The 56th Presidential Inauguration 

 

 

 

Inaugural media guide 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Produced by the joint congressional committee on 

inaugural ceremonies 

January 2009 

 
Table of Contents 

About the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) 

 JCCIC Members 

Media Timeline 

2009 Inaugural Ceremonies 

 Processions to the Platform 

 Inaugural Program 

 Musical Selections 

 Bios 

 Aretha Franklin 

 Yo-Yo Ma 

 Anthony McGill 

 Gabriela Montero 

 Itzhak Perlman 

 John Williams 

 Elizabeth Alexander 

 Pastor Rick Warren 

 The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery 

San Francisco Boys Chorus (SFBC) 

 San Francisco Girls Chorus (SFGC) 

 The United States Army Herald Trumpets 

 The United States Marine Band 

 The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters‖

 Lincoln Bible 

President’s Room 

Inaugural Luncheon 

Program 

 Menu 

 Recipes 

 Painting 

 Inaugural Gifts 

Smithsonian Chamber Players 

History of Statuary Hall 

Event Site Map 

Images of Tickets 

Biographies 

President George W. Bush 

 President – elect Barack Obama 

 Vice President Dick Cheney 

 Vice President - elect Joe Biden 

Mrs. Laura Bush 

 Mrs. Michelle Obama 

 Mrs. Lynne Cheney 

Dr. Jill Biden 

 Justices of the Supreme Court 

U.S. Capitol History and Facts 

Inaugural History 

Morning Worship Service 

 Procession to the Capitol 

 Vice President’s Swearing–In Ceremony 

 Presidential Swearing-In Ceremony 

 Inaugural Address 

 Inaugural Luncheon 

 Inaugural Parade 

 Inaugural Ball 

 Inaugural Facts and Firsts

AFIC (armed forces inaugural committee) 

AFIC History & Fact Sheet 
 

 

 

Joint Congressional 

Committee on Inaugural 

Ceremonies 

(JCCIC) 
Joint Congressional Committee 

on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) 

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) plans and executes all 

Inaugural activities at the United States Capitol, including the Inaugural swearing-in ceremony 

of the President and Vice President of the United States and the traditional Inaugural luncheon 

that follows. 

Upon passage of a concurrent resolution, the JCCIC is established and the members appointed. 

The Vice President appoints Senators and the Speaker of the House of Representatives appoints 

House members. The JCCIC is usually comprised of the Senate Majority Leader (at the time of 

appointment), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and 

Administration, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Majority and Minority 

Leaders of the House of Representatives. 

History of the Joint Congressional Committee 

on Inaugural Ceremonies 

On January 20, 2009, the newly 

elected President of the United States 

will take the constitutional oath of 

office marking the 56th formal 

Presidential Inaugural ceremony since 

1789. In all, U.S. Presidents have 

been sworn into office 68 times—

usually in public, sometimes in private 

following the death or resignation of a 

President, or because Inauguration 

Day fell on a Sunday. While the U.S. 

Senate oversaw the first 28 

Inaugurations of both the President 

and Vice President, since 1901, all 

Inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. 

Capitol have 

 

been organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). A 

separate Presidential Inaugural Committee, appointed by the President-elect, has responsibility 

for all official Inaugural events other than those held at the Capitol. The military also plays a role 

with the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, which coordinates all military participation and 

support for the Inaugural ceremonies. 

Photo from the Library of Congress, President Coolidge, Mrs. Coolidge

and Senator Curtis on the way to the Capitol, March 4, 1925.
Although the United States Constitution specified the oath to be taken by the President, the 

Framers of the Constitution provided that Congress would determine when and where the 

Inauguration would take place. As the nation grew, so too did interest in the Presidential 

Inaugurations. By the late 1820s, what had typically been a small, indoor ceremony moved 

outdoors, allowing more people to witness this important event first hand. By the end of the 19th 

century, the Presidential Inauguration had evolved into an elaborate day-long event, marked by 

parades, fireworks, luncheons, and glamorous Inaugural balls. As the event evolved, so did the 

Senate's role in the ceremony, and increasingly the House of Representatives became frustrated 

by their lack of involvement in the planning stage of Presidential Inaugurations. 

In March of 1897, as preparations for William McKinley's first Inauguration were underway, 

members of the House of Representatives protested when they learned Senators would receive 

twice as many Inaugural tickets. Representatives were further angered when they discovered the 

Inaugural platform would be built entirely in front of the Senate wing of the Capitol. "In other 

words," the Washington Post reported, "the House is not to be recognized in this matter even a 

little bit." Senators defended their actions by reminding their House colleagues that, as a 

continuing body which advises the President on nominations and treaties, the Senate held a 

unique position within the federal government, one that was co-equal with the President. The 

Senate maintained its control over the 1897 Inauguration, but four years later the responsibilities 

were shared by both houses of Congress. 

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies was 

formed in 1901 to oversee Inaugural ceremonies at the United 

States Capitol. Representatives Joseph Cannon, John Dalzell, and 

Thomas McRae joined Senators Marcus Hanna, John Spooner and 

James Jones to plan McKinley's second Inaugural. Hanna chaired 

the committee, and continued the Senate tradition of accompanying 

the President-elect on his carriage ride to the Capitol. By all 

accounts, the joint effort was a success. The 1901 ceremony 

included parades and exhibitions viewed by the new President 

from a glass-enclosed reviewing stand at the White House, and the 

whole event was recorded—for the first time—by motion picture 

cameras. Library of Congress, Sen. Marcus Hanna

Since 1901, Congress has created a new Inaugural committee every four years to plan and 

conduct the Inaugural activities at the Capitol, including the swearing-in ceremony and the 

luncheon honoring the President and Vice President. As tradition dictates, the Committee 

includes the Senate Majority Leader (at the time of appointment), the chair and ranking member 

of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, the Speaker of the House of 

Representatives and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives. 

The current JCCIC was established by resolution (S.Con.Res. 67) on February 28, 2008. Senator 

Dianne Feinstein of California, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, 

chairs the committee. Other members include Senators Harry Reid of Nevada and Bob Bennett 

of Utah, as well as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California and Representatives Steny 

Hoyer of Maryland and John Boehner of Ohio. 
Members of the Joint Congressional 

Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) California 

JCCIC Chairman 

As California's senior Senator, Dianne Feinstein has built a reputation as an 

independent voice, working with both Democrats and Republicans to find 

common-sense solutions to the problems facing California and the Nation. 

Since her election to the Senate in 1992, Senator Feinstein has worked in a 

bipartisan way to build a significant record of legislative accomplishments 

helping strengthen the nation's security both here and abroad, combat crime and violence, battle 

cancer, and protect natural resources in California and across the country. 

In the 110th Congress, Senator Feinstein assumed the Chairmanship of the Rules and 

Administration Committee, where she oversaw ethics, campaign and election reform. Senator 

Feinstein also serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee and is also a member of the Senate 

Appropriations Committee. 

Senator Feinstein's career has been one of firsts – she was the first woman President of the San 

Francisco Board of Supervisors, the first woman Mayor of San Francisco, the first woman 

elected Senator of California, and the first woman member of the Senate Judiciary Committee 

and the first woman to serve as the Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration 

Committee. 

She is expected to reach another milestone in the 111th Congress – the first woman to serve as 

Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 

A native of San Francisco, Dianne Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco County Board of 

Supervisors in 1969 and served 2 1⁄2 terms as President of the Board. She became Mayor of San 

Francisco in November 1978 following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and 

Supervisor Harvey Milk. 

The following year she was elected to the first of two four-year terms. As Mayor, Dianne 

Feinstein managed the City's finances with a firm hand, balancing nine budgets in a row. In 

1987, City and State Magazine named her the nation's "Most Effective Mayor." 

As a Senator, Dianne Feinstein has received a number of awards for her service, including the 

Grammy on the Hill award from the Recording Academy (September 2006), the League of 

California Cities Congressional Leader of the Year Award (May 2006), the William Penn Mott 

Jr. Park Leadership Award for singular outstanding achievement on behalf of national park 

protecting (March 2006), the Outstanding Member of the U.S. Senate Award by the National 

Narcotic Officers Associations Coalition (February 2005), the Funding Hero Award from the 

Breast Cancer Research Foundation (October 2004), the Women of Achievement Award from 
the Century City Chamber of Commerce (October 2004), and the Woodrow Wilson Award for 

Public Service in 2001. 

Sen. Bob Bennett (R) Utah 

Reelected to a third term in the United States Senate in 2004, Senator Bob 

Bennett continues to serve the citizens of Utah with distinction. As counsel 

to Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Bennett retains his seat 

on the Republican leadership team where he advises the leader on 

legislative strategy and policy priorities. As a senior member of the Senate 

Banking Committee, and a member of the distinguished Joint Economic 

Committee, the Utah senator is at the center of national economic policy 

discussions. 

From his seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, where he is the ranking 

member for the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Bennett works to balance fiscal discipline in 

government while also representing the needs of Utah in the distribution of federal funds. The 

Utah Republican also serves as the ranking Republican member on the Senate Rules Committee. 

Named an "Emerging Leader in a Post-September 11 Senate" by Congressional Quarterly 

Magazine, Bennett has received numerous awards for his contributions in the U.S. Senate. 

Since he was named chairman of the special committee responsible for the relatively glitch-free 

Year 2000 computer switch, Senator Bennett has been at the forefront of high-tech issues. 

Bennett takes pride in results of Y2K preparations promoted by the work of the Senate 

committee, including a modernized technology base, the creation of emergency contingency 

plans and networks, and a better understanding of the vulnerabilities of America's high-tech 

infrastructure. 

A past chairman and current member of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, Bennett 

remains immersed in technology issues. Recognizing the seamless nature of the public and the 

private sector, interconnected through advances of the Information Age, Bennett’s now working 

to ensure that the nation’s critical infrastructure, 90 percent of which is privately owned, can be 

protected and U.S. national security bolstered. 

Prior to his election to the Senate in 1992, Bennett earned distinction in entrepreneurial and 

government activities. For his success as chief executive officer of the Franklin International 

Institute Bennett was named Inc. Magazine's "Entrepreneur of the Year" for the Rocky Mountain 

region. His Washington, D.C. experience includes service as chief congressional liaison at the 

U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Born September 18, 1933, in Salt Lake City, Bennett is the son of former four-term U.S. Senator 

Wallace F. Bennett and Frances Grant Bennett. He is a 1957 graduate and former student-body 
president of the University of Utah. Senator Bennett and his wife Joyce, are the parents of six 

children and 20 grandchildren. 

Sen. Harry Reid (D) Neveda 

Senate Majority Leader 

To understand Harry Reid, you must look to the small mining town of 

Searchlight, Nevada. 

There in the desert, more than an hour away from the bright lights of Las 

Vegas, is where he was born and raised. 

Searchlight is where Harry Reid watched his father work as a hardrock miner. It’s where he 

attended a school with one teacher for eight grades. And it’s where he learned Nevada values 

like hard work, opportunity and independence. 

Today Harry Reid is the Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate, a man who commands the respect of 

colleagues from both parties, and a powerful advocate for Nevada’s middle-class families. Every 

day Sen. Reid puts his leadership position to work to deliver meaningful results for Nevadans. 

But he still lives in Searchlight, and he is still guided by the lessons and values he learned there. 

After working his way through law school as a U.S. Capitol Police officer, Reid served as the 

City Attorney in Henderson, Nev., was elected to the Nevada State Assembly at age 28 and 

became the youngest Lieutenant Governor in Nevada history at age 30. In 1977 he was 

appointed Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, where for five years he made headlines 

with his legendary and unrelenting fight to clean up Nevada's gaming industry. 

Reid was first elected in 1982 to the United States House of Representatives, where he 

championed issues important to Nevada families, introducing the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and 

legislation to protect Nevada’s wilderness. 

He was elected to the Senate in 1986, and re-elected in 1992, 1998 and 2004, and has served as 

the chairman or senior Democratic member on several important committees and 

subcommittees. He has earned a reputation as a consensus builder and a skillful legislator; even 

his Republican colleagues praise his reasoned, balanced approach. 

Despite the demands of his career in government, Harry Reid’s family has always been his first 

priority. The bonds forged in the tight-knit family have only grown stronger as the Reid children 

have grown up, embarked on their own careers, and started their own families. 

Today, Senator Reid and his wife, Landra, are the proud grandparents of 16 grandchildren. 
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) California 

Speaker of the House of Representatives 

In January 2009, Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as Speaker of the House of 

Representatives of the 111th Congress. Accepting the gavel for the second 

time, Speaker Pelosi committed to work for the common good to 

strengthen America’s future. 

In 2007, she made history, shattering the marble ceiling to become the first 

woman to serve as Speaker of House. Building consensus across the aisle and within the diverse 

House Democratic Caucus, Speaker Pelosi has proved to be a strong, pragmatic leader, unifying 

her caucus more than any other leader in the last 50 years. Thomas Mann, a congressional 

scholar at the Brookings Institution, said ―she's probably gained the reputation of one of the 

strongest and most effective speakers in decades.‖

Focusing on the priorities to the American people, Pelosi has built an impressive record of 

accomplishment, enacting comprehensive energy legislation that raised vehicle fuel efficiency 

standards for the first time in 32 years and making an historic commitment to American home 

grown biofuels. With energy security has her flagship issue, Speaker Pelosi pledges to pass 

legislation on the global climate crisis and creating green jobs. 

In 2007, after an historic start, Speaker Pelosi shepherded through a ―100 Hours‖ effort that 

began a New Direction agenda to make America safer, restore the American Dream, and restore 

civility and integrity to our government. In early 2008, Speaker Pelosi spearheaded the 

Congressional effort to enact a bipartisan economic stimulus bill to provide help to Americans 

who are struggling in an uncertain economy. 

Additional key accomplishments under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi include the toughest 

ethics reform legislation in the history of the Congress, an increase in the minimum wage for the 

first time in 10 years, the largest college aid expansion since the GI bill in more than 60 years, 

and the largest increase in veterans health care funding in the 77-year history of the Veterans 

Administration as well as a new GI education bill for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. 

