Primary Source Spotlight: U.S. Presidential Inaugurations

“I Do Solemnly Swear…” U.S. Presidential Inaugurations primary source sets

“I Do Solemnly Swear…” Inaugural Materials from the Collections of the Library of Congress online exhibition

Inaugurations: Stepping into History presentation

Select historical newspaper articles

The Inaugural–The Past Reign, the Coming Reign The Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 7, 1837 (Martin Van Buren)
William Henry Harrison Inaugural news The Madisonian (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]), March 6, 1841
James K. Polk Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 5, 1845
Zachary Taylor Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 5, 1849
Millard Fillmore Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), July 11, 1850
Franklin Pierce Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 5, 1853
James Buchanan Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 5, 1857
Abraham Lincoln Inaugural news The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Ill.), March 5, 1861
Abraham Lincoln Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 5, 1865
The Inauguration of Vice President Johnson as President of the United States The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), April 16, 1865
Ulysses S. Grant Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 5, 1869
Ulysses S. Grant Inaugural news The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Ill.), March 5, 1873
Rutherford B. Hayes Inaugural news The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), March 6, 1877
James Garfield Inaugural news The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Ill.), March 5, 1881
Chester Arthur Inaugural news The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Ill.), September 23, 1881
Grover Cleveland Inaugural news The Evening Critic (Washington, D.C.), March 5, 1885
Benjamin Harrison Inaugural news The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), March 5, 1889
Grover Cleveland Inaugural news The Wichita Daily Eagle (Wichita, Kan., Ill.), March 5, 1893
William McKinley Inaugural news The Morning Times (Washington, D.C.), March 5, 1889
William McKinley Inaugural news The New York Tribune (New York [N.Y.]), March 5, 1901
Sworn in as President: Mr. Roosevelt Takes the Oath at the Wilcox Home The Washington times (Washington [D.C.]), September 15, 1901
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural news The Washington Times (Washington, D.C.), March 5, 1905
William Howard Taft Inaugural news The Washington Herald (Washington, D.C.), March 5, 1909
The Washington Herald (Washington, D.C.) Inaugural Edition March 5, 1913 (Woodrow Wilson)
Woodrow Wilson Inaugural news The Washington Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), March 6, 1917
Warren G. Harding Inaugural news The Washington Herald (Washington, D.C.), March 5, 1921
Harding Death Stuns Nation: Calvin Coolidge Sworn in as Nation’s President The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, N.D.), 03 Aug. 1923
The Evening Star Special Inaugural Section March 4, 1925 (Calvin Coolidge)
The Evening Star Special Inaugural Section March 4, 1925 (Herbert Hoover)
The Sunday Star Magazine Inaugural Edition March 5, 1933 (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
The Evening Star Inaugural Souvenir Supplement January 20, 1937 (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
The Evening Star The Inaugural Souvenir Pictures January 20, 1941 (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
FDR Fourth Inaugural news The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), January 20, 1945
Truman Goes Home and Bars Visitors After Oath The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 13, 1945
The Evening Star Special Inaugural Gravure Section January 20, 1949 (Harry S. Truman)
The Evening Star Special Inaugural Rotogravure Section January 20, 1949 (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
The Evening Star Inaugural Souvenir Section January 21, 1953 (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
John F. Kennedy Inaugural news The Catholic Times (Columbus, Ohio.), January 27, 1961

An Inaugural Poem March 4, 1865

Inauguration images

Inaugural maps

Inauguration sheet music

Films

Inauguration printed documents & ephemera

Inauguration Day texts

Modern-day legislation related to inaugurations

Learning resources

Library blog posts

Amanda Gorman Selected as President-Elect Joe Biden’s Inaugural Poet From the Catbird Seat January 14, 2021
Explore the History of Presidential Inaugurations Teaching with the Library of Congress January 3, 2017
George Washington and the Inaugural Inauguration Picture This April 30, 2014
The Inauguration: History on Both Sides of First Street Library of Congress January 16, 2009
Inauguration Music of Yesteryear In the Muse January 18, 2017
Intriguing Facts about Presidential Inaugurations Past Headlines & Heroes January 5, 2021
Meanwhile, About Those Abraham Lincoln Inauguration Photos Library of Congress January 18, 2008
The Mystery of Lincoln’s First Inauguration Photograph Library of Congress November 20, 2019
Poetry and the Presidential Inauguration From the Catbird January 18, 2017
Presidential Inaugurations Outside of Washington, D.C. In Custodia Legis January 12, 2017
Presidential Inauguration Treasures Library of Congress January 27, 2017
Selected Resources on Inaugurations, the Presidency, and Civic Engagement Minerva’s Kaleidoscope January 12, 2021
Sheet Music of the Week: Inauguration Day Edition In the Muse January 18, 2013
Trending: The Inauguration Will Not (Just) Be Televised Library of Congress January 17, 2017
Weathering the Weather on Inauguration Day Inside Adams January 14, 2021

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