Transcript

2.13.26 · History Hour

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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Half Hour History. My name is
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Joseph Bolt, and I will be your host for the
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next half hour here at RADIOI. We want this show
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to be listener driven, so if you have any comments
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or suggestions, please give us studios a call at eight
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five nine four two two six three nine zero and
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let us know what you're thinking. As you know, RADIOI
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is a reading service intended for people who are blind
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or have other disabilities to make it difficult to read
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printed material. So today we're going to go back in
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history to the first presidential inauguration. That would be George Washington,
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of course, So let me read the sources first. The
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first one is from a website calls called historyfacts dot com.
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What was George Washington's Inauguration Like? And that was written
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by Timothyott with no date. The next source was history
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dot com The First Presidential Inauguration, How George Washington Rose
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to office and that was written by Jesse Greenspan in
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January of twenty twenty five, Almanac dot com The Day
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George Washington Became President written by Christopher Roberts in November
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of twenty twenty three, and finally from Thought dot com
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George Washington's first inauguration, written by Robert McNamara in October
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of twenty nineteen. So I've sort of put these articles together,
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and so let me start reading and see what we
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can find out. After leading the American colonists to victim
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in the Revolutionary War, George Washington resigned as Commander in
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chief of the Continental Army and vowed never again to
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re enter politics. I feel myself eased of a load
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of public care, he wrote, upon returning to his Virginia
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plantation in December of seventeen eighty three. He goes on
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to say, I hope to spend the remainder of my
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days in cultivating the affections of good men and in
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the practice of the domestic virtues. Yet Washington soon began
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to despair over the weak state of the government under
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the Articles of Confederation, privately pronouncing that something must be
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done or the fabric must fall, for it is certainly tottering.
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In seventeen eighty seven, following months of indecision, Washington was
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persuaded to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Unanimously chosen
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to lead the convention, he almost never voiced his opinion
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during the deliberations, instead serving as a kind of neutral arbiter.
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When the Constitution was finished, however, Washington lobbied for its passage,
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particularly in his home state of Virginia, where it was
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narrowly ratified in June of seventeen eighty eight. Once more,
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Washington's thoughts turned to his plantation, even as common and
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prominent citizens alike entreated him to become the nation's first president.
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You alone can make this political machine operate successfully, said
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the Marquis de la Fayette, a Frenchman who had served
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as a general in the Continental Army. Despite expressing reservations
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about everything from his advanced age to his supposed lack
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of qualifications, Washington eventually acquiesced, reluctant to the end. He
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wrote that his quote movements to the chair of government
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will be accompanied with feelings not unlike those of a
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culprit who is going to the place of his execution.
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The seventeen eighty nine presidential election was much different from
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anything in modern times. For one thing, three of the
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original thirteen states did not participate. Rhode Island and North
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Carolina were left out because they had not yet ratified
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the Constitution, and New York proved too politically divided to
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select delegates to their electoral college. Of the remaining ten states,
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a few chose their delegates with a popular vote open
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only to white men with property. In the others, either
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the legislator the legislature rather picked the delegates, or a
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combination of methods was used. Although Washington did no campaigning
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of any sort, all sixty nine delegates voted for him.
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To this day, he remains the only president to win
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the electoral college unanimously, a feat he repeated in seventeen
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ninety two. After delays in counting votes in certifying the election,
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Washington was officially informed that he had been elected on
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April fourteenth, seventeen eighty nine. The Secretary of Congress traveled
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to Mount Vernon to deliver the news. In an oddly
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formal meeting. Charles Thompson, the official messenger, and Washington both
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read prepared statements to each other, and Washington agreed to
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serve so. After learning of his victory, Washington journeyed from
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his Virginia plantation to New York City. He hoped to
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move quickly, but found himself being treated like a monarch
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nearly everywhere in Philadelphia. For example, a child placed a
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laurel crown on his head, after which he led a
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parade atop a white horse. Then, in Trenton, New Jersey,
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townspeople constructed a floral arch thanking him for the Revolutionary
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War Bank battle that he had won. There, flower girls
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tossed petals at his feet, and a chorus of women
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dressed in white sang him a welcoming ode. More festivities
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occurred in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, from where he took a
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presidential barge symbolically steered by thirteen oarsmen across Upper New
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York Bay and into Manhattan. After stepping off the barge,
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he was joined by a parade that had formed, consisting
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of cavalry troops, an artillery unit, military officers, and the
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President's Guard composed of grenadiers of the First Regiment Washington,
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along with city and state officials, followed by hundreds of
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citizens marched to the mansion rented as the President's House.
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The date was April twenty third, seventeen eighty nine. Martha,
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George's wife, was still tending to business at Mount Vernon,
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so she would not be joining her husband when she
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finally did arrive a month later She was accompanied by servants,
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which included enslaved people brought from Washington's Virginia estate at
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Mount Vernon. All in all, Washington's journey from Mount Vernon
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to his new home in Manhattan had taken about a week.
