebration. It has been an event marked by tragedy, comedy, farce and drama. When George Washington was inaugurated he created the tradition of giving an Inaugural Address after the ceremony. The shortest was only 135 words, which Washington gave after being sworn in the second time. The longest was also the most tragic; for the listeners and the President. In 1841, William Henry Harrison delivered a herculean 8,445 word speech that lasted well over two hours; unfortunately for him and the audience it was a cold, wet and windy day. One month later, President Harrison died of pneumonia, a fate likely sealed by his inaugural speech and his forgetting to wear a hat, gloves or coat during the affair. This should be a lesson to all future American presidents: keep the speech short and remember to wear warm clothing.

When the incoming President takes office he not only assumes the title President of the United States, but all of the headaches and problems left by his predecessor. President Obama may very well be inheriting some of the most daunting problems ever faced by an incoming President. The Inauguration has also become a time to reaffirm faith and hope for Americans. In likely the greatest speech ever given on American soil, Abraham Lincoln did this during his second inauguration in 1865. His speech ended thus: “With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” President Lincoln was assassinated six weeks later. Every President since has striven to live up to those words.

President Barack Obama was sworn in on the very bible that Abraham Lincoln was in 1861 and 1865, and he has also spoken many times of Lincoln as his personal hero. Inauguration Day is famous for its firsts: President Lincoln was the first in 1865 to allow African-Americans to attend the event. How appropriate that, 143 years later, the first African-American was sworn in as president. Even more appropriate, 2009 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. To end his inauguration speech, President Obama referenced the cold, wintry and bleak year of 1776 and the determination that marked the years of Lincoln: “Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”