Fun Trivia : Presidential Inaugurations

Structure Sub-topic of: Presidential Trivia Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 20 general entries.

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Presidential Inaugurations

On what date has the Inauguration Ceremony taken place ever since Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inauguration in 1937?

Presidential Inaugurations


20 January. The inauguration takes place on January 20, no matter what day of the week it lands on. In 2005, the twentieth was a Thursday.



Do both the vice-president and the president take the oath of office, or only the President?

Presidential Inaugurations


Both the vice-president and the president take the oath of office. The vice-president is sworn in before the president. Although both the vice-president and the president are sworn in, only the president delivers an inaugural address.



What does the President place his hand on when he is taking the oath of office?

Presidential Inaugurations


a bible. President Bush used his personal bible, which First Lady Laura Bush held. Their twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, stood with them while the judge delivered the oath of office to the President.



Where in Washington D.C., is the inauguration ceremony held?

Presidential Inaugurations


The Capitol Building. The beautiful Capitol Building has been remodeled several times. The President must walk through the Capitol Building and outside to the podium, where he looks down on thousands of spectators.



What song is played when the president is announced to the crowd?

Presidential Inaugurations


Hail to the Chief. A live band plays this majestic song as the president enters.



Who was the first man ever to be sworn in as President in Washington, D.C.?

Presidential Inaugurations


Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson loved simplicity and demonstrated this by going on foot to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony and returning to his boarding house afterwards for dinner. After his second Inauguration, however, Jefferson rode a horse from the Capitol to the President’s House, which is now known as the White House.



How many pastors prayed at President Bush's second inaugural ceremony?

Presidential Inaugurations


2. Up until the very day of the inauguration, a citizen of the US was trying to outlaw prayer at the ceremony, but did not succeed.



Who gave the longest inaugural address ever?

Presidential Inaugurations


William Henry Harrison. In 1841, President Harrison delivered an 8,445 word speech that lasted nearly two hours! President Bush's 2005 speech lasted a little over twenty minutes.



The U.S. Constitution requires that the incoming President must be sworn in while placing a hand on what instrument?

Presidential Inaugurations


It is not required. Placing the hand on the Bible is a tradition started by George Washington, not a law. Several presidents initially forgot to place their hand on the Bible, and did so half way through the ceremony.



Until 1933 the Constitution required that all Presidential inaugurations had to be held on what day and month?

Presidential Inaugurations


March 4. The 12th Amendment specified that March 4 would be the date. April 30 was considered. The date was reset by the 20th Amendment (ratified in January 1933) to January 20 in part because it was deemed that the interregnum was simply too long. The 2nd inauguration of FDR in1937 was the first held on January 20.



"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" was stated by which incoming President and in what year?

Presidential Inaugurations


Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. FDR's famous words employed to help the American people regain some confidence during the worst days of the Great Depression.



What occurred during Lincoln's 2nd inaugural in 1865, for the first time?

Presidential Inaugurations


African-American soldiers participated in the inaugural parade. By 1863 thousands of African-American troops were engaged in the Civil War. Probably the Massachusetts 54th Regiment is best known due to the movie "Glory" (1989), Matthew Broderick, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington.



Which President's inauguration was the first to be broadcast live on television?

Presidential Inaugurations


Harry S Truman. Coolidge's inauguration in 1925 was the first to be broadcast on radio. Hoover's in 1929 was recorded for "talking pictures." Kennedy's in 1961 was the first to be broadcast live on color TV. Truman's in 1949 was the first to be broadcast live on television.



President William Henry Harrison was the first President to arrive by what means of transportation to Washington for the inaugural?

Presidential Inaugurations


train. He died just one month after taking office in 1841 (the shortest term for a US president) because of the pneumonia he likely developed after delivering the longest inaugural address in U.S. history (one hour and forty five minutes).



Who was the first Presidential wife to participate in the swearing in ceremony?

Presidential Inaugurations


Lady Bird Johnson in 1965. Mrs. Johnson held an old family bible that had been given to the President by his mother



Which President's election was not positively determined until just days before his inauguration?

Presidential Inaugurations


Rutherford B. Hayes. The 1876 Hayes-Tilden election was the closest electoral vote margin in U.S. history, Hayes winning by only 185-184, and actually losing the popular vote.