Danielle Haynes - Inauguration Day

Published in 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

First Edition

Editor: Rachel Gintner

Book Design: Tanya Dellaccio

Photo Credits: Cover Pool/Getty Images News/Getty Images; p. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Group/Getty Images.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Haynes, Danielle.

Title: Inauguration day / Danielle Haynes.

Description: New York: PowerKids Press, 2020. | Series: U.S. presidential elections: how they work | Includes glossary and index.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781725310827 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781725310841 (library bound) | ISBN 9781725310834 (6 pack)

Subjects: LCSH: Presidents--United States--Inauguration--Juvenile literature. | Presidents--United States--Juvenile literature. | Inauguration Day--History--Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC F196.H39 2020 | DDC 973--dc23

Manufactured in the United States of America

CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch # CWPK20. For Further Information contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York at 1-800-237-9932.

CONTENTS

THE START OF A NEW PRESIDENCY

Roughly every four years since 1789, Americans have turned their attention to the nations capital as the next president of the United States is sworn into office. Inauguration events, dates, and even locations have changed forms over the last hundreds of years, but the inaugurations purpose has remained the same.

Though Inauguration Day is the start of new leadershipand the end of a sometimes combative election seasonits also a symbol of the and permanence of the U.S. government.

PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY

THERE HAVE BEEN 58 SCHEDULED PUBLIC INAUGURATION CEREMONIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

Thousands of people gather on the National Mall to watch the president take the oath of office on a platform outside the U.S. Capitol.

The United States was founded on democracy, a system of government in which the people choose their leaders or representatives with elections. Every four years, Americans vote on the president, and Inauguration Day is largely a celebration of that new leaders four-year term in office.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Since 1937, Inauguration Day has taken place every four years on January 20. The roughly 10 weeks between Election Day and Inauguration Day are known as the transition period. This time allows the president-elect to hire White House staff and interview people for positions.

Before 1937, Inauguration Day was held on March 4. Lawmakers moved the date up with the of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution because the vote-counting process had sped up with new technology and the March date left the departing president in power for too long after Election Day.

If January 20 falls on a Sunday, the president takes the oath of office in a small, private ceremony that day; then larger, public inaugural festivities are held on Monday.

PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY

THE SITTING PRESIDENT WHOS WAITING TO LEAVE OFFICE AFTER ELECTION DAY IS KNOWN AS A LAME DUCK BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE AS MUCH POLITICAL POWER.

Because modern inaugurations happen at the height of winter, attendees must often bundle up against frigid temperatures and rainy or snowy conditions.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Today, the presidential inauguration takes place outside the U.S. Capitol, which is where Congress does business. The West Front of the Capitol faces the National Mall, which is a long strip of park where hundreds of thousands of people gather to watch the historic event.

Though most inaugurations have been held at the Capitol, this hasnt always been the case. In fact, some oaths of office have been held outside Washington, D.C., altogether.

The first inaugurationof President George Washington in 1789was at Federal Hall in New York City. Later eighteenth-century ceremonies were held at Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Each city served as the nations capital before lawmakers settled on Washington, D.C.

Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Gerald Ford each held their inaugurations at the White House.

PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY

IN 1929, HERBERT HOOVERS INAUGURATION CEREMONY WAS DELAYED BY HALF AN HOUR BECAUSE FIRST LADY GRACE COOLIDGE AND SOON-TO-BE FIRST LADY LOU HENRY HOOVER GOT LOST ON THEIR WAY TO THE CAPITOLS EAST .

In recent years, the presidential inauguration has taken place on a platform outside the U.S. Capitol.

NOT ACCORDING TO PLAN

Some inaugurations have taken place outside the traditional time and place because of emergency situations. Perhaps the most famous case is when President Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office aboard Air Force One in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Then-Vice President Johnson had to be quickly inaugurated at Dallas Love Field airport because President John F. Kennedy had just been .

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president minutes after President John F. Kennedys death. New first lady Claudia Lady Bird Johnson stands to her husbands right, while former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy stands to his left.

Weather derailed at least two other inaugurations, moving them indoors. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan took his second oath of office in the Capitol due to extremely low temperatures. A driving blizzard the night before William Howard Tafts 1909 inauguration toppled trees, dumped nearly 10 inches (25.4 cm) of snow, and forced the ceremony inside the Capitols Senate chamber.

TAKING THE OATH

Though Inauguration Day includes many traditional events and , only one aspect of the day is necessarythe oath of office. Presidents may either swear the oath or affirm it. Those who choose to affirm it do so because some Christians believe the Bible prohibits swearing oaths. Franklin Pierce was the only president to give an affirmation when he was sworn in on March 4, 1853. Many presidents end the oath with the phrase, So help me God. The wording of the oath is laid out by the Constitution. It reads:

I (president-elects name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.