The oath of office of the president of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the president of the United States takes upon assuming office. The wording of the oath is specified in Article II, Section One, Clause 8, of the United States Constitution, and a new president must take it before exercising or carrying out any official powers or duties.
Between 73 and 79 days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for a second term.
The inauguration of Gerald Ford as the 38th president of the United States was held on Friday, August 9, 1974, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., after President Richard Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal. The inauguration – the last non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to take place in the 20th century – marked the commencement of Gerald Ford's only term as president. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the oath of office. The Bible upon which Ford recited the oath was held by his wife, Betty Ford, open to Proverbs 3:5–6. Ford was the ninth vice president to succeed to the presidency intra-term, and he remains the most recent to do so, as of 2024.
The first inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1993, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 52nd inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of Bill Clinton as president and Al Gore as vice president. At 46 years, 154 days of age at the time of his first inauguration, Clinton was the third-youngest person to become president, and the first from the Baby Boomer generation.
The first inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd president of the United States took place on Saturday, January 20, 2001, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 54th inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of George W. Bush as president and Dick Cheney as vice president. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office at 12:01 p.m., after he administered the vice presidential oath of office as well. An estimated 300,000 people attended the swearing-in ceremony. This was the first presidential inauguration to take place in the 21st century, and the first in the 3rd millennium.
The second inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States was held on Monday, January 20, 1997, at the West Front of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. This was the 53rd inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final term of Bill Clinton as president and Al Gore as vice president. This was the last presidential inauguration to take place in the 20th century, the last in the 2nd millennium, and the first to be streamed live on the internet.
The second inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States was held in a televised ceremony on January 20, 1985, at the White House, and was repeated the following day, January 21, 1985, at the Capitol's rotunda. This was the 50th presidential inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final four-year term of both Ronald Reagan as president and of George H. W. Bush as vice president. At 73 years, 349 days of age on Inauguration Day, Reagan was the oldest U.S. president to be inaugurated, until Joe Biden's inauguration as president on January 20, 2021, at the age of 78 years, 61 days.
The inauguration of Jimmy Carter as the 39th president of the United States was held on Thursday, January 20, 1977, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. This was the 48th inauguration and marked the commencement of Jimmy Carter's and Walter Mondale's single term as president and vice president. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the presidential oath of office to Carter, and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill administered the vice presidential oath of office to Mondale. This was the last inauguration held on the East Portico of the Capitol building as well as the last time the chief justice would stand to the left of the podium, with the audience facing them, while swearing in a president. Exactly forty years later, Carter attended the inauguration of Donald Trump, becoming the first U.S. president to mark the 40th anniversary of his inauguration.
The second inauguration of Richard Nixon as president of the United States was held on Saturday, January 20, 1973, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 47th inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final term of both Richard Nixon as president and Spiro Agnew as vice president. Both Agnew and Nixon resigned within two years of this term. In December 1973, Gerald Ford replaced Agnew as vice president and in the following year, replaced Nixon as president. This made Nixon the first and, as of 2023, only person to be inaugurated four times as both president and vice president. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered both the presidential and vice presidential oaths of office. During the ceremony, Look With Pride On Our Flag, a song dedicated to President Nixon and composed by Hank Fort, was played.
The second inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson as president of the United States was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1965, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 45th inauguration and marked the second and only full term of Lyndon B. Johnson as president and the only term of Hubert Humphrey as vice president. Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the oath of office. Lady Bird Johnson founded the tradition of incoming first ladies participating in the ceremony by holding the sworn-in president's Bible. Vice President Humphrey was sworn in by John W. McCormack, the speaker of the House of Representatives. This was the first inauguration when the president rode in a bulletproof limousine.
The second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president of the United States was held privately on Sunday, January 20, 1957, at the White House and publicly on the following day, Monday, January 21, 1957, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol; both located in Washington, D.C. This was the 43rd inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final four-year term of both Dwight D. Eisenhower as president and Richard Nixon as vice president. Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the presidential oath of office after the Senate Minority Leader William Knowland swore in the vice president.
The first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as the 34th president of the United States was held on Tuesday, January 20, 1953, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 42nd inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president and of Richard Nixon as vice president. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson administered the presidential oath of office to Eisenhower. The vice presidential oath was administered to Nixon by Senator William Knowland.
The third inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president of the United States was held on Monday, January 20, 1941, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 39th inauguration and marked the commencement of the third, and eventually final full term of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president and the only term of Henry A. Wallace as vice president. This was the first and only time a president has been inaugurated for a third term; after the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1951, no person can be elected president more than twice, though three terms are still allowed provided at least one partial term of 2 years or less.
The fourth inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president of the United States was held on Saturday, January 20, 1945. This was the 40th inauguration and marked the commencement of the fourth and final term of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president and the only term of Harry S. Truman as vice president. This is the only time a president was inaugurated for a fourth term; after the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1951, no person can be elected president more than twice. Roosevelt died 82 days into this term, and Truman succeeded to the presidency.
The second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president of the United States was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1937, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 38th presidential inauguration and marked the commencement of the second term of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president and John Nance Garner as vice president. It was the first inauguration to take place on January 20 per the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This was also the first time the vice president took the oath of office on the inaugural platform rather than in the Senate Chamber. The length of Roosevelt's term as president, and Garner's as vice president had already been shortened by 43 days.
The second inauguration of James Madison as president of the United States was held on Thursday, March 4, 1813, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second four-year term of James Madison as president and the only term of Elbridge Gerry as vice president. The presidential oath was administered by Chief Justice John Marshall. Gerry died 1 year, 264 days into this term, and the office remained vacant for the balance of it.
The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1961, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 44th inauguration and marked the commencement of John F. Kennedy's and Lyndon B. Johnson's only term as president and vice president. Kennedy was assassinated 2 years, 306 days into this term, and Johnson succeeded to the presidency.
The inauguration of Warren G. Harding as the 29th president of the United States was held on Friday, March 4, 1921, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 34th inauguration and marked the commencement of Warren G. Harding's only term as president and of Calvin Coolidge's only term as vice president. Harding died 2 years, 151 days into this term, and Coolidge succeeded to the presidency.
The second inauguration of Calvin Coolidge as president of the United States, was held on Wednesday, March 4, 1925, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 35th presidential inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and only full term of Calvin Coolidge as president and the only term of Charles G. Dawes as vice president. Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who had served as president from 1909 to 1913, administered the oath of office. This was the first inauguration on which a former U.S. president administered the Oath and the first to be broadcast nationally on radio.
The inauguration of Herbert Hoover as the 31st president of the United States was held on Monday, March 4, 1929, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 36th inauguration and marked the commencement of the only term of both Herbert Hoover as president and Charles Curtis as vice president. Chief Justice and former President William Howard Taft administered the presidential oath of office to Hoover. This was the first presidential inauguration to be recorded by sound newsreels. Following the second inauguration of Calvin Coolidge, overseen by Taft exactly four years earlier, it was also the second time that a former president administered the oath of office to a new president.
