Inauguration Day - January 20 every four years, the swearing-in of the US President and Vice President

Inauguration Day is the US federal observance held on January 20 in years following a presidential election. On that day the President-elect and Vice President-elect take the oath of office at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. The day was originally March 4; the Twentieth Amendment, ratified in 1933, moved it to January 20 beginning with the 1937 inauguration. It is a federal public holiday for District of Columbia and the surrounding area, and a ceremonial observance across the rest of the country.

In one paragraph

Inauguration Day on January 20 every fourth year is the swearing-in of the US President and Vice President at the US Capitol. The day is a federal public holiday only for the District of Columbia and surrounding federal employees. It is ceremonially observed across the country by media coverage and local civic events.

The oath of office

The presidential oath of office is set out in Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." The oath has been used with minor variation since George Washington's first inauguration in 1789. The only president to use "affirm" rather than "swear" was Franklin Pierce (1853), who believed the word "swear" violated his religious beliefs.

The Chief Justice of the United States traditionally administers the oath to the President; the Vice President is sworn in by the presiding officer of the Senate. Several presidential inaugurations have been marked by the president-elect using a particular Bible (often a family heirloom); the same Washington Inaugural Bible, used by George Washington in 1789, has been reused at the inaugurations of Warren Harding (1921), Eisenhower (1953), Carter (1977), and George H. W. Bush (1989).

Why January 20 and not March 4

Under the original US Constitution, presidential terms began and ended on March 4 — the date the First Congress convened under the Constitution in 1789. The four-month "lame-duck" period between Election Day (November) and Inauguration Day (March 4) became problematic after the Civil War and the rapid industrialisation of the late 19th century, when US presidents-elect were sometimes unable to take office during national emergencies. The Twentieth Amendment, ratified on January 23, 1933, shortened the lame-duck period by moving Inauguration Day to January 20. The change first took effect for the second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 20, 1937.

The four-year cycle

Inauguration Day falls on January 20 of every fourth year: 2025, 2029, 2033, 2037, and so on. Because January 20 may fall on a Sunday, the public inauguration ceremony is held on the following Monday or Tuesday while the private oath-taking occurs on January 20 itself. The next instances: 2029 (Monday, January 20), 2033 (Friday, January 20), 2037 (Tuesday, January 20). When January 20 is a Sunday, the public ceremony has historically been delayed to Monday; when Saturday, to Monday or Tuesday.

The inaugural address

The inaugural address is the central rhetorical event of the day and has been delivered by every president since John Adams. The shortest was Washington's second address (135 words, 1793); the longest was William Henry Harrison's in 1841 (8,445 words, delivered over nearly two hours in cold weather — Harrison died of pneumonia a month later, though the connection is debated). Lincoln's second inaugural (1865) at 700 words is considered the finest of the addresses; FDR's first (1933) is the most quoted. Recent addresses have generally run 1,500-2,500 words.

The parade and the inaugural balls

The inaugural parade follows the ceremony and runs along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. The parade was first held in 1801 for Jefferson's first inauguration and has included military units, marching bands, civic organisations, floats, and (since 1969) the president and first lady in the reviewing stand. The inaugural ball is a series of formal dances; the modern tradition of multiple balls (held across multiple venues) began in 1953 and has typically included 5-10 balls per inauguration.

The ceremony and surrounding traditions

The ceremony takes place at the US Capitol. A small enclosed platform (since 1981) faces the National Mall toward the Washington Monument. The Vice President is sworn in first, followed by the President. The Chief Justice administers the presidential oath; the President chooses the Bible, often a closed family Bible, sometimes the Washington Inaugural Bible first used by George Washington. The inaugural address follows; it is typically short (FDR's 1933 was 1,883 words; Lincoln's 1865 second inaugural was 700 words). A congressional luncheon follows the ceremony, then a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, then evening inaugural balls. Prayers, musical performances, and a benediction anchor the formal program. State and local celebrations occur in cities across the country on the same day.

Holiday status

Inauguration Day is a federal public holiday only for federal employees in the District of Columbia and the surrounding areas (Parts of Maryland and Virginia). Federal employees elsewhere receive it as a holiday only when it falls on a day they would otherwise be working. Most state governments and private employers outside DC do not grant the day as a paid holiday. Schools in DC, Maryland, and Virginia typically close.

Where it is contested

Inauguration Day's narrow holiday scope is occasionally contested in Congress. Bills to make Inauguration Day a nationwide federal holiday have been introduced multiple times but have not progressed. Critics argue that the day should be observed more widely because the presidential transition is a national event; supporters of the current scope argue that the day is fundamentally a Washington-centred ceremony and that adding a new federal holiday would impose undue costs on businesses. The 20th Amendment's January 20 date has been broadly uncontested since 1937.

Comparable inaugurations elsewhere

Other republics have inauguration-style ceremonies at the start of a presidential or head-of-state term. France's investiture of the president by the Constitutional Council has no public holiday. Brazil's presidential inauguration (January 1 every four years after elections in October) is a federal holiday. South Korea's presidential inauguration is a public ceremony but not a federal holiday. Mexico's presidential inauguration (October 1 every six years) is a federal holiday. Compared with these, the US inauguration is unusually ceremonially heavy and unusually narrow in geographic holiday scope.

Inauguration Day by the numbers

Sources

• Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1933).
• US House of Representatives Office of Art & Archives: Inauguration history.
• Architect of the Capitol, US Senate Historical Office, White House Historical Association documents.
• Federal employee pay-and-leave regulations (5 U.S.C. 6103) on Inauguration Day holiday.
• Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies records.