Thread
A Very Big Day on the History Front
On This Day. 1797: The first presidential transition occurred, when John Adams was sworn in as the second President /1
A Very Big Day on the History Front
On This Day. 1797: The first presidential transition occurred, when John Adams was sworn in as the second President /1
Adams's inaugural represented the first transfer of power between presidents; it was also the only time that outgoing President George Washington, VP Thomas Jefferson and Adams ever appeared together at such a high-profile event /2
Adams's swearing was also the first time a president had been sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Oliver Ellsworth). The new president, in his inaugural address, warned Americans not to lose sight of the ongoing threat to American liberty /3
Outgoing President George Washington, who declined to run for a third term, seemed relieved to relinquish the burden of the presidency. Until FDR. the tradition of just two terms would be respected
On This Day. 1801: Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as the third President; he would make substantial changes to the White House itself /5
On This Day. 1809: James Madison was inaugurated as the 4th President. He was POTUS when the British burned the White House down in 1814 /6
On This Day. 1817: James Monroe was inaugurated as the 5th President. Only person in American history to be Governor, Senator, Secretary of State, Secretary .of War - President /7
On This Day. 1825: John Quincy Adams was inaugurated as the 6th President. Became POTUS even though he lost BOTH the popular AND electoral college vote (true). Only one of two Presidents whose fathers were also President /8
On This Day. 1829: Andrew Jackson was inaugurated as the 7th POTUS. Nearly killed that very day when a wild White House party got out of control /9
On This Day. 1837. Martin Van Buren was inaugurated as the 8th President. Last sitting VP to be elected - until George H.W. Bush in 1988 /10
On This Day. 1841: William Henry Harrison was inaugurated as the 9th President. Died a month later - shortest presidential tenure ever /11
On This Day. 1845: James Polk was inaugurated as the 11th President. Perhaps the most consequential one-term POTUS in American history /12
On This Day. 1849: Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as the 12th President. “Old Rough and Ready” would die a year-and-a-half later. Second POTUS to die in office in a decade /13
On This Day. 1853: Franklin Pierce was inaugurated as the 14th POTUS. Lived a tragic life; regarded as one of the worst Presidents /14
On This Day. 1857: James Buchanan was inaugurated as the 15th President. Did little to stop the approaching Civil War - and is widely regarded as the worst President ever /15
On This Day. 1861: Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th President. Regarded as the greatest POTUS; led U.S. through Civil War /16
The approaching Civil War hovered over Lincoln's first Inaugural Address. He ended with this impassioned plea to citizens of both north and south: /17
On This Day. 1865: The Civil War was all but over - and Abraham Lincoln had but six weeks to live - when he gave his second, towering, Inaugural address - perhaps the finest ever. This excerpt: /18
As Lincoln gave his second Inaugural Address, a 26-year old man watched from just yards away. His name: John Wilkes Booth
On This Day. 1869: Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated as the 18th President. White House was nearly torn down during his tenure /20
On This Day. 1881: James Garfield was inaugurated as the 20th President. Murdered six months later /21
On This Day. 1885: Grover Cleveland -"the Buffalo hangman"- was inaugurated as the 22nd President. Was also the 24th President. First POTUS to marry in White House /22
On This Day. 1889: Benjamin Harrison was inaugurated as the 23rd President. Lost popular vote to Cleveland. Only grandson of a POTUS /23
On This Day. 1897: William McKinley was inaugurated as the 25th President. His 1901 murder put Theodore Roosevelt in the White House /24
On This Day. 1905: President since 1901, when he took over for the murdered William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated for his own term as President. Regarded as the fifth greatest POTUS /25
On This Day. 1909: William Howard Taft was inaugurated as the 27th President. Only person in American history to be both President and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court /26
On This Day. 1913: Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President. Eighth POTUS from Virginia—the #1 presidential state /27
On This Day. 1921: Elected by the biggest winning margin ever - still a record 26.17 points - Warren Harding was inaugurated as the 29th POTUS. His administration was plagued by scandal; he died in office after 2 1/2 years /28
On This Day. 1925: President since 1923, when he took over after Warren Harding's death, Calvin Coolidge was inaugurated for his own term as President. Here he is with Grace and their collie Rob Roy /29
Quite a first year for Herbert Hoover - inaugurated as the 31st President on this day in 1929: the Great Depression began and the Oval Office burned down /30
On This Day. 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd President. Considered the third-greatest President, he was elected an unprecedented four times - and guided America through the Great Depression and World War II /31
Tension between Hoover and Roosevelt made for a silent ride to Capitol Hill for FDR's swearing in. Hoover - crushed in a landslide - could not bring himself to speak to his successor /32
On This Day. 1987: Acknowledging a “mistake,” Ronald Reagan took blame for the Iran-Contra scandal - which sparked impeachment talk; it also led to the convictions of 11 Reagan administration officials (later overturned and/or pardoned by George H.W. Bush) (End Thread)