In the 111th Congress, Speaker Pelosi is working with President-elect Barack Obama to pass the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan to provide relief for American families and to create 

or save 3 million American jobs. 

Pelosi first made history in November 2002 when House Democrats elected her the first woman 

to lead a major political party. She brings to the Speaker’s role more than 20 years of experience 

in the House, representing the city of San Francisco. Before being elected Democratic Leader, 

she served as House Democratic Whip for one year. 

Speaker Pelosi comes from a strong family tradition of public service. Her late father, Thomas 

D'Alesandro, Jr., served as Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, after representing the city for five 

terms in Congress. Her brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, also served as Mayor of Baltimore. 
She graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. She and her husband, Paul Pelosi, a 

native of San Francisco, have five grown children and seven grandchildren. 

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D) Maryland 

House Majority Leader 

Now serving as the House Majority Leader, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer 

of Maryland is charged with managing the House Floor as well as 

scheduling legislation to be considered on the Floor. He also plays a key 

role in helping House Democrats determine their legislative agenda and 

political strategy, and building support for the Party's positions and 

delivering the Democratic message both in Washington and nationally.

Congressman Hoyer's service as Majority Leader makes him the highest-ranking Member of 

Congress from Maryland in history. Now serving his 14th term in Congress representing the 

Fifth Congressional District of Maryland, he also became the longest-serving Member of the 

U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland in history on June 4, 2007. Prior to being elected 

Majority Leader, he served as the Democratic Whip in the 108th and 109th Congresses. 

Public service has always been at the center of Steny Hoyer's professional life. He won a seat in 

the Maryland Senate at the age of 27, and just a few years later, at the age of 35, was elected 

President of the Senate, the youngest ever in state history. 

Congressman Hoyer is recognized by Members on both sides of the aisle as an effective leader 

and committed consensus builder who knows how to get things done. He is the former Chairman 

of the Helsinki Commission, and is widely regarded as a champion on human and civil rights. He 

is perhaps best known for serving as the lead House sponsor of historic Federal election reform 

(the "Help America Vote Act"), which President Bush signed into law on October 29, 2002, and 

for guiding the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to passage in 1990. 

He and his wife, the late Judith Pickett Hoyer, have three daughters, Susan, Stefany and Anne; 

son-in-law Loren Taylor; three grandchildren, Judy, James Cleveland, and Alexa; and one greatgranddaughter, Ava. 

 

 
 

Rep. John Boehner (R) Ohio 

House Republican Leader 

Rep. John A. Boehner represents Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District and 

is Republican Leader of the United States House of Representatives. 

Throughout his career as a small businessman and Member of Congress, 

Boehner has been a passionate advocate for the American values of 

freedom and security. A staunch opponent of pork-barrel politics, he is 

continuing his fight to eliminate wasteful Washington spending and keep 

taxes low for middle-class families and small businesses.

Born in Cincinnati in November 1949 as one of 12 brothers and sisters, Boehner has lived in 

Southwest Ohio his entire life. He and his wife Debbie have been married for 35 years. They 

have two daughters – Lindsay and Tricia – and live in the northern Cincinnati suburb of West 

Chester. 

After graduating from Xavier University, Boehner accepted a position with a small sales 

business in the packaging and plastics industry, and eventually became president of the firm. 

While working in the private sector, he entered the political arena – first serving as township 

trustee from 1982 to 1984 and then as a representative to the Ohio state legislature from 1984 to 

1990.

First elected to Congress in 1990, Boehner distinguished himself quickly by taking on the 

Washington establishment and making Congress more accountable to the American people. In 

his first term, he was part of the ―Gang of Seven‖ that took on the House establishment and 

successfully closed the House Bank, uncovered ―dine-and-dash‖ practices at the House 

Restaurant, and exposed cozy cash-for-stamps deals at the House Post Office. He also was 

instrumental in crafting the Contract with America, including the Congressional Accountability 

Act that required Congress to live under the same rules and regulations as the rest of the nation 

and a measure limiting the terms of powerful committee chairmen. 

Rising through the ranks in the House, from House Republican Conference Chairman, to 

Chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, to House Majority Leader, Boehner 

has made his mark by authoring legislation expanding school choice, strengthening America’s 

pension system, and making federal spending more transparent and accountable. Whether 

working to reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy or increase access to high-quality 

affordable health care, Boehner has been a champion of reform and a leader determined to work 

with Members on both sides of the aisle to tackle the challenges before our nation. 

On November 19, 2008, Boehner was elected by his colleagues to serve a second term as House 

Republican Leader. He is leading an effort to rebuild the bonds of trust between Congress and 

the American people by fighting for a smaller, more responsive federal government. 

 
 

 

 

 

Media Timeline 

 
Media TimeLine (Tentative) 

9:00 AM VIPs begin arriving 

 Former Presidents 

 Governors 

 Members of the House of Representatives 

 United States Senators 

 Cabinet designees 

9:45 AM Platform seating begins 

11:03 AM Former Presidents announced and seated 

11:12AM Biden family announced and seated 

11:14AM Obama family announced and seated 

11:16AM Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Cheney announced and seated 

11:18AM Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden announced and seated 

11:20AM President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney announced and seated 

11:22AM Vice President-elect Joe Biden announced and seated 

11:25AM President-elect Barack Obama is announced and seated 

11:30 AM Senator Feinstein delivers opening remarks 

11:34 AM Senator Feinstein introduces Pastor Rick Warren 

11:35 AM Invocation by Pastor Rick Warren 

11:37 AM Senator Feinstein introduces Aretha Franklin 

11:38 AM Aretha Franklin – ―My Country Tis of Thee‖

11:42 AM Senator Feinstein introduces Senator Bennett 

11:44 AM Senator Bennett introduces Associate Justice Stevens 

11:46AM Vice Presidential Oath administered by Associate Justice Stevens 
11:47AM Senator Feinstein introduces performers 

11:48AM Yo-Yo Ma, Anthony McGill, Gabriela Montero, Itzhak Perlman – 

 ―Air and Simple Gifts‖ composed by John Williams 

11:53AM Senator Feinstein introduces Chief Justice Roberts 

11:54AM Chief Justice and President-elect Barack Obama move to podium 

11:56AM The Presidential oath is administered. 

11:57AM Herald Trumpets perform 4 ―Ruffles and Flourishes‖ and the U.S. Marine Corp 

 Band plays ―Hail to the Chief.‖ Twenty one gun salute. 

11:58AM Senator Feinstein introduces the President 

12:01PM Inaugural address 

12:21PM Senator Feinstein introduces poet Elizabeth Alexander 

12:27PM Benediction given by Reverend Joseph Lowery 

12:31PM Presidential party departs from platform 

12:32 PM Departure ceremony 

12:36 PM President and Mrs. Bush depart from the East plaza in helicopter 

12:52 PM President’s Room signing ceremony 

1:05 PM Statuary Hall luncheon 

2:32 PM Review of the troops 

2:36 PM President and Mrs. Obama, and Vice President and Dr. Biden leaves with parade 

 
 

 

 

 

The 2009 Inaugural 

Ceremonies 

 
Processions to the Platform 

First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush, Mrs. Lynne Cheney 

Secretary Chao

Mrs. Bennett Mrs. Boehner

Mrs. Laura Bush Mrs. Cheney

Mrs. Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden 

Nancy Erickson 

(Secretary of the Senate)

Lorraine Miller 

(Clerk of the House of Representatives)

Mrs. Reid

Mr. Blum Mr. Pelosi

Mrs. Obama Dr. Biden

President George Walker Bush, Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney 

Senator McConnell

Senator Bennett

Representative Boehner

President Bush Vice President Cheney

Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. 

Jennifer Griffith (JCCIC Inaugural Coordinator)

Drew Willison 

(Senate Deputy Sergeant at Arms)

Kerri Hanley 

(House Deputy Sergeant at Arms)

Senator Reid Representative Hoyer

Vice President-elect Biden

President-elect Barack H. Obama 

Howard Gantman (JCCIC Staff Director)

Terrrance W. Gainer

(Senate Sergeant at Arms)

Wilson Livingood 

(House Sergeant at Arms)

Senator Feinstein Senator Bennett

Speaker Pelosi Senator Reid

Representative Hoyer Representative Boehner

President-elect Obama
Musical Prelude The San Francisco Boys Chorus and

the San Francisco Girls Chorus

Prelude The United States Marine Band 

Colonel Michael J. Colburn, Director

Call to Order and The Honorable Dianne Feinstein 

Welcoming Remarks United States Senator, California

Invocation Dr. Rick Warren

Musical Selection Aretha Franklin 

The Vice Presidential Oath of Office 

will be administered to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 

by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 

of the United States 

The Honorable John Paul Stevens

Musical Selection Yo-Yo Ma, cello 

Anthony McGill, clarinet 

Gabriela Montero, piano 

Itzhak Perlman, violin 

Composed & arranged by John Williams

The Presidential Oath of Office 

will be administered to Barack H. Obama 

by the Chief Justice of the United States 

The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr.

Inaugural Address The President of the United States

Poet Elizabeth Alexander

 

Benediction The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery

The National Anthem The United States Navy Sea Chanters

Presidential Inauguration 2009

Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies

Dianne Feinstein, Chairman, 

Harry Reid, Robert F. Bennett, Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, John A. Boehner
Inauguration

of the

President and Vice President

of the

United States of America

The Capitol of the United States of America

City of Washington

January twentieth

Two thousand and nine
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies cordially 

welcomes you to the fifty-sixth Presidential Inauguration. 

Dianne Feinstein, Chairman

U.S. Senate, California

Harry Reid

Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Nevada

Robert F. Bennett

U.S. Senate, Utah

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, California

Steny H. Hoyer

Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives, Maryland

John A. Boehner

Republican Leader, U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio

he fifty-sixth Presidential Inauguration celebrates the 200th anniversary 

of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the ideals of renewal, continuity, and 

unity that he so often expressed. As we have done every four years since 1789, 

Americans join together today to witness our President take a simple oath of office 

consisting of thirty-five words. This historic event provides an occasion for all 

Americans to rededicate themselves to the principles that are the foundation of our 

representative democracy.

Framed against a backdrop of red, white, and blue bunting, the West Front 

of the United States Capitol features five flags. The flag of the United States is 

displayed in the center. On either side are two earlier flags: the flag popularly 

known as the “Betsy Ross flag,” with stars arranged in a circle, appeared in the 

early 1790s; the flag with twenty-one stars flew for one year from July 4, 1819, to 

July 4, 1820, in recognition of the entrance of Illinois into the Union.

T
Prelude The United States Marine Band 

Colonel Michael J. Colburn 

Director

Call to Order and The Honorable Dianne Feinstein 

Welcoming Remarks United States Senator, California

Invocation Dr. Rick Warren

Musical Selection Aretha Franklin 

The Vice Presidential Oath of Office 

will be administered to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 

by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 

of the United States 

The Honorable John Paul Stevens

Musical Selection Yo-Yo Ma, cello 

Anthony McGill, clarinet 

Gabriela Montero, piano

Itzhak Perlman, violin 

Composed & arranged by John Williams

The Presidential Oath of Office 

will be administered to Barack H. Obama 

by the Chief Justice of the United States 

The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr.

Inaugural Address The President of the United States

Poet Elizabeth Alexander

 

Benediction The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery

The National Anthem The United States Navy Band Sea Chanters

program
he Presidential Inauguration of 2009 takes place as the nation prepares to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. 

The President-elect takes the oath of office and addresses the nation 

from the West Front of the United States Capitol, looking across the National 

Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, where many of the sixteenth President’s 

immortal words are inscribed. Although some inaugural traditions have 

changed since Lincoln’s time, the 

swearing-in ceremony continues 

to symbolize the ideals of renewal, 

continuity, and unity that he so 

often expressed.

B or n i n Ke ntu ck y on 

February 12, 1809, and raised in 

Indiana and Illinois, Abraham 

Lincoln became a frontier lawyer 

who served one term in the U.S. 

House of Representatives before 

his inauguration as President. He 

faced the severest test of any chief 

executive and rose to meet the 

challenge with inspired leadership 

that carried the nation through the 

Civil War. His Presidency is honored for reuniting the North and 

South and emancipating the enslaved, for promoting settlement of the West 

through homesteading and improved transportation, and for providing educational opportunity through land-grant colleges. Lincoln is also remembered for 

his plain but eloquent language, exemplified by his two inaugural addresses and 

the Gettysburg Address, from which today’s inaugural theme is taken.

Lincoln Memorial. 

photograph by Philip Gendreau

Smithsonian American Art Museum,

Photograph Archives

T

“A New Birth of Freedom” 

The 2009 Presidential Inauguration
At his inauguration on March 4, 1861, Lincoln first attended the swearing-in of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin in the Senate Chamber. Lincoln then 

proceeded to the East Front portico of the Capitol for his own oath-taking. 

His chief opponent in the 1860 election, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, 

held Lincoln’s stovepipe hat during the ceremony as a gesture of reconciliation. 

Senator Edward Dickinson Baker, who would later die in combat while leading 

troops at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, introduced the President-elect to the assembled crowd. Chief Justice Roger Taney, appointed a quarter of a century earlier 

by President Andrew Jackson, administered the oath of office. Behind them, the 

original copper-covered wooden Capitol dome had been removed and a larger 

cast-iron dome stood half completed.

Called upon to lead the nation at its most divisive moment, Lincoln 

sought to unite people by appealing to their “better angels.” He denied the inevitability of war and called for caution and patience. Above all, Lincoln hoped 

for peaceful resolution and 

common purpose, insisting, “We are not enemies, 

but friends.” The President 

delivered his address in a 

voice that observers said 

“rang out over the acres 

of people before him with 

surprising distinctness, and 

was heard in the remotest 

parts of his audience.” His 

first inaugural address concluded with an evocative 

image: “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and 

patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will 

yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by 

the better angels of our nature.”

Abraham Lincoln on Pennsylvania Avenue on his 

way to the Capitol to be inaugurated, 1861. 

Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 03/16/1861

U.S. Senate Collection
Throug hout his 

Presidency, Abraham 

Lincoln sought to reunite 

the nation not only by 

restoring what had previously existed, but also 

by moving forward in the 

spirit of the Constitution 

toward “a more perfect 

union.” In September 

1862 and January 1863, 

he issued emancipation 

proclamations that freed 

the slaves in the states that had seceded. These were the first steps toward passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 that permanently abolished any 

form of involuntary servitude in the United States. The Proclamation recalled 

the assertion of the Declaration of Independence that all are created equal and 

“endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these 

are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” In one of the nation’s darkest 

moments, his words and actions reiterated its loftiest goals.

Lincoln repeated those sentiments in his most memorable address at the 

dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on 

November 19, 1863. Mindful of the fearsome price paid in human life to restore 

and preserve the Union, Lincoln again called for unity and reconciliation. 

Although uttered at the dedication of a battlefield memorial to those whose lives 

had been lost, he suggested that the ground on which they stood was already 

sacred. “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated 

it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long 

remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” Just 272 

words in length, the Gettysburg Address encapsulates Lincoln’s persistent efforts 

to explain the necessity of preserving the Union and to turn the nation’s attention 

 The first reading of the Emancipation 

Proclamation before the Cabinet, 1866. 

by Alexander Hay Ritchie after painting by Francis Bicknell Carpenter

U.S. Senate Collection
toward a future “dedicated 

to the great task remaining before us.” He asked 

the nation to pledge itself 

to finishing the duty for 

which so many had sacrificed, “that this nation, 

under God, shall have a 

new birth of freedom; and 

that government of the 

people, by the people, for 

the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

On a cold, rainy 

March 4, 1865, Lincoln 

returned to the Capitol for 

his second inauguration. 

By then, the Capitol dome 

as we know it had been 

completed, a symbol of 

the continuity of the U.S. government and American representative democracy. 

The large crowd that gathered on the East Front plaza, despite the bad weather, 

watched the President take the oath of office, this time from Chief Justice Salmon 

P. Chase, whom he had appointed. They heard Lincoln deliver one of the shortest inaugural addresses in history, just 703 words. Yet it was also one of the most 

meaningful speeches in American history. Lincoln took note of “the great contest 

which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation,” but 

anticipated an era in which the United States would promote a lasting peace 

at home and abroad. He reviewed the course of the war and prayed along with 

other Americans “that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.” He 

concluded in a spirit of humility and resolve, and again expressed goals of unity 

Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten copy of the 

Gettysburg Address, 1863. 

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division
and reconciliation: “With 

malice toward none, with 

charity for all, with firmness in the right as God 

gives us to see the right, 

let us strive on to finish 

the work we are in, to bind 

up the nation’s wounds, to 

care for him who shall have 

borne the battle and for his 

widow and his orphan, to 

do all which may achieve 

and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves 

and with all nations.”

Since Lincoln’s time, the Presidential Inauguration has undergone significant alterations. The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 

1933, changed the date of the ceremony from March 4 to January 20, thereby 

reducing the span of time between a President’s election and the commencement of the new administration. In January 1981, Congress moved the inaugural ceremonies to the Capitol’s West Front, where the broad terraces serve as the 

inaugural platform, and where much larger space is available for the public to 

view the proceedings. The event is broadcast and digitally streamed across the 

nation and around the world. Despite such changes, the inaugural ceremonies 

continue to bring together the three branches of the federal government, with 

the magnificent backdrop of the gleaming white Capitol dome, for an event that 

represents the purposes and ideals that Abraham Lincoln so often expressed, for 

national renewal, continuity, and unity.

Abraham Lincoln delivering his second 

inaugural address, 1865. 

photograph by Alexander Gardner

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
*Member, U.S. Marine Band

56

th PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL 

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 

U.S. Capitol, West Terrace 

Colonel Michael J. Colburn, conducting 

 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Inaugural Prelude 

(subject to change) 

anonymous Washington’s Grand March (1784) 01:50 

arranged by Richard Franko Goldman Beekman Music, Inc. ©1941

Sole Selling Agent: Theodore Presser Co.

 Alexander Reinagle Jefferson’s March (1805) 02:20 

arranged by Roger Smith Beekman Music, Inc. ©1965

Sole Selling Agent: Theodore Presser Co.

Francis Scala* President Lincoln’s Inagural March (The Union March) 02:15 

edited by MSgt Donald Patterson* In the public domain

 William Schuman Chester Overture 7:00 

Merion Music, Inc. © 1957 

 Claudio S. Grafulla March, “Washington Grays” 03:30 

arranged by G. H. Reeves In the public domain

 John Philip Sousa* March, “Washington Post” 02:40 

Carl Fischer, Inc. ©1889, 1917 

In the public domain 

 John Philip Sousa* March, “Solid Men to the Front” 03:45 

In the public domain 

 setting by Frank Ticheli “Amazing Grace” 05:25 

Manhattan Beach Music © 1994 

 John Philip Sousa* March, “The Rifle Regiment” 03:05 

In the public domain 

 arranged by MSgt Stephen Bulla* Shaker Song and Hymn (“Simple Gifts”) 02:45 

In the public domain 

 Russell Alexander March, “The Southerner” 2:30 

C. L. Barnhouse Co., © 1926 

 John Philip Sousa* March, “The Invincible Eagle” 03:35 

John Church Co. ©1951 

 John Philip Sousa* March, “The Gridiron Club” 03:10 

Sam Fox Publishing Co., Inc., © 1926 

Colonel Michael J. Colburn, Director
*Member, U.S. Marine Band

 John Philip Sousa* March, “Sabre and Spurs” 03:15 

In the public domain 

 Samuel Augustus Ward “America, the Beautiful” 02:15 

arranged by MSgt Stephen Bulla* In the public domain

E. E. Bagley March on the Colors, Trio of “National Emblem” 01:25 

Carl Fischer, Inc. ©1962 

 Fanfare by The Army Herald Trumpets 00:30 

In the public domain 

 John Philip Sousa* March, “The Glory of the Yankee Navy” 03:15 

In the public domain 

 Fanfare by The Army Herald Trumpets 00:30 

In the public domain 

 Edwin Franko Goldman March, “The Chimes of Liberty” 03:10 

In the public domain 

 Fanfare by The Army Herald Trumpets 00:30 

In the public domain 

 Ralph Vaughan Williams March, “Seventeen Come Sunday” from English Folk Song Suite 

Boosey & Co., Ltd., © 1924 03:15

 John Philip Sousa* March, “The Beau Ideal” 03:00 

In the public domain 

 John Philip Sousa* March, “Daughters of Texas” 03:20 

Theodore Presser Co., © 1930 

 John Philip Sousa* March, “The Fairest of the Fair” 02:20 

John Church Co. ©1951 

 Four Ruffles and Flourishes (The Army Herald Trumpets) 00:10

In the public domain 

 James Sanderson “Hail to the Chief” (Marine Band) 00:40 

In the public domain 

 Fanfare by The Army Herald Trumpets 00:30 

In the public domain 

Henry Fillmore March, “Americans We” 03:05 

Fillmore Bros. Co. ©1929 

 Fanfare by The Army Herald Trumpets 00:30 

In the public domain 

Henry Fillmore March, “The Man of the Hour” 03:10 

Carl Fischer, Inc., © 1924 
Musical selections 

Starting at 9:50= San Francisco Boys Chorus and San Francisco Girls Chorus 

America the Beautiful 

Text: Katherine Lee Bates 

Music: Samuel Ward

Arranged by Nancy Grundahl 

An American Hymn 

Music: Lee Holdrige 

Arranged by Ian Robertson 

Hymn to Freedom 

Text: Harriette Hamilton 

Music: Oscar Peterson 

Arranged by Seppo Hovi 

 

An Exhortation 

Text: Barack Obama 

Victory Speech, November 4th, 2008 

Music: David Conte 

Give Us Hope 

Text: James Papoulis, Leo Schaff & Regine Urbach 

Music: James Papoulis 

Arranged by Francisco J. Núñez 

I Hear America Singing!

Arranged, with new words and music, by Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse 

11:38 = Aretha Franklin 

My Country Tis of Thee 

11:45 = The United States Army Herald Trumpets 

Ruffles and Flourishes 

11: 45 = The United States Marine Band 

Hail Columbia 
11:48 = Quartet Performance (Yo-Yo Ma, Anthony McGill, Gabriela Montero, and 

 Itzhak Perlman) 

 

Air and Simple Gifts - composed by John Williams 

11:57 = The United States Army Herald Trumpets 

Ruffles and Flourishes 

11:57 = The United States Marine Band 

Hail to the Chief 

12:30 = The United States Navy Band ―Sea Chanters‖

The National Anthem 

12:31 = The United States Marine Band 

Trio of National Emblem 

 
Aretha Franklin 

Aretha Franklin, the undisputed reigning ―Queen of Soul,‖ has represented contemporary 

music‘s royal family for 22 years. The first woman to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall 

Of Fame, Aretha has won 17 Grammy Awards over the course of her career and had the 

privilege of receiving the 2005 Presidential Medal Of Freedom, said by many to be America‘s 

highest honor. Aretha has achieved global recognition on an unprecedented scale, influencing 

generations of singers from Janis Joplin and Chaka Khan, to Natalie Cole and Mary J. Blige, to 

American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson. 

Aretha‘s ever-distinctive soulful, to-the-bone vocal style has graced the music charts for nearly 

five decades. While her live performances have touched the hearts of tens of millions since she 

began her musical journey as a gospel-singing child prodigy, it is her rich legacy of recordings 

that are a testament to the power, majesty and genius of this one-of-a-kind artist of the first order. 

Through her esteemed career, Aretha set a record that most likely will stand forever—winning 

eight consecutive Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Female between 1967 and 1974. Her 

litany of timeless classics include ―I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You),‖ ―Respect,‖ 

―Think,‖ ―(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,‖ and dozens of others from a list of 

more than 100 singles that have made the charts. 

Included on that list of singles are an extraordinary number of duets and collaborations, spanning 

multiple generations and genres. Among these musical alliances include Aretha‘s duet with 

singer-guitarist George Benson in the 1981 recording of ―Love All The Hurt Away,‖ a 1986 duet 

with Keith Richards updating the Rolling Stones‘ 1968 hit, ―Jumpin‘ Jack Flash,‖ and a 2007 

duet with soul singer John Legend in the recording of ―What Y‘All Came To Do,‖ produced and 

co-written by modern music king, Kanye West. Aretha has also worked with Elton John, Frank 

Sinatra, Bonnie Raitt, Whitney Houston, and Luther Vandross, among others. 

Over her long career – from a little girl growing up in Detroit in the light of her father, Rev. C.L. 

Franklin, to her discovery by A&R legend John Hammond and her earliest pop recordings at 

Columbia Records in the early 1960s, to her definitive series of hits at Atlantic Records under 

the guidance of Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun in the ‘60s and ‘70s, to her reunion with Clive 

Davis at Arista in 1980 – Aretha has consistently thrilled audiences with her hip, up-to-date, 

state-of-the-art approach to life and music. ―God has been so good to me,‖ she wrote in her 

candid autobiography, From These Roots (1999), ―my life has been and is rewarding, exciting, 

and creative. And surely the best is yet to come. There are many songs that I want to sing. And 

sing... And sing... And sing...‖

 

YO-YO MA 

Cellist 

The many-faceted career of cellist Yo-Yo Ma is testament to his continual search for new ways 

to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. 

Whether performing a new concerto, revisiting a familiar work from the cello repertoire, coming 
together with colleagues for chamber music or exploring musical forms outside of the Western 

classical tradition, Mr. Ma strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination. 

Yo-Yo Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout 

the world and his recital and chamber music activities. He draws inspiration from a wide circle 

of collaborators, each fueled by the artists‘ interactions. One of Mr. Ma‘s goals is the exploration 

of music as a means of communication and as a vehicle for the migrations of ideas across a range 

of cultures throughout the world. Expanding upon this interest, in 1998 Mr. Ma established the 

Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the 

ancient Silk Road trade route that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. By 

examining the flow of ideas throughout this vast area, the Project seeks to illuminate the 

heritages of the Silk Road countries and identify the voices that represent these traditions today. 

The Project‘s major activities have included the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which 

included more that 400 artists from 25 countries and drew more than 1.3 million visitors, 

concerts at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, and Silk Road Chicago, a city-wide year-long 

residency in partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and 

the City of Chicago. Mr. Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble performed at the Opening Ceremony 

of the 2007 Special Olympics in Shanghai. 

Mr. Ma is an exclusive Sony Classical artist, and his discography of over 75 albums (including 

more than 15 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. He has made several 

successful recordings that defy categorization, among them ―Hush‖ with Bobby McFerrin, 

―Appalachia Waltz‖ and ―Appalachian Journey‖ with Mark O‘Connor and Edgar Meyer and two 

Grammy-winning tributes to the music of Brazil, ―Obrigado Brazil‖ and ―Obrigado Brazil – Live 

in Concert.‖ Mr. Ma‘s most recent recordings include ―Songs of Joy and Peace‖ and ―New 

Impossibilities,‖ a live album recorded with the Silk Road Ensemble and the Chicago Symphony 

Orchestra. Across this full range of releases Mr. Ma remains one of the best-selling recording 

artists in the classical field. All of his recent albums have quickly entered the Billboard chart of 

classical best sellers, remaining in the Top 15 for extended periods, often with as many as four 

titles simultaneously on the list. 

Yo-Yo Ma is strongly committed to educational programs that not only bring young audiences 

into contact with music but also allow them to participate in its creation. While touring, he takes 

time whenever possible to conduct master classes as well as more informal programs for 

students—musicians and non-musicians alike. He has also reached young audiences through 

appearances on ―Arthur,‖ ―Mister Rogers‘ Neighborhood‖ and ―Sesame Street.‖

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with 

his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he spent most of his 

formative years. Later, his principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He sought 

out a traditional liberal arts education to expand upon his conservatory training, graduating from 

Harvard University in 1976. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize 

(1978), the Glenn Gould Prize (1999), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), the Dan David 

Prize (2006), the Sonning Prize (2006) and the World Economic Forum‘s Crystal Award (2008). 

In 2006, then Secretary General Kofi Annan named him a United Nations Messenger of Peace. 