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With the president's safety secured, a joint committee of the
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Senate and House of Representatives met to hammer out details
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of where the inauguration would take place, who would administer
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the oath of office, and the seeding arrangements. On April
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twenty fifth, Congress adopted the committee's recommendation for ceremonies to
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be held five days later. At sunrise on the determined
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day of April thirtieth, a military salute was discharged at
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Fort George, near the southern tip of Manhattan. At nine
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a m. Church bells sounded throughout the city for approximately
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half an hour, summoning their congregants for a morning service.
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Washington barely had had any downtime since adjusting to his
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accommodations in a three story brick building on Cherry Street.
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He rose shortly after sunrise, powdered his hair, and put
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on a sword in a suit of brown woolen broadcloth
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with silver buttons, His suit was a gift from the
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just opened Hartford Manufacturing Company in Connecticut, which was the
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first US wool fabric maker. Wearing it was a political
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statement that the new nation had no need to buy
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its clothes from England. It was also a coup for
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Congressman Jeremiah Wadsworth of Connecticut, who was behind the idea
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of the gift. He knew that fashionable New Yorkers would
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pay close attention to what the President wore to his
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inauguration and promised he could sell another one hundred yards
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of fabric. The escorts arrived around noon and set off
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with the President and his coach about a half hour later.
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Numbering some five hundred men in total, the procession included
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two companies of grenadiers, a company of light infantry, members
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of the Senate and House committees, and of the Spanish
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and French ministers. Within two hundred yards of Federal Hall,
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the procession split into lines on either side of the street,
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its participants presenting arms and lowering flags as Washington and
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his party passed between them on foot and entered the
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Federal Building. The Senate met at eleven thirty that morning,
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and while waiting for the President elect to arrive got
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embroiled in a furious debate initiated by Washington's Vice President,
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John Adams over whether the senators should stand or sit.
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During Washington's inaugural speech. Inside the Senate Chamber, Washington was
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greeted by Adams and members of both the Senate and
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House of Representatives. At about two PM, Adams informed Washington
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that it was time to take the oath of office,
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and the gathered congressman escorted the president to a canopy
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covered balcony decorated with red and white curtains before a
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crowd of spectators gathered on the streets below and on
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the roofs and balconies of neighboring buildings. Washington placed his
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right hand on an open Bible supplied by Saint John's
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Masonic Lodge of New York. Robert Livingston, the Chancellor of
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New York, ask quote, do you solemnly swear that you
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will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States,
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and will, to the best of your ability, preserve, protect,
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and defend the Constitution of the United its States. Washington
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swore the oath, then kissed the Bible. Livingston turned to
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the crowd and cried, long lived George Washington, President of
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the United States. The masses repeated the accolade and gave
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the new president three mighty cheers. The flag was hoisted
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to the coupola of the Federal Building. Cannons boomed, and
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church bells clanged again. Washington bowed to the crowd a
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few more times, then went back into the Senate chambers
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to deliver his inaugural speech. The legislators, still in the
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dark about protocol, rose when he did, but when when
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Washington bowed, everyone sat down again. Washington stood before them
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to read the nation's first presidential address. Although not mandated
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by the Constitution, the speech was originally written with the
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help of his aide, David Humphreys, but Washington ultimately essued
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that lengthy draft in favor of a far shorter version
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crafted by James Madison. With his usual self effacing manner,
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the president revealed his feelings of inadequacy over his ability
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to handle the role of president and requested no payment
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for his services. Washington even listed his deficiencies, such as
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being unpracticed in the duties of civil administration. Nevertheless, he
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declared himself honored to be summoned by his country, whose
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voice I can never hear, But with veneration and love,
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he left no doubt about his grasp of the tasks
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that faced the country in the days to come. He stated,
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the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the
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destiny of the Republican model of government are justly considered
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as deeply and perhaps finely staked on the experiment entrusted
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to the hands of the American people. To the distinguished
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figures present, the man of the moment seemed surprisingly nervous.
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Massachusetts Representative Fisher Aims noted the President's manner as grave,
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almost to sadness, his modesty actually shaking, his voice deep,
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a little tremulous, and so low as to call for
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close attention. But the Congressman also described it as a
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very touching scene, the address producing emotions of the most
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affecting kind upon the members. As Washington fidgeted nervously, one
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senator stated, this great man was agitated and embarrassed more
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than ever he was by the leveled cannon or pointed musket. Afterwards, Washington, Adams,
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and the assembled Congressman proceeded to Saint Paul's Chapel for
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a service overseen by Reverend Samuel Provost, the episcopal Bishop
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of New York and Chaplain to the Senate. After dining
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alone at the presidential mansion, Washington journeyed out to watch
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a show of fireworks from the homes of Chancellor Livingstone
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and his old Revolutionary War comrade Henry Knox. Boston merchant
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John May described the fireworks over Lower Manhattan as well
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executed and greeted with tumultuous applause, but he seemed especially
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impressed by the lighting displays of various buildings. The Spanish
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Ambassador's house was illuminated so as to represent wisdom, justice, fortitude, sun, moon, stars,
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Spanish arms, et cetera. May wrote in a letter the
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following day. He goes on to say Federal Hall was
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also presented in a fine appearance. The likeness of our
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hero Washington, illuminated was presented in the window of a house,
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the best likeness I have yet seen of him, So
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much like him that one could hardly distinguish it from
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real life, excepting for the situation over a beer house,
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a place Washington never frequents. At about ten p m.
