“Inaugurations: Stepping into History” — A Teacher Resource from Library of Congress

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Washington/Canadian-Media: Although Presidential inaugural ceremonies date back to the beginnings of the republic, yet every inauguration has been unique, the Library of Congress (LoC) reported.

Library of Congress. Image credit: Twitter handle

Inaugural ceremonies have taken place indoors and outdoors, in private and in public, in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The arrival of the president-elect at the inauguration site was on foot, in a horse-drawn carriage, or an armored limousine.

New presidents in their inaugural ceremonies have used lengthy inaugural addresses, or a few terse remarks, and in their speeches have professed optimism for the future of the United States or challenged Americans to confront difficult circumstances.

Teachers and students are provided with an opportunity to investigate inaugurations past through a newly updated teacher resource from the Library of Congress named Inaugurations: Stepping into History by using rich primary sources from the Library’s online collections.

The Inauguration of President McKinley. Chief Justice Fuller administering the oath of office in front of the Senate wing of the Capitol. Image credit: LoC/ drawn by T. de Thulstrup.
Created / Published 1897 March 13.

Different aspects of these key moments of transition, from the inaugural oath, site, and address to the issues and expectations that each president faced are presented in each section of the presentation.

The examination of these inaugural primary sources facilitates exploration of the different moments in the nation’s history, and the very different presidents, that these unique artifacts illuminate and reflect the ways in which they underscore the nation’s long history of orderly transfers of the presidential office.