In 2007, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon extended his appointment. 
Mr. Ma and his wife have two children. Mr. Ma plays two instruments, a 1733 Montagnana cello 

from Venice and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius. 

Anthony McGill 

Clarinetist 

Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, has quickly earned 

the reputation of being one of classical music‘s finest solo, chamber and orchestral musicians. 

Before joining the MET Orchestra in 2004, he served as associate principal clarinet of the 

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for four years. With the MET Orchestra, McGill frequently 

performs in Carnegie Hall‘s Isaac Stern Auditorium, as well as Zankel and Weill Halls with the 

MET Chamber Ensemble. He can also be seen and heard on the Live in HD broadcasts from the 

Metropolitan Opera. 

In addition to his orchestral career, McGill was a winner of the highly prestigious Avery Fisher 

Career Grant in 2000 and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Baltimore 

Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Hilton Head Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony 

Orchestra, and The Curtis Orchestra. This season he will appear with the Peabody Orchestra, 

The New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. 

As a distinguished chamber musician, McGill has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, 

Sarasota Festival, La Musica, Tanglewood, Music@Menlo, the Grand Teton Music Festival, 

Music from Angel Fire , Martha‘s Vineyard Chamber Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber 

Music Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Festival and the Interlochen Music Festival. He is also 

a member of the newly formed Schumann Trio with violist Michael Tree and pianist Anna 

Polonsky. 

McGill has collaborated with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Lang Lang, Yefim Bronfman 

and Gil Shaham, as well as world-renowned string quartets including the Guarneri, Tokyo, 

Shanghai, Miami, Miró and Daedalus quartets. He has performed throughout the United States, 

Europe and Asia as a chamber and orchestral musician with artists including the Brentano String 

Quartet, Musicians from Marlboro, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Mitsuko 

Uchida, Marina Piccinini and Barbara Sukova. 

McGill has appeared on Performance Today, MPR‘s St. Paul Sunday, Ravinia‘s Rising Star 

Series, on the Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood television show and at Lincoln Center as a member of 

Chamber Music Society Two. 

McGill attended the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Curtis Institute of Music. His former 

teachers include Donald Montanaro, Richard Hawkins, Larry Combs, Julie DeRoche, David 

Tuttle and Sidney Forrest. In high demand as a teacher, McGill currently serves on the faculties 

of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Mannes College of Music and the 

Manhattan School of Music Precollege. In addition he has given masterclasses at the Curtis 

Institute of Music, University of Michigan, Stony Brook University, Temple University, UCLA, 

University of New Mexico and the Manhattan School of Music. 

McGill is a Leblanc and Rico Artist.
GABRIELA MONTERO 

Pianist

Gabriela Montero‘s visionary interpretations and unique improvisational gifts have won her a 

quickly expanding audience and devoted following around the world. Born in Caracas 

Venezuela, Gabriela gave her first public performance at the age of five. Aged eight she made 

her concerto debut with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra conducted by Jose Antonio Abreu 

and was granted a scholarship from the Venezuelan Government to study in the USA. 

Gabriela‘s engagements include her acclaimed performances with the New York Philharmonic 

debut with Lorin Maazel, LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Philharmonia Orchestra at 

the Royal Festival Hall, Rotterdam Philharmonic and with the UBS Verbier Chamber Orchestra 

at the Tuscan Sun Festival with Antonio Pappano and in recital at the Edinburgh Festival, 

Verbier Festival, Wigmore Hall, Klavier Festival Ruhr, Koln Philharmonie, Tonhalle Dusseldorf, 

Istanbul International Festival, Kennedy Centre Washington DC, National Arts Centre Ottawa, 

Orchard Hall Tokyo and at the  ̳Progetto Martha Argerich‘ Festival in Lugano where she is 

invited annually. 

This past season, Gabriela made her debut with the WDR Sinfonieorchestre Köln where she 

hosted the entire evening at the Konzerthaus Dortmund. This engagement aired nationally in a 

premiere German classical music station. The evening was divided into three parts where she 

performed Beethoven Emperor Concerto, chamber music and concluded with late night 

improvisations. She made her Vienna debut at the Konserthaus in recital and with the Vienna 

Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi. 

Engagements in the 2008/2009 season include Sydney Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, 

Indianapolis Symphony and Colorado Symphony. North American recitals include a return to the 

Shedd Museum in Eugene, Portland Piano International, University of Washington, University of 

Baltimore, University of California at Santa Barbara, Mexico City and Fresno for the Fresno 

Keyboard concerts. In Europe she makes her debut tour with DEAG to include the Konzerthaus 

Berlin, Alte Sendersaal Frankfurt and the Kampnagelfabrik Hamburg. Recitals include Munich 

Herkulessaal der Residenz, Koln Philharmonie, Dresden Musikfestspiele, Thuringian Bach 

Festival, Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi, Bilbao Philharmonic Society and Tivoli Concert Hall. 

Gabriela has a long-established relationship with the French cellist Gautier Capucon and they 

will appear in Munich, Bonn, Hamburg, Dortmund and Heidelberg in April 2009 as well as the 

Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, in May 2009. 

In both recital and after performing a concerto, Gabriela often invites her audience to participate 

in asking for a melody for improvisations. They ask for themes from a Mozart Symphony to Star 

Wars and at times, even the orchestra have a chance to suggest a theme if they so wish. ―When 

improvising,‖ Gabriela says, ―I connect to my audience in a completely unique way – and they 

connect with me. Because improvisation is such a huge part of who I am, it is the most natural 

and spontaneous way I can express myself. I have been improvising since my hands first 

touched the keyboard, but for many years I kept this aspect of my playing secret. Then Martha 

Argerich heard me improvising one day and encouraged me to make this part of my concert 

presentations. It was Martha who persuaded me that it was possible to combine my career as a 

serious  ̳classical‘ artist with the side of me that is rather unique.‖
Gabriela‘s first EMI/Angel CD consisted of one disc of music by Rachmaninov, Chopin and 

Liszt and a second of her deeply felt and technically brilliant improvisations. Standing alongside 

inspired performances of core repertoire, improvisations plays as important a part in Gabriela‘s 

life as it did for Bach and Mozart and, to show the link, her EMI CD Bach and Beyond is a 

complete disc of improvisations on themes by Bach which topped the charts for several months. 

In February 2008 her follow up EMI recording of improvisations Baroque, was released with 

great critical acclaim receiving 5 star reviews from BBC Music Magazine and Classic FM. 

Gabriela‘s Bach and Beyond was given the ―Choc de la musique de l‘année‖ award in 2006 from 

The French Magazine Le Monde de la Musique. She rounded off her triumphant year with the 

Keyboard Instrumentalist of the Year at the ECHO Preis Award in Munich and in 2007, they 

awarded her the Klassik-ohne-Grenzen Award for her Bach and Beyond CD for the second year 

in a row. Gabriela has also been heard on NPR‘s Performance Today ―Sing It and Wing It‖,

where listeners call in with a melody upon which Gabriela improvises. She has also been 

profiled on CBS‘s 60 Minutes. 

ITZHAK PERLMAN 

Violist 

 

Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely 

afforded a classical musician. He marks an important milestone during the 2008-2009 season: he 

will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his American debut. Beloved for his charm and humanity as 

well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his 

remarkable artistry, but also to the irrepressible joy of making music, which he communicates. In 

December 2003 the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts granted Mr. Perlman a 

Kennedy Center Honor celebrating his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural 

and educational life of our nation. In May 2007, he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty 

The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush 

and Mrs. Bush at the White House. 

Born in Israel in 1945, Mr. Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel 

Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an 

appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with 

Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Mr. Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 

1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career. Since then, Itzhak Perlman has appeared with 

every major orchestra and in recitals and festivals around the world. 

Mr. Perlman is a frequent presence on the conductor‘s podium, and through this medium he is 

further delighting his audiences. This season marks his first as Artistic Director of the Westchester 

Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as conductor with the New York Philharmonic, 

Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, National Symphony, Los Angeles 

Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of San Francisco, Dallas, 

Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Montreal and Toronto, as well as at the Ravinia and OK Mozart 

festivals. He was Music Advisor of the St. Louis Symphony from 2002 to 2004 where he made 

regular conducting appearances, and he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony 
from 2001 to 2005. This season he conducts the National Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the 

Montreal Symphony, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Tonhalle Orchestra, among others. 

Internationally, Mr. Perlman has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra, 

London Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic. 

As soloist, Mr. Perlman continues to visit major centers throughout the world. In March 2009, the 

Festival of the Arts BOCA will devote its festival to a celebration of his anniversary with concerto, 

chamber music and klezmer performances, as well as a closing concert with Mr. Perlman as 

conductor of Beethoven‘s Ninth Symphony. Other highlights of his 2008-09 season include 

performances with Pinchas Zukerman at Washington‘s National Symphony and Ottawa‘s National 

Arts Centre; recitals across the United States including Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle; 

and a gala event at Carnegie Hall with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax in March 2009. Mr. Perlman 

also appears with students from the Perlman Music Program in a three-concert series at the 

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and in recital at Symphony Hall in Chicago. 

A major presence in the performing arts on television, Itzhak Perlman has been honored with four 

Emmy Awards, most recently for the PBS documentary Fiddling for the Future, a film about the 

Perlman Music Program and his work as a teacher and conductor there. In July of 2004, PBS aired 

a special entitled Perlman in Shanghai which chronicled a historic and unforgettable visit of the 

Perlman Music Program to China, featuring interaction between American and Chinese students 

and culminating in a concert at the Shanghai Grand Theater and a performance with one thousand 

young violinists, led by Mr. Perlman and broadcast throughout China. Mr. Perlman‘s third Emmy 

Award recognized his dedication to Klezmer music, as profiled in the 1995 PBS television special 

In the Fiddler's House, which was filmed in Poland and featured him performing with four of the 

world‘s finest Klezmer bands. 

Mr. Perlman has entertained and enlightened millions of TV viewers of all ages on popular shows 

as diverse as The Late Show with David Letterman, Sesame Street, the PBS series The Frugal 

Gourmet, the Tonight show, the Grammy awards telecasts, and numerous Live From Lincoln 

Center broadcasts, including The Juilliard School: Celebrating 100 Years in April 2006, and PBS 

specials, including A Musical Toast and Mozart by the Masters, in which he served both as host 

and featured performer. In April 2008, Mr. Perlman joined renowned chef Jacques Pépin on 

Artist’s Table to discuss the relationship between the culinary and musical arts. Mr. Perlman lent 

his voice as the narrator of Visions of Israel, the 20th program in WLIW New York‘s acclaimed 

Visions series, which premiered on PBS in June 2008. In July 1994, Mr. Perlman hosted the U.S. 

broadcast of the Three Tenors, Encore! live from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. In March 2006, 

a worldwide audience in the hundreds of millions saw Mr. Perlman perform live on the 78th 

Annual Academy Awards telecast, as he performed a medley from the five film scores nominated 

in the category of Best Original Score. One of Mr. Perlman‘s proudest achievements is his 

collaboration with film score composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg‘s Academy Award 

winning film Schindler’s List, in which he performed the violin solos. He can also be heard as the 

violin soloist on the soundtrack of Zhang Yimou‘s film Hero (music by Tan Dun) and Rob 

Marshall‘s Memoirs of a Geisha (music by John Williams). 

In February 2008, Itzhak Perlman was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for 

excellence in the recording arts. His recordings regularly appear on the best-seller charts and have 

garnered fifteen Grammy Awards. His most recent releases include an all-Mozart recording with 

the Berlin Philharmonic (EMI) with Mr. Perlman performing as both soloist and conductor and a 
recording for Deutsche Grammophon with Mr. Perlman conducting the Israel Philharmonic. Other 

recordings reveal Mr. Perlman‘s devotion to education, including Concertos from my Childhood

with the Juilliard Orchestra under Lawrence Foster (EMI) and Marita and her Heart’s Desire, 

composed and conducted by Bruce Adolphe (Telarc). Other recordings over the past decade have 

included a Grammy-nominated live recording with pianist Martha Argerich performing Beethoven 

and Franck Sonatas (EMI); Cinema Serenade featuring popular hits from movies with John 

Williams conducting (Sony); A la Carte, a recording of short violin pieces with orchestra (EMI) 

and In the Fiddler’s House, a celebration of Klezmer Music (EMI) that formed the basis of the 

PBS television special. In 2004, EMI released The Perlman Edition, a limited-edition 15-CD box 

set featuring many of his finest EMI recordings as well as newly compiled material and RCA Red 

Seal released a CD titled Perlman reDISCOVERED which includes material recorded in 1965 by a 

young Itzhak Perlman. 

Mr. Perlman has a long association with the Israel Philharmonic, and he has participated in many 

groundbreaking tours with this orchestra from his homeland. In November of 1987 he joined the 

IPO for history-making concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by 

this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He again made history as he joined the 

orchestra for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April/May of 1990, and was cheered by audiences 

in Moscow and Leningrad who thronged to hear his recital and orchestral performances. This visit 

was captured on a PBS documentary entitled Perlman in Russia which won an Emmy. In 

December of 1994 Mr. Perlman joined the Israel Philharmonic for their first visits to China and 

India. 

 

John Williams 

Composer 

John Williams is one of the most distinguished and successful composers of music for film and 

for the concert hall. He has been awarded five Academy Awards, six British Academy Awards 

(BAFTA), four Golden Globe Awards, four Emmy Awards, and twenty Grammys as well as 

numerous gold and platinum records. His most recent Oscar was for Best Original Score for 

Schindler’s List.

Born in New York, Mr. Williams was educated at UCLA and the Juilliard School of Music. A 

former jazz pianist and recording artist, he began composing for television in the 1960‘s. Mr. 

Williams has gone on to compose the music and serve as music director for more than 100 films, 

including, War of the Worlds, the first three Harry Potter films, The Terminal, Catch Me If You 

Can, Minority Report, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Patriot, Angela’s Ashes, The Lost World, 

Rosewood, Sleepers, Nixon, Sabrina, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Far and 

Away, JFK, Hook, Presumed Innocent, Always, Born on the Fourth of July, Empire of the Sun, 

the Witches of Eastwick, E.T. (The Extra-Terrestrial), Superman, Jaws, Close Encounters of the 

Third Kind, and all of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. He recently received his fortyfifth Academy Award nomination for the films Memoirs of a Geisha and Munich, making him 

the Academy‘s most nominated living person. Mr. Williams also composed the well-known 
NBC News Theme, and the official themes for the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympic 

Games and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. 