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The tired President retreated to his carriage in an attempt
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to return to his new home. However, the crowds crowded
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streets rather forced him to abandon his ride and complete
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his task on foot, a sure sign that there would
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be little time to rest with the world watching his
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every move as the first president of the United States
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of America. The final article that I'd like to read
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from today comes from history dot com entitled ten Unexpected
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moments in Presidential inauguration History, and that was written by
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Sarah Pruitt in January of twenty twenty five. Let's read
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a few of these. When Andrew Jackson was inaugurated for
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his first term in eighteen twenty nine, he welcomed a
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rowdy crowd of twenty thousand of his supporters to celebrate
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with him at the White House after he took the
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oath of office. The celebration dissolved into a near brawl,
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complete with broken furniture and smashed crystal. As one Washington
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socialite described it, ladies, fainted men were seen with bloody noses,
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and such a scene of confusion took place as is
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impossible to describe. Jackson himself was forced to escape the
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mayhem by jumping through a window despite the exceedingly cold
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weather On William Henry Harrison's inauguration day in eighteen forty one,
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the war hero and incoming president refused to wear a
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colder hat and insisted on riding back to the White
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House on horseback instead of a covered carriage old type
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canoe also delivered the longest address in inaugural history. His
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speech was eight thousand, four hundred and forty five words
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long and took more than two hours to read. Ironically,
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Harrison's presidency would turn out to be the briefest in
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the nation's history. Shortly after the inauguration, Harrison caught a cold,
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which turned to pneumonia, and he died on April fourth,
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eighteen forty one, just thirty one days after taking office.
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Before Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration in early eighteen sixty five,
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incoming Vice President Andrew Johnson drank a few quote medicinal
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en quote whiskeys to calm his nerves and ease the
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symptoms of a recent bout of typhoid fever. By the
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time he rose to take the oath of office, he
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was visibly drunk, slurring his words and rambling incoherently for
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some twenty minutes. Well Lincoln waited patiently with his eyes
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shut until the embarrassing spectacle ended. He later said Johnson
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quote had made a bad slip, but was not a drunkard.
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Barely one month later, Johnson would be sworn in again,
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this time as president, after an assassin's bullet killed Lincoln
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at Ford's Theater. The day of Ulysses S. Grant's second
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inauguration in March of eighteen seventy three was one of
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the coldest March days in the history of Washington, d c.
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The recorded temperature was sixteen degrees at noon, with gusty
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winds making it feel more like fifteen to thirty below.
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Flags along Pennsylvania Avenue froze over ripped loose, while ambulances
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stood by during the inaugural parade to take frostbitten military
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cadets to the hospital. Grant's inaugural ball that evening took
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place in a temporary structure erected for the grand occasion,
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but it wasn't equipped for the cold weather, and the
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guests kept their heavy overcoats on as they dined and danced.
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Cold food and frozen champagne weren't the worst of it, however,
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Some one hundred canaries hanging from the ceiling in cages
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were supposed to serenade the guests, but many of the
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birds froze to death before they could perform. During the
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first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower in nineteen fifty three,
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the newly sworn in president broke with tradition by reciting
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his own improvised prayer after taking the oath, rather than
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kissing the Bible. He then presided over an inaugural parade
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that featured some sixty two bands and twenty six thousand participants,
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and a moment that could almost certainly never happen today.
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With permission from the Secret Service, a cowboy, a California
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cowboy and trick roper named Monte Montana, last sold the
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new president as a grinning Vice President Richard Nixon, among
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other dignitaries, looked on. John F. Kennedy's inauguration in sixty
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one was full of unscripted moments. First Lyndon B. Johnson
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famously botched his vice presidential oath by saying quote without
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any mental reservation whatsoever in quote rather than quote without
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any mental reservation or purpose of evasion quote. Then the
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podium briefly caught fire during an electrical short in the
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power system while Cardinal Richard Cushing was delivering the invocation. Finally,
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the poet Robert Frost had written an original composition for
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the occasion, but was una able to read it due
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to the sun's glare on the snow that had fallen
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the night before. Instead, Frost recited a different poem, the
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Gift Outright from his own memory. Well that about does
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it for today. I hope you enjoyed listening to this
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show as much as I did researching and reading it
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for you. My name is Joseph Bolt. Thank you for listening,
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and from your friends at Radio I, we wish you
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a very wonderful day and of course happy trails.