John Williams was Music Director of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 14 highly successful 

seasons and is currently Conductor Laureate of that ensemble. Mr. Williams has appeared as a 

guest conductor with a number of major orchestras, including the London Symphony, 

Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, 

Pittsburgh Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. In addition to 

his film music, Mr. Williams has composed numerous works for the concert hall including two 

symphonies, a bassoon concerto commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, a cello concerto 

performed by Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and concertos for flute, violin, 

clarinet, trumpet and tuba. His work ―Seven For Luck‖, was composed for soprano solo and 

orchestra and is based on texts by former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. He composed his 

―American Journey‖, an orchestral work written to commemorate the new Millennium and to 

accompany the retrospective film The Unfinished Journey directed by Steven Spielberg. The 

film and music were premiered at the ―America‘s Millennium‖ concert in Washington, D.C. on 

New Year‘s Eve 1999. Most recently Mr. Williams premiered his Concerto for Horn and 

Orchestra, a work commissioned by the Chicago Symphony for their principal horn, Dale 

Clevenger. 

Mr. Williams holds honorary degrees from twenty-one American universities, including The 

Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music in Boston, Boston College, Northeastern University, 

Tufts University, Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, the University of 

Massachusetts at Boston, The Eastman School of Music, the University of Southern California 

and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Mr. Williams also served as Grand Marshal for the 

2004 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, and he was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor 

in December of 2004. 

 

Elizabeth Alexander 

Poet 

Elizabeth Alexander is one of the most vital poets of her generation. She has published five 

books of poems: The Venus Hottentot (1990), Body of Life (1996), Antebellum Dream Book

(2001), American Sublime (2005), which was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and 

was one of the American Library Association‘s ―Notable Books of the Year;‖ and, most recently, 

her first young adult collection (co-authored with Marilyn Nelson), Miss Crandall‘s School for 

Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color (2008 Connecticut Book Award). Her two collections 

of essays are The Black Interior (2004) and Power and Possibility (2007), and her play, "Diva 

Studies," was produced at the Yale School of Drama. 

Alexander is a pivotal figure in American poetry. Her work echoes the inflections of earlier 

generations, as it foretells new artistic directions for her contemporaries as well as future poets. 

In several anthologies of American poetry, Alexander‘s work concludes the twentieth century, 

while in others she serves as the inaugural poet for a new generation of twenty-first century 
voices. Her poems are included in dozens of collections and have been translated into Spanish, 

German, Italian, Arabic and Bengali. 

Professor Alexander is the first recipient of the Alphonse Fletcher, Sr. Fellowship for work that 

―contributes to improving race relations in American society and furthers the broad social goals 

of the U.S. Supreme Court‘s Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954.‖ She is the 2007 

winner of the first Jackson Prize for Poetry, awarded by Poets and Writers. Other awards include 

a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, two Pushcart Prizes, the George Kent Award, 

given by Gwendolyn Brooks, and a Guggenheim fellowship. 

For over twenty years, Elizabeth Alexander has taught and mentored her students with the same 

passion, creativity and dedication that embody her poetry and scholarship. At the University of 

Chicago, she received the Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the oldest 

and most prestigious teaching award that the university presents. In addition to her work at 

colleges and universities, Elizabeth Alexander has taught numerous poetry workshops, most 

significantly serving as both founding faculty and honorary director of Cave Canem, an 

organization dedicated to the development and endurance of African American poetic voices. 

She is a professor of African American Studies, English, and American Studies at Yale 

University.

Pastor Rick Warren 

Pastor Rick Warren has often been called ―America‘s Pastor.‖ In 1980, he and his wife Kay 

founded the evangelical Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California with a single family. 

Today Saddleback averages over 22,000 weekly attendees and has more than 300 community 

ministries. He is the author of ―The Purpose Driven Life‖ which has sold more than 25 million 

copies worldwide and is read and discussed by churches, sports teams, and leaders from all 

walks of life. He and his wife chair three charitable organizations: Acts of Mercy assists those 

living with HIV/AIDS; Equipping the Church develops the next generation of church leadership, 

and their Global PEACE Plan fights poverty, disease, and illiteracy. 

REV. JOSEPH Echols LOWERY 

Rev. Joseph Echols Lowery is considered the dean of the civil rights movement. Born in 

Huntsville, Alabama he attended Knoxville College, Payne College and Theological Seminary, 

and the Chicago Ecumenical Institute. Since the early 1950‘s, Rev. Lowery has worked to 

combat discrimination in all of its forms. He co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership 

Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1957 and served as the organization‘s president 

from 1977 until 1998. Designated twice by Ebony Magazine as one of the nation‘s top African 

American preachers, Rev. Lowery previously led the congregation of Cascade United Methodist 

Church in Atlanta. Since his retirement he and his wife Evelyn Gibson Lowery have continued 

to work on issues of voting rights and equal justice. 

 
San Francisco Boys Chorus

The San Francisco Boys Chorus is a 61-year-old performing arts and music education program, 

devoted to serving boys from throughout the greater San Francisco Bay area. 

Founded in 1948 as the San Francisco Opera Boys Chorus, the group has continually provided 

trained boy singers to more than 165 opera productions – most recently Boris Godunov and La 

Boheme.

The boys in the Chorus hail from all walks of San Francisco Bay Area life and attend 120 schools 

in five counties. Since its founding, the Chorus has maintained a generous tuition assistance 

program that has insured that no qualified boy has ever been turned away because his parents 

cannot afford tuition. 

The Chorus maintains a rigorous training and performance schedule. During this past year, the 

Boys Chorus toured to the South of France in the summer, with performances at Monaco Cathedral 

and Marseilles Cathedral; held its 60th Anniversary Concert at the War Memorial Opera House, 

with premiers of two works by alumni composers; and was featured at the San Francisco 

Symphony‘s Deck the Halls holiday concerts. 

The Chorus regularly receives invitations to perform at official San Francisco civic ceremonies, 

with appearances including the Inaugural ceremony of Mayor Gavin Newsom in 2008; the 2007 

visit to the US by Prince Charles and Lady Camilla; other distinguished audience members over 

the years include U.S. General Colin Powell; Queen Elizabeth II of England; Pope John Paul II; 

Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Former Soviet Union. 

The San Francisco Boys Chorus is also the recipient of a 1992 Grammy Award for its recording of 

Carmina Burana, with the San Francisco Symphony. 

During its 61 years, the San Francisco Boys has traveled the world with appearances England, 

France, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Israel, Scotland, Wales, China, Japan, and the former 

Soviet Union. 

It all begins with a tremendous commitment on the part of these young men and their parents. 

Their training begins as early as 5 year of age. Rehearsals twice a week throughout the school year, 

the boys receive an intense music education that emphasizes music theory and sight singing 

training using the methodologies of mid-twentieth century Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodály. In 

the summer, their education continues when they attend a special music camp. 

The Chorus has been under the director of Ian Robertson since 1996. Mr. Robertson, a native of 

Scotland where served as Head of Music and Chorus Director of Scottish Opera, is also the current 

Chorus Director of the San Francisco Opera. He is assisted by Margaret Nomura Clark, Director of 

Training. 

(EDITOR NOTE: The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus are two 

separate and distinct organizations; please do not combine their titles.) 
San Francisco Girls Chorus 

Celebrating 30 years of extraordinary music with its 2008-2009 season, the San Francisco Girls 

Chorus is recognized as one of the world‘s most respected vocal ensembles. Its level of training, 

performance, quality and range, passion and leadership in commissioning music for treble voices 

are lauded by musicians, critics and audiences. San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael 

Tilson Thomas says, ―The San Francisco Girls Chorus is a treasure. Their training, musicality and 

vibrant spirit are evident whenever they perform. I have enjoyed our long association and look 

forward to many years of collaboration.‖ 

The San Francisco Girls Chorus comprises a professional level performance, touring and recording 

chorus of 43 voices (featured at the Inauguration), a five-level Chorus School and an Alumnae 

Chorus. The organization‘s annual budget is $2.5 million. Susan McMane is Artistic Director of 

the San Francisco Girls Chorus and Elizabeth Avakian is Director of the San Francisco Girls 

Chorus School. 

In addition to its annual home season performances, the San Francisco Girls Chorus performs 

every year as guest artists with the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony. 

The San Francisco Girls Chorus has performed for international heads of state including HRH 

Queen Elizabeth II, President Ronald Reagan by invitation at the White House, and others. 

The 2008-2009 season features four Bay Area concerts, a performance as part of the inauguration 

of U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama with the San Francisco Boys Chorus, a new CD release and 

the Chorus debut at New York‘s Lincoln Center. 

Founded in 1978, the San Francisco Girls Chorus has become a regional center for choral music 

education and performance for girls and young women ages 7-18. More than 300 singers from 160 

schools in 44 Bay Area cities participate in this internationally recognized program, deemed ―a 

model in the country for training girls‘ voices‖ by the California Arts Council. 

In addition to three Grammy Awards, the Girls Chorus has won many honors, including the 

prestigious ―Margaret Hillis Award‖, two ASCAP awards for Adventurous Programming, in 1999 

and 2004. The Girls Chorus has been honored to sing at many important national and international 

venues, including the World Choral Symposium in Kyoto, Japan, in 2005.They have were featured 

at the World Vision Children‘s Choir Festival in Seoul, Korea, and in the Gateway to Music 

Festival at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. 

The Girls Chorus School offers a program of unparalleled excellence, designed to take young girls 

from their first introduction to the art of choral singing through a full course of choral/vocal 

instruction. The comprehensive music education includes the study and development of choral 

artistry, vocal technique, music theory, music history, and performing style. The discipline, 

teamwork, and concentration young girls learn in the Chorus School rehearsals and performances 

instill in them the values necessary for high achievement in music and in life. 

The Girls Chorus‘ discography continues to grow with a new release in 2009 bringing the total to 

seven CDs. The Girls Chorus can also be heard on several San Francisco Symphony recordings, 

including three Grammy® Award –winners. 
The United States Army Herald Trumpets 

Whether arrayed on the balcony of the White House hailing the arrival of visiting dignitaries 

from around the world, performing the National Anthem on the 50-yard line of the Superbowl, or 

hailing the inauguration of a President, The United States Army Herald Trumpets is one of the 

most spectacular performing groups in America. 

Since its establishment in 1959, The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets has performed at numerous 

historical occasions. Its first official performance welcomed Her Royal Highness Queen 

Elizabeth II to America for the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. In the ensuing years the 

group has performed for an illustrious array of presidents, prime ministers, and royalty. The 

Army Herald Trumpets has performed fanfares during opening ceremonies for the 1980 and 

2002 Winter Olympic Games, the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, and 

the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. The ensemble‘s appearances at several 

World‘s Fairs, the opening of Walt Disney World, the ―G8‖ Economic Summits in 1984, 1990, 

and 2004, and the pre-game of Superbowl XXXIX were critically acclaimed. 

This premier ensemble was seen by millions worldwide at the relighting ceremony of the Statue 

of Liberty, and adds flourish to annual nationally-televised holiday celebrations: ―A Capitol 

Fourth,‖ ―Christmas in Washington,‖ and numerous Memorial and Veterans Day events that 

celebrate America‘s proud military tradition. 

The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets gave a memorable performance in 2004 at the dedication of the 

National WWII Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and has added fanfare to the 

arrival of foreign leaders for the ceremonies commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the United 

Nations in San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, DC. 

 
UNITED STATES MARINE BAND 

For more than two centuries, the United States Marine Band has been part of the events that have 

shaped our nation. As ―The President‘s Own,‖ its omnipresent role has made it an important 

thread in the fabric of American life. 

Established by an Act of Congress in 1798, the Marine Band is America‘s oldest continuously 

active professional musical organization. Its primary mission is unique—to provide music for the 

President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. 

President John Adams invited the Marine Band to make its White House debut on New Year‘s 

Day, 1801, in the then-unfinished Executive Mansion. In March of that year, the band performed 

for Thomas Jefferson‘s inauguration and has performed for every presidential inaugural since. In 

Jefferson, the band found its most visionary advocate. An accomplished musician himself, 

Jefferson recognized the unique relationship between the band and the Chief Executive by giving 

the Marine Band the title ―The President's Own.‖

Whether performing for South Lawn arrival ceremonies, State Dinners, or receptions, Marine 

Band musicians appear at the White House more than 300 times each year. These performances 

range from a solo harpist or chamber orchestra to a dance band or full concert band, making 

versatility an important requirement for band members. 

Additionally, the band participates in more than 500 public and official performances annually, 

including concerts and ceremonies throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Each 

fall, the Marine Band travels throughout a region of the United States during its concert tour, a 

century-old tradition initiated by ―The March King‖ John Philip Sousa, the band‘s legendary 

17th Director. The Marine Band‘s musical reach has extended beyond America‘s borders with 

performances in England, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, and the 

former Soviet Union. 

As director from 1880-92, Sousa brought ―The President‘s Own‖ to an unprecedented level of 

excellence and shaped the band into a world-famous musical organization. During his tenure, the 

Marine Band was one of the first musical ensembles to make sound recordings. By 1897, more 

than 400 different titles were available for sale, placing Sousa‘s marches among the first and 

most popular pieces ever recorded. 

―The President's Own‖ continues to maintain the standard of excellence established by Sousa. 

Musicians are selected at auditions much like those of major symphony orchestras, and they 

enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps for duty with the Marine Band only. Most of today‘s members 

are graduates of the nation‘s finest music schools, and nearly 60 percent hold advanced degrees 

in music. 

This year marks the 53rd time the Marine Band has participated in a presidential inauguration. It 

is the only military band to take part both in the swearing-in ceremony and the parade. In this 

exclusive position, the Marine Band has been present for many unique and intimate moments in 

the history of presidential inaugurations. 

 
The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters"

The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters" chorus is the official chorus of the United States Navy. 

The ensemble performs a variety of music ranging from traditional choral music, including the sea 

chantey, to Broadway musicals. Under the leadership of Chief Musician Georgina L. Todd and 

Conductor Benjamin Bransford, the Sea Chanters appear throughout the United States and often 

perform at the White House, the Vice President's home and for other Washington dignitaries. In 

1956, Lt. Harold Fultz, then the Band's assistant leader, organized a group from the Navy School of 

Music in Anacostia to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. An 

immediate success, Admiral Arleigh Burke, Chief of Naval Operations, transferred them to the Navy 

Band, named them the "Sea Chanters" and tasked this all-male chorus with perpetuating the songs of 

the sea. In 1980, the group added women to their ranks and expanded their repertoire to include 

everything from Brahms to Broadway. 

Today, the Sea Chanters are one of the most dynamic vocal ensembles in the country and are 

frequently found at the center of our most important national events, including the 55th Presidential 

Inauguration Ceremony in 2005. They have played a vital role in comforting the nation in times of 

mourning, including appearances at memorials for the astronauts of the space shuttle Columbia and 

the Presidential wreath laying ceremony at the United Airlines Flight 93 crashsite in Shanksville, Pa. 

Their performance of "Amazing Grace" at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance at the 

National Cathedral in Washington after the events of 9/11 inspired all in attendance as well as a 

national television audience. In 1994, the chorus provided music at the funeral of former President 

Nixon in Yorba Linda, Calif., and the interment of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at 

Arlington National Cemetery. 

They have appeared at the Kennedy Center Honors and with the National Symphony Orchestra for 

the nationally telecast "National Memorial Day Concerts" at the U.S. Capitol. In addition the group 

has appeared on "Larry King Live" and "CBS This Morning" as well as at the premier of the movie 

Pearl Harbor. 

Noted choral directors Dale Warland and Donald Neuen have guest conducted the ensemble, and 

renowned composers Roger Bourland, William MacDuff and Lloyd Pfautsch have written works 

especially for them. Other notable orchestral appearances include the Boston Pops Esplanade 

Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Sea Chanters have 

enjoyed a great reputation performing with such stars as Perry Como, Marian Anderson and Kenny 

Rogers. 

Throughout their history, the Sea Chanters have remained true to the Navy's watchwords of pride 

and professionalism, and they continue to flourish in the 21st century and beyond as a vibrant 

ensemble. 
Lincoln Bible, Library of Congress

Lincoln Inaugural Bible 

President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20, 2009, will take the 

oath of office on a Bible from the Library of Congress‘ 

collections that is steeped in history — the same Bible upon 

which Abraham Lincoln swore March 4, 1861, to uphold the 

Constitution.

The first Lincoln Inaugural is rife with historical significance, 

coming at a time when the survival of the United States was 

never more endangered, according to Clark W. Evans, an expert 

on Lincoln who heads the Reference Services Section of the 

Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of 

Congress.

Following the lead of seven states in the lower South, Evans 

noted, the slave states of the upper South were threatening to 

secede from the Union. Amid fears of assassination, the 

president-elect had secretly arrived in Washington on Feb. 23, 

1861.

To view the Lincoln Inaugural Bible today is to conjure up the remarkable scene which unfolded 

on the East Front of the Capitol almost 147 years ago. The oath of office was administered by 

Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, then 84 years old. As the author of the infamous "Dred Scott" 

decision of 1857, which held in part that Congress did not have the power to abolish slavery in 

the territories, Taney was clearly no friend to Lincoln or the cause of emancipation. In the 

Inaugural Address which followed, President Lincoln appealed to his countrymen to follow "the 

better angels of our nature."

The Bible was originally purchased by William Thomas Carroll, Clerk of the Supreme Court. 

The Lincolns‘ family Bible, which is also in the Library‘s collections, had been packed with 

other belongings that were traveling from Springfield.

The Bible itself is bound in burgundy velvet with a gold-washed white metal rim around the 

three outside edges of both covers. All its edges are heavily gilt. In the center of the top cover is 

a shield of gold wash over white metal with the words "Holy Bible" chased into it. The book is 

15 cm long, 10 cm wide, and 4.5 cm deep when closed. The 1,280-page Bible was published in 

1853 by the Oxford University Press.

In the back of the volume, along with the seal of the Supreme Court, it is annotated: "I, William 

Thomas Carroll, clerk of the said court do hereby certify that the preceding copy of the Holy 

Bible is that upon which the Honble. R. B. Taney, Chief Justice of the said Court, administered 

to His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, the oath of office as President of the United States ... "

The Lincoln Inaugural Bible will go on display at the Library of Congress Feb. 12 to May 9, 

2009, as part of an exhibition titled "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln 

Bicentennial Exhibition." The exhibit will then travel to five other American cities.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President’s Room 

 
PRESIDENT’S ROOM

Historical Highlights

In 1789 President George Washington wrote to the United States Senate recommending a 

chamber ―for the joint business of the President and the Senate.‖ Although the Capitol‘s early 

architects planned for such a room, it was not until extensions were added to the building in the 

1850s that one was finally built. 

The provisions of the Constitution made the President‘s Room an important necessity. As 

originally written, the Constitution scheduled the terms of office for the president and the 

Congress to begin at the same time—noon, March 4. For this reason, outgoing presidents often 

had to visit the Capitol during the final hours of March 3 to sign last minute legislation that had 

been hurriedly passed by outgoing congresses. These visits frequently lasted through the night, 

with the president remaining at the Capitol the entire time. 

Bill signing was not the only presidential activity during these late night visits. On March 3, 

1865, while President Abraham Lincoln was working in the President‘s Room, General Ulysses 

S. Grant received a message from General Robert E. Lee proposing a peace conference. Grant at 

once telegraphed Washington, D.C. for instructions. His message eventually reached Lincoln at 

the Capitol, where the president drafted an immediate reply, ordering Grant not to confer with 

Lee unless it was to consider terms of surrender. The following morning, Lincoln was in the 

room again, finishing business before proceeding to the inaugural platform on the Capitol‘s East 

Front to renew his oath of office. 

As president himself, Grant spent the final hours of the 44th Congress (March 3, 1877) in his 

room in the Capitol, working to sign his own accumulation of last-minute bills. 

In 1885 President Chester Arthur, visiting the room to sign last-minute legislation, brought 

financial relief to the dying, poverty-stricken ex-President Grant by placing him on the army 

retired list as a lieutenant general. Similarly, just as his term in office expired, Benjamin Harrison 

signed a controversial bill in the room for the financial relief of Jefferson Davis‘ widow. 

In the early 20th century, President Woodrow Wilson attempted to revive George Washington‘s 

practice of conferring in person with the Senate. To this end, Wilson used the President‘s Room 

as often as three times a week for legislative meetings. In 1917 the Baltimore Sun noted that 

frequently during such sessions ―the door to his office was left open, and visitors were treated to 

the unusual spectacle of a President actively at work in public.‖ When Inauguration Day fell on a 

Sunday in 1917, Wilson took the oath of office privately in the room. His public oath followed 

on the Capitol‘s East Front the next day. 

The President‘s Room was rarely used by presidents after 1921. The 20th Amendment, ratified in 

1933, further eliminated the need for the room by unlinking the end of congressional and 

presidential terms, thus eliminating the troublesome crush of last-minute legislation on March 3. 

History was made once again in the room in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson chose it 

as the site for his signing of the historic Voting Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination at the 

polls. 
U.S. Senate Commission on Art

On January 20, 1981, President Ronald Reagan established the tradition of an inaugural day visit 

to the President‘s Room. Succeeding presidents have followed Reagan‘s example, visiting the 

room immediately after the inaugural ceremony to sign documents and pose for photographers. 

Except for these infrequent presidential visits, the room is used today primarily by senators for 

private meetings, interviews, and impromptu caucuses. 

Art Highlights

Early guidebooks referred to the 

President‘s Room as ―one of the gems of 

the Capitol.‖ Diarist Mary Clemmer Ames 

described it in glowing terms in the 1870s: 

―Gilding, frescoes, arabesques, glitter and 

glow above and around. There is not one 

quiet hue on which the tired sight may 

rest. Gazing, I feel an indescribable desire 

to pluck a few of Signor Brumidi‘s red 

legged babies and pug-nosed cupids from 

their precarious perches on the lofty 

ceilings, to commit them to nurses or to 

anybody who will smooth out their 

rumpled little legs and make them look 

comfortable.‖ 

The rich frescoes gracing the walls and 

ceiling were completed during 1859–1860 

by Italian artist Constantino Brumidi. 

Brumidi, who emigrated to the United 

States in 1852, spent the last third of his 

life decorating the interior of the Capitol 

Building. He based his design for the 

President‘s Room on Raphael‘s ceiling of the 

Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican Palace. 

Adorning the walls, elegantly framed with 

floral motifs, are portraits of George Washington and the members of his first cabinet. On the 

ceiling are four allegorical figures personifying the foundations of government—Religion, 

Legislation, Liberty, and Executive Authority. Four historical portraits, each representative of 

fundamental aspects of the development of the nation, decorate the corners of the ceiling—

Christopher Columbus, discovery; Amerigo Vespucci, exploration; Pilgrim leader William 

Brewster, religion; and Benjamin Franklin, history. 

The frescoes, darkened with long neglect and periodic over painting, were professionally 

restored in 1994–1995, uncovering their original vibrant colors and revealing Brumidi‘s fine 

technique. 
Most of the furnishings in the room have long been associated with this historic chamber. The 

two Turkish sofas and five large armchairs were acquired in 1875, and have been restored to 

their original appearance. 

The President‘s Room chandelier is the only one specifically made for the Capitol extensions 

that still remains in place. Originally gas-burning, it was later converted to electricity. 

Subsequent modifications added 33 electric lights and 6 additional arms. The chandelier is richly 

decorated with historical and allegorical figures. 

The elaborate floor tiles were made by Minton, Hollins and Company of Stoke-Upon-Trent, 

England. Their excellent condition after nearly 150 years is a result of a unique ―encaustic‖ tilemaking process. Encaustic tiles were made using layers of colored clay imbedded in a neutral 

clay base to create vibrant, durable colors. Ordinary tiles are merely painted with colored glazes, 

which wear away much more quickly. 

Photographs of the room from the late 1890s show the floor clock in the same location where it 

stands today. It was acquired for $250 in 1887 from Washington jewelers Harris & Shaefer. The 

mahogany table, often erroneously associated with President Lincoln, also dates from the late 

19th century. 

Today, the President‘s Room is considered one of the showpieces of the Capitol‘s Senate wing. 

It continues to be used for important national and ceremonial events, and serves as a constant 

reminder of the close relationship between the executive and legislative branches of our 

government. 
Inaugural Luncheon
g

Invocation

Dr. Barry C. Black

Chaplain

 United States Senate

Presentations and Toasts

Dianne Feinstein

Chairman

Joint Congressional Committee on 

Inaugural Ceremonies

Robert F. Bennett

United States Senate

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker 

United States House of Representatives

Benediction

Reverend Daniel Coughlin

Chaplain 

United States House of Representatives

Smithsonian Chamber Players

The Smithsonian Chamber Players have provided music for the inaugural 

luncheon since 1981. Directed by Kenneth Slowik, the group specializes in 

performing historical masterworks of the seventeenth through early twentieth 

centuries. The music they perform today is a mixture of American repertoire pieces 

written for early nineteenth-century presidents, as well as some of the European 

compositions found in the extensive music library of Thomas Jefferson.


Hosts

Joint Congressional Committee on 

Inaugural Ceremonies

Dianne Feinstein of California, Chairman

Harry Reid of Nevada

Robert F. Bennett of Utah

Nancy Pelosi of California

Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland

John A. Boehner of Ohio

National Statuary Hall



Statuary Hall, which has been the setting for the inaugural luncheon since 

1981, served as the chamber for the House of Representatives from 1819 

until 1857, when the House moved into its current chamber. In 1976 the 

room was partially restored to its original appearance as the 1819 House 

chamber. Since 1870 it has housed a unique collection of bronze and marble 

statues commemorating distinguished citizens selected by the states. 
Program

Invocation

Dr. Barry C. Black

Chaplain

 United States Senate

Presentations and Toasts

Dianne Feinstein

Chairman

Joint Congressional Committee on 

Inaugural Ceremonies

Robert F. Bennett

United States Senate

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker 

United States House of Representatives

Benediction

Reverend Daniel Coughlin

Chaplain 

United States House of Representatives

Smithsonian Chamber Players

The Smithsonian Chamber Players have provided music for the inaugural 

luncheon since 1981. Directed by Kenneth Slowik, the group specializes in 

performing historical masterworks of the seventeenth through early twentieth 

centuries. The music they perform today is a mixture of American repertoire pieces 

written for early nineteenth-century presidents, as well as some of the European 

compositions found in the extensive music library of Thomas Jefferson.


Hosts

Joint Congressional Committee on 

Inaugural Ceremonies

Dianne Feinstein of California, Chairman

Harry Reid of Nevada

Robert F. Bennett of Utah

Nancy Pelosi of California

Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland

John A. Boehner of Ohio

National Statuary Hall



Statuary Hall, which has been the setting for the inaugural luncheon since 

1981, served as the chamber for the House of Representatives from 1819 

until 1857, when the House moved into its current chamber. In 1976 the 

room was partially restored to its original appearance as the 1819 House 

chamber. Since 1870 it has housed a unique collection of bronze and marble 

statues commemorating distinguished citizens selected by the states. 
Program

Invocation

Dr. Barry C. Black

Chaplain

 United States Senate

Presentations and Toasts

Dianne Feinstein

Chairman

Joint Congressional Committee on 

Inaugural Ceremonies

Robert F. Bennett

United States Senate

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker 

United States House of Representatives

Benediction

Reverend Daniel Coughlin

Chaplain 

United States House of Representatives

Smithsonian Chamber Players

The Smithsonian Chamber Players have provided music for the inaugural 

luncheon since 1981. Directed by Kenneth Slowik, the group specializes in 

performing historical masterworks of the seventeenth through early twentieth 

centuries. The music they perform today is a mixture of American repertoire pieces 

written for early nineteenth-century presidents, as well as some of the European 

compositions found in the extensive music library of Thomas Jefferson.


Hosts

Joint Congressional Committee on 

Inaugural Ceremonies

Dianne Feinstein of California, Chairman

Harry Reid of Nevada

Robert F. Bennett of Utah

Nancy Pelosi of California

Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland

John A. Boehner of Ohio

National Statuary Hall



Statuary Hall, which has been the setting for the inaugural luncheon since 

1981, served as the chamber for the House of Representatives from 1819 

until 1857, when the House moved into its current chamber. In 1976 the 

room was partially restored to its original appearance as the 1819 House 

chamber. Since 1870 it has housed a unique collection of bronze and marble 

statues commemorating distinguished citizens selected by the states. 
Inaugural Luncheon 

The luncheon, hosted by the members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural 

Ceremonies, has been a tradition for more than a century. Approximately 200 guests including 

the new President, Vice President, members of their families, the Supreme Court, Cabinet 

designees, and members of Congressional leadership will attend the event in Statuary Hall. 

The details of the luncheon have been designed to reflect the theme of the 2009 Inaugural 

ceremonies, "A New Birth of Freedom," which celebrates the bicentennial of the birth of 

President Abraham Lincoln. 

The menu, created by Design Cuisine, a catering company based in Arlington, Virginia, draws 

on historic ties to the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Growing up in the frontier regions of 

Kentucky and Indiana, the sixteenth President favored simple foods including root vegetables 

and wild game. As his tastes matured, he became fond of stewed and scalloped oysters. For 

dessert or a snack, nothing pleased him more than a fresh apple or an apple cake. 

 

 

Inaugural Luncheon Menu 

First Course: Seafood Stew 

Duckhorn Vineyards, 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley 

Second Course: A Brace of American Birds (pheasant and duck), served with Sour Cherry 

Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes 

 Goldeneye, 2005 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley 

Third Course: Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake and Sweet Cream Glacé 

Korbel Natural “Special Inaugural Cuvée,” California Champagne 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Recipes

First Course 

Seafood Stew 

Yield: 10 servings 

Ingredients 

6 (1 Lb) Maine lobsters 

20 medium size Sea scallops 

36 Large shrimp, peel, cleaned and tail removed, aprox. 2 lbs. 

10 (1 oz) pieces of black cod 

1⁄2 cup small dice carrots 

1⁄2 cup small dice celery 

1⁄2 cup small dice leek 

1⁄2 cup small dice Idaho potato 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 teaspoon ground white pepper or black pepper 

1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1 quart heavy cream 

1 cup dry vermouth (can be made without) 

10 (5 inch) puff pastry rounds 

Equipment 

10 (3 1⁄2 inch) terrines/ramekins or serving dish of your choice 2009 

Directions 

1. Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil; poach lobsters, then shrimp, then black cod and last scallops. 

After seafood is cooked, remove from water; reserve water and bring to boil. 

2. Cook all vegetables in liquid that was used for the seafood, remove vegetables when tender. Allow 

the liquid to continue to boil until only 1qt of liquid remains. This will be the base for the sauce. 

3. Bring seafood liquid back to a boil and add the vermouth and heavy cream and reduce by half, 

season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste. You have reached your desired thickness when 

the sauce will cover the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool. 

4. Cut Maine lobster, shrimp and scallops into bite size pieces. 

5. Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees. 

6. Fold seafood and vegetables into cool sauce, being careful not to mix too much as this will break 

up the seafood. Scoop mixture into terrines or oven proof baking dish of your choice. 

7. Cover terrines with puff pastry rounds, brush them with egg wash and bake them until golden 

brown about 8-10 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. You can cook this 2-3 hours 

ahead of time and keep warm at 150 F degrees. 

*All seafood can be substituted with other favorite options of your choice and availability. 
Second Course

Duck Breast with Cherry Chutney 

Yield: 10 servings 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 

1⁄2 cup chopped onion (1 small) 

3 garlic cloves, crushed 

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot 

1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper 

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin 

Scant 1⁄4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes 

3⁄4 teaspoon salt 

1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper (1⁄2 medium) 

1 plum tomato, coarsely chopped 

1⁄4 cup dry red wine 

1 1⁄2 to 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 

2 tablespoons sugar 

1⁄2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 

1 can (3 cups) Bing cherries, quartered *Oregon brand 

1⁄2 cup Golden Raisins 

10 (6 oz.) boneless duck breasts with skin 

2 tablespoons water 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or chives 

Method for chutney and glaze: 

1. Heat oil in a 2 to 3 quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then 

cook onion, garlic, and shallot, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 7 minutes. Add tomato 

paste, black pepper, cumin, hot pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 30 

seconds. Reduce heat to medium and add bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until 

softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine, vinegar (to taste), and sugar and simmer approx 5 

minutes. Stir in mustard, 1 1/2 cups cherries, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer 1 

minute. Allow to cool slightly and reserve all but 1⁄4 cup of the mix to the side. Place1/4 cup mix 

in a blender and puree until very smooth, about 1 minute (use caution when blending hot 

liquids). Reserve for glazing duck. To finish the chutney, add the remaining 1 1⁄2 cups of cherries, 

tarragon, chives and all the golden raisins. Can be prepared one day ahead. 

2. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Score duck skin in a crosshatch 

pattern with a small sharp knife and season duck all over with salt and pepper. 

3. Heat water in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over low heat until hot, then add duck, skin 

side down. Cook duck, uncovered, over low heat, without turning, until most of fat is 

rendered(melted) and skin is golden brown, about 25 minutes. 

4. Transfer duck to a plate and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Brush duck all over 

with cherry glaze and return to skillet, skin side up. 

5. Roast duck in oven until thermometer registers 135°F, about 8 minutes for medium-rare. 

6. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. 
Holding a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle, cut duck into slices. 

Serve with cherry chutney and molasses whipped sweet potato. 

Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing 

Yield: 10 portions 

Ingredients 

10 Pheasant breast, boneless, remove tenders and reserve for stuffing, cut small pocket in side of 

breast for stuffing 

1⁄2 cup Olive oil with chopped rosemary, thyme and sage 

1 lb. Wild rice, long grain 

2 quarts Chicken stock or canned chicken broth 

2 Carrots, diced 

1⁄2 Onion, diced 

1⁄2 cup Dried apricot, small diced 

1 Tablespoon Salt and pepper mix 

2 Tablespoons Garlic, roasted 

Directions 

1. Boil the rice with the chicken stock, cook until soft and most of the liquid is gone. 

2. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and apricot. Cook until the vegetables are soft and all liquid has 

been absorbed. Refrigerate rice mixture until cold. 

3. In a food processor, puree pheasant tenders to a paste consistency to use as a binder for rice 

mix. 

4. When rice is cool, add the pheasant puree to the rice until well mixed. Adjust seasoning with 

salt and pepper and return to refrigerator until ready to stuff. 

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

6. Make 10 small football shaped patties of the rice mix, stuff inside the pheasant, being careful 

not to overstuff the pheasant. Rub herb/oil mixture on top and bottom of the pheasant, season 

with salt and pepper. Place the pheasant on a heavy gauge roasting pan and then in a preheated 

oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with lid or foil and allow to 

rest for 10 minutes. Serve over sauté of spinach. 

*Pheasant can be substituted with chicken. 

Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes 

Yield: 2 quarts 

Ingredients 

3 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1⁄4 cup orange juice 

1⁄2 tablespoon of brown sugar 
1 tablespoon of molasses 

1 teaspoon of ground cumin 

2 tablespoons maple syrup 

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

2. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and roast until easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. 

3. Peel the skin off of the sweet potatoes while still hot.By hand or mixer, smash potatoes until 

all large chunks are gone. Combine the potatoes, butter, salt, orange juice, brown sugar, ground 

cumin, molasses and maple syrup in a large bowl. Continue to mix all together until all lumps are 

gone. Adjust any of the seasonings to your specific tastes. Can be made the day before. 

Winter Vegetables 

Yield: 10 servings 

Ingredients 

2 bunches Asparagus, green, bottom 1/3 of stem removed 

2 lbs. Carrots, peeled, cut oblong or large dice 

1 lb. Baby Brussel Sprouts, fresh,cleaned or frozen can be used 

1 lb. Wax Beans, ends snipped 

2 oz Butter 

1 each Zest from orange 

4 oz. Olive oil 

Salt and Pepper to taste. 

Directions 

Asparagus: preheat grill or large heavy bottom sauté pan. Rub 2 oz of olive oil on asparagus and 

season with pinch of salt and pepper. Lay flat on grill or sauté pan until lightly browned. Using 

long fork or tongs, rotate the asparagus to brown other sides. Usually 2 or 3 minutes per side. 

The asparagus is done when you can use a fork to cut through. Do not overcook, this will cause 

asparagus to become stringy. Keep warm until ready to serve. 

Carrots: bring 3 qt salted water to a boil, add carrots to water and cook until fork tender, meaning 

a fork will easily pass through the carrot. Drain the water from the pot and toss 1 oz butter and 

zest of orange and mix until carrots are coated. Season with pinch of salt and enjoy. Keep warm 

until ready to serve. 

Brussel Sprouts: For Fresh: Bring 3 qt salted water to a boil, cut into the stem of the sprout with 

a pairing knife to create an X on the bottom, this will allow the stem to cook more evenly. Place 

sprout in boiling water and allow to cook until bottom of sprout is tender and easily cut with a 

knife. Preheat a heavy bottom sauté while the sprouts are cooking. Remove sprouts from water 

and allow all water to drain completely. Add 2 oz oil to sauté pan and add the sprouts, season 

with salt and pepper while tossing the sprouts around to evenly brown in the pan. If sprouts are 

too big, you can cut them in half, keep warm until ready to serve. 

For Frozen: Bring 3 qt salted water to a boil and drop frozen brussel sprouts into water, these are 

precooked so you are only thawing them out. Remove from water and sauté as above. 
Yellow Wax beans: bring 3 qt salted water to boil, add snipped wax beans to water and allow to 

cook until fork tender or to your liking of doneness. Remove from water and toss with 1 oz 

butter and season with salt and pepper. 

Third Course

Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake

Yield: 10 servings 

Ingredients

Apple Filling 

4 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1⁄4 cup water 

1 cup granulated sugar 

1/3 cup apple sauce 

1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1⁄4 teaspoon salt 

Grated zest from 1 lemon 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Bread Crust 

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melt 10 of tablespoons 

2 tablespoons granulated sugar 

34 slices brioche bread (or white bread) 

Equipment 

10 Ceramic baking ramekins or metal molds (3” diameter) 

Sauce 

2 cups caramel sauce(store bought) 

2 cups granny smith apples, peeled, cored, diced small 

Pinch sugar 

Pinch cinnamon 

1 tablespoon butter 

Ice Cream 

1 quart vanilla ice cream 

Preparation 

Filling 

1. Melt butter in 6-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add apples and caramelize, add water, 

cook, stirring occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are completely soft. Remove 

cover and add sugar, nutmeg and salt. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, 

stirring apples frequently, until liquid has completely evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove 

from heat and stir in lemon zest, apple sauce and vanilla. Set aside to cool while making crust. 

The filling can be made one day ahead
Making crust and assembly 

1. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Grease 8 ceramic dishes with 

1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle sugar in dish and tilt to coat bottom and sides. Tap out excess sugar 

and set aside. 

2. Using a bread knife, remove crusts from bread. Center the bottom of mold over one of the 

bread squares. Cut around mold to form circle to use as the top. Make a total of 20 of these round 

pieces. Ten will be for the bottom and 10 will be used for the top. Dip each one in melted butter 

and place at the bottom of mold. 

3. Cut each of the 15 remaining slices of bread into four rectangular pieces. Dip one side of each 

strip in the melted butter and arrange strips, upright, around the inside of molds, buttered-sides 

against mold and overlapping by about 1/2” to completely line mold. Use 6 rectangles to line the 

mold. 

4. Spoon the apple filling into bread-lined molds, mounding it slightly in center. 

5. Take the remaining ten rounds of bread and dip pieces of bread into the melted butter and 

place on top of filling, buttered-sides up. Press down lightly. 

6. Bake for 30 minutes, then cover top loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 15-20 

minutes, until top is deep golden brown and side slices are golden brown (slide a thin-bladed 

knife between bread and pan to check). Remove from oven, uncover, and let rest for 15 minutes 

on wire rack. Run thin-bladed knife around edges of molds to be able to flip the mold out onto 

serving plates. 

7. For the apple cinnamon caramel sauce, sauté 1 cup of peeled and diced Granny Smith apples 

in butter, add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon. Allow to cook until apples are lightly browned and 

all sugars have dissolved. Remove from heat and add 2 cups caramel sauce to the apples and stir 

to coat apples. 

To Assemble 

Pour caramel apple sauce over warmed apple cakes and serve with your favorite vanilla ice 

cream. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
China 

 

The first course will be served on replicas of the china from the Lincoln Presidency, which was 

selected by Mary Todd Lincoln at the beginning of her husband's term in office. The china 

features the American bald eagle standing above the U.S. Coat of Arms, surrounded by a wide b

order of "solferino," a purple red hue popular among the fashionable hosts of the day. 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers 

 

The floral arrangements, designed by JLB Floral of Alexandria, Virginia, will feature hydrangeas 

in shades of purple and blue, Hot Mojolica spray roses, bright Red Charlotte roses and light blue 

Delphinium in a footed brass compote. After the luncheon, the floral arrangements will be given 

to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 

 
Inaugural luncheon painting

 

When Congress formally welcomes the newly installed Chief Executive at its Inaugural 

Luncheon on January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama will take his seat before a painting on 

loan from the New-York Historical Society: the panoramic View of the Yosemite Valley (1865, 

54 x 72 inches) by Thomas Hill. 

The Inaugural Luncheon was first held at the U.S. Capitol in 1897 and has been a regularly 

observed tradition since 1953. The event has been held in the National Statuary Hall since 1981. 

Since 1985, Congress has selected a painting to reflect the theme of the Inaugural ceremony and 

to serve as the backdrop for the head table. 

Senator Dianne Feinstein requested the loan of the painting in her capacity as Chair of the Joint 

Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. In a letter to Linda Ferber, Museum 

Director of the New-York Historical Society, Senator Feinstein wrote: “The theme for our 2009 

Inaugural will be „A New Birth of Freedom.‟ We will celebrate the 200th anniversary of 

Abraham Lincoln's birth, and the ideals of reuniting a nation and Westward expansion that were 

exemplified during Lincoln's presidency. View of the Yosemite Valley, from your collection, 

represents this theme through the monumental vista of the valley, celebrating a new land that was 

open for exploration.” 

Throughout 2009, the New-York Historical Society will celebrate the Lincoln bicentennial with its 

Lincoln Year of public programs, special events, educational initiatives and exhibitions, culminating in 

October 2009 with the opening of the landmark exhibition Lincoln and New York: the first in-depth 

exploration of the intertwined careers of America‟s greatest President and its greatest city. 

The public is invited to visit the Historical Society‟s website at www.nyhistory.org. 

 
INAUGURAL GIFTS 

Official photograph & U.S. Flag 

During the Inaugural Luncheon it is traditional for the President and Vice President to be 

presented with gifts by the Congress on behalf of the American people. The President and Vice 

President will each be presented with a framed official photograph taken of their swearing-in 

ceremony by a Senate photographer, as well as flags flown over the U.S. Capitol during the 

inaugural ceremonies. 

Crystal Bowls 

 

For the sixth consecutive 

inauguration, Lenox, 

Inc., has created the 

official Inaugural gifts 

from the American 

people, given to the 

President-Elect and Vice 

President-Elect of the 

United States. On 

January 20th, 2009, 

President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden will be presented with 

priceless, custom-made, one-of-a-kind engraved crystal bowls at the Inaugural Luncheon 

following the swearing in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. These stunning gifts are commissioned 

by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC).

Lenox, Inc., the oldest and most prestigious maker of crystal and fine china in the United States, 

has designed and created the Inaugural gift for the incoming President since George H. W. Bush 

in 1989. For each Inauguration, the Lenox team of experts‟ works for more than a hundred hours 

to create a gift that encapsulates the spirit of the American people and the new presidency. 

Unique gifts have been created for George H. W. Bush Senior in 1989, Bill Clinton in 1993 and 

1997, and for George W. Bush in 2001 and 2005. 

The Presidential crystal bowl shows an image of the White House, flanked by cherry trees on 

either side. The Vice Presidential crystal bowl depicts the Capitol building, also flanked with 

blooming cherry trees on either side. Rotating the bowls 360 degrees provides dreamlike 

panoramic views of both American landmarks from different angles through the trees. The two 

bowls were created using a combination of etching and hand cutting. Each bowl rests on a handcut crystal plinth with faceted cuts, made of optical crystal and is engraved. The President‟s bowl 

is engraved with President Obama‟s name, “The Presidential Inauguration” and “January 20, 

2009.” A similar bowl will be presented to Vice President Biden. 

 
Smithsonian Chamber Players 

Since the first Inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the Smithsonian Chamber Players have provided 

the Inaugural Luncheon with period-instrument performances of music known to have been 

enjoyed by the early Presidents. On the historic occasion of President Obama‟s Inauguration, the 

Chamber Players will mix early American compositions with some of the more urbane European 

compositions found in the extensive music library of Thomas Jefferson. Luncheon participants 

will enter Statuary Hall to the strains of pieces like Philip Phile‟s The President’s March, 

Frances Hopkinson‟s Toast to Washington’s Health, and the anonymous Successful Campaign. 

During the luncheon service itself, the Chamber Players will turn sonatas and trios by some of 

Thomas Jefferson‟s favorite composers, including Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Purcell, Carlo 

Tessarini, George Friderick Handel, and Joseph Haydn. 

The Smithsonian Chamber Players are led by cellist Kenneth Slowik, their Artistic Director since 

1984. Slowik has been a soloist and/or conductor with numerous orchestras, including the 

National Symphony, the Baltimore, Vancouver, and Québec Symphonies, and the Cleveland 

Orchestra. His extensive discography includes more than sixty recordings, many of them 

international prize winners. A member of the University of Maryland and L’Académie de 

musique du Domaine Forget (Québec) faculties, Slowik is also artistic director of the Oberlin 

Baroque Performance Institute. The harpsichordist for the Luncheon will be James Weaver, 

Founding Director of the Smithsonian Chamber Players, which he established in 1976. Weaver

retired from the Smithsonian in 2002 after thirty-six years of exemplary service. He subsequently 

served as Executive Director of the National Music Center Foundation, and continues, as a 

performer, to divide his time among the harpsichord, fortepiano, and organ, appearing as solo 

artist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe. On this occasion, he will 

play a replica of a spinet-shaped harpsichord made by Mark Adler after an instrument built by 

Thomas Haxby of York, England, in 1766. The Haxby instrument came to this country upon its 

completion, and was typical of the kind of keyboard instrument found in many well-to-do 

American homes at the end of the 18th century. Violinist Marilyn McDonald, another founding 

member of the Smithsonian Chamber Players, is a well-known recitalist and chamber musician, 

appearing in concert at the Caramoor Festival, Yale University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 

the White House, Alice Tully Hall, the Library of Congress, the Mostly Mozart Festival, the 

Utrecht Festival, and in many other prestigious venues. Professor of Violin at the Oberlin 

College Conservatory of Music and a faculty member of the Oberlin Baroque Performance 

Institute, she has gained an international reputation as an outstanding pedagogue. Flutist Michael 

Lynn is Associate Dean and Professor of Recorder and Baroque Flute at Oberlin College, having 

previously taught at the University of Michigan, Oakland University, the Aspen Choral Festival, 

and Case Western Reserve University. Also on the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute 

faculty, he regularly performs with Apollo's Fire, the Oberlin Baroque Ensemble, the American 

Baroque Ensemble, and the Irish band Turn the Corner. Violinist Julie Andrijeski teaches music 

and baroque dance at Case Western Reserve University and the Oberlin Baroque Performance 

Institute, having previously taught at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. 

She made numerous recordings with Chatham Baroque, plays with the Boston Early Music 

Festival Orchestra and Apollo‟s Fire, and frequently combines her skills as violinist, 

choreographer, and/or dancer for opera projects and music/dance workshops. Percussionist 
Daniel Shores is a respected audio engineer, and currently serves on the faculty of the 

Shenandoah Conservatory in the Music Production and Recording Technology department. He is 

also managing director of Dorian /Sono Luminus Recordings. 

 

History of Statuary Hall 

The concept of a National Statuary Hall began in the 

middle of the nineteenth century. The completion of the 

present House wing in 1857 allowed the House of 

Representatives to move into its new and larger chamber. 

The old, vacant, semicircular, marble columned chamber 

became a cluttered thoroughfare between the Rotunda and 

the House wing. 

Suggestions for the use of the old chamber were made as 

early as 1853 by Gouverneur Kemble, a former Member of 

the House, who pressed for its use as a gallery for 

historical paintings. The space between the columns 

seemed too limited for such a purpose but was considered 

more suited for the display of busts and statuary. 

On April 19, 1864, the Honorable Justin S. Morrill in the House of Representatives proposed: 

"To what end more useful or grand, and at the same time simple and inexpensive, can we devote 

it [the Chamber] than to ordain that it shall be set apart for the reception of such statuary as each 

State shall elect to be deserving of in this lasting commemoration?" 

This proposal was enacted into the law creating the National Statuary Hall, July 2, 1864 (sec. 

1814 of the Revised Statutes), the essential part of which provides: 

"And the President is hereby authorized to invite each and all the States to provide and furnish 

statues, in marble or bronze, not exceeding two in number for each State, of deceased persons 

who have been citizens thereof, and illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civic 

or military services such as each State may deem to be worthy of this national commemoration; 

and when so furnished the same shall be placed in the Old Hall of the House of Representatives, 

in the Capitol of the United States, which is set apart, or so much thereof as may be necessary, as 

a national statuary hall for the purpose herein indicated." 

By 1935, 65 statues were crowded into Statuary Hall. In some places they were lined three deep 

which was aesthetically displeasing. More important, however, the structure of the chamber 

would not accommodate the excessive weight and there were statues yet to come. 

On February 24, 1933, Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 47 to provide for the 

relocation of statues and to govern the future reception and location of statues. 

Photo courtesy of Architect of the Capitol
"Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Architect of the 

Capitol, upon the approval of the Joint Committee of the Library, with the advice of the 

Commission of Fine Arts, is hereby authorized and directed to relocate within the Capitol any of 

the statues already received and placed in Statuary Hall, and to provide for the reception and 

location of the statues received hereafter from the States." 

Under authority of this resolution, it was decided that only one statue from each State should be 

placed in Statuary Hall. The other statues were located prominently in designated areas and 

corridors of the Capitol. 

A second rearrangement of the statues was made in 1976 by authorization of the Joint 

Committee on the Library to reduce overcrowding and to improve the aesthetic quality and 

orderliness of the physical arrangement of the National Statuary Hall Collection. Statues were 

placed in the East Central Hall of the east front extension on the first floor of the Capitol. Other 

statues were relocated within the corridors, Hall of Columns and Statuary Hall. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Event Site Map 

Images of Tickets 

 

 

 

 

Biographies 
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH 

George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn into office on January 

20, 2001, re-elected on November 2, 2004, and sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2005. 

Prior to his Presidency, President Bush served for 6 years as the 46th Governor of the State of 

Texas, where he earned a reputation for bipartisanship and as a compassionate conservative who 

shaped public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, 

strong families, and local control. 

President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Midland 

and Houston, Texas. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University in 1968, 

and then served as an F-102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. President Bush 

received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. Following 

graduation, he moved back to Midland and began a career in the energy business. After working 

on his father’s successful 1988 Presidential campaign, President Bush assembled the group of 

partners who purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989. On November 8, 1994, 

President Bush was elected Governor of Texas. He became the first Governor in Texas history to 

be elected to consecutive 4-year terms when he was re-elected on November 3, 1998. 

Since becoming President of the United States in 2001, President Bush has worked with the 

Congress to create an ownership society and build a future of security, prosperity, and 

opportunity for all Americans. He signed into law tax relief that helps workers keep more of their 

hard-earned money, as well as the most comprehensive education reforms in a generation, the No 

Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This legislation is ushering in a new era of accountability, 

flexibility, local control, and more choices for parents, affirming our Nation’s fundamental belief 

in the promise of every child. President Bush has also worked to improve healthcare and 

modernize Medicare, providing the first-ever prescription drug benefit for seniors; increase 

homeownership, especially among minorities; conserve our environment; and increase military 

strength, pay, and benefits. Because President Bush believes the strength of America lies in the 

hearts and souls of our citizens, he has supported programs that encourage individuals to help 

their neighbors in need. 

On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked our Nation. Since then, President 

Bush has taken unprecedented steps to protect our homeland and create a world free from terror. 

He is grateful for the service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform and their 

families. The President is confident that by helping build free and prosperous societies, our 

Nation and our friends and allies will succeed in making America more secure and the world 

more peaceful. 

President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a former teacher and librarian, and they have 

twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The Bush family also includes two dogs, Barney and Miss 

Beazley, and a cat, Willie. 

 
President-elect Barack H. Obama 

Barack Obama’s story is the American story – values from the heartland, a middle class 

upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the 

conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others. 

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on 

August 4th, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton’s army, 

and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at 

a bank. 

After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, Barack 

Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild 

communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants. 

He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African-American president of the 

Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration 

drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community. 

Barack Obama’s years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to 

unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama passed the 

first major ethics reform in twenty-five years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded 

health care for children and their parents. As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle 

to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world’s most dangerous weapons, and bring 

transparency to government by putting federal spending online. 

On November 4th, 2008, he was elected the forty-fourth President of the United States. He and 

his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
VICE PRESIDENT RICHARD B. CHENEY 

Vice President Richard B. Cheney has had a distinguished career as a businessman and public 

servant, serving four Presidents and as an elected official. Throughout his service, Mr. Cheney 

served with duty, honor, and unwavering leadership, gaining him the respect of the American 

people during trying military times. 

Mr. Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on January 30, 1941 and grew up in Casper, 

Wyoming. He earned his bachelor's and master's of arts degrees from the University of 

Wyoming. His career in public service began in 1969 when he joined the Nixon Administration, 

serving in a number of positions at the Cost of Living Council, at the Office of Economic 

Opportunity, and within the White House. 

When Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency in August 1974, Mr. Cheney served on the transition 

team and later as Deputy Assistant to the President. In November 1975, he was named Assistant 

to the President and White House Chief of Staff, a position he held throughout the remainder of 

the Ford Administration. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Vice President-Elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. 

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on November 20, 1942, to 

Joseph Sr. and Jean Biden. In 1953, the Biden family moved to Delaware. 

After graduating from the University of Delaware in 1965 and from law school at Syracuse 

University in 1968, Biden returned to Wilmington and set up his own law firm. At age 27, Biden 

ran for the New Castle County Council and won in a Republican district. At age 29, he launched 

an improbable bid to unseat two-term Republican U.S. Sen. J. Caleb Boggs. With very little help 

from the state establishment, and with his sister Valerie as his campaign manager, Biden 

defeated Boggs by 3,162 votes. 

Just weeks after the election, Biden’s wife, Neilia, and their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, were 

killed and their two young sons critically injured in an automobile accident. Biden was sworn in 

at his sons’ hospital bedside and began commuting to Washington every day by train, a practice 

he maintained throughout his career in the Senate. 

Senator Biden became ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee in 1997 and 

served as chairman from 2001 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2008. He served as chairman or ranking 

member of the Judiciary Committee for 16 years. He is recognized as one of the nation’s leading 

authorities on foreign policy, as well as one of its most influential voices on terrorism, drug 

policy, and crime. 

In addition to serving as a U.S. Senator, Biden served as an adjunct professor at the Widener 

University School of Law from 1991 to 2008, where he taught a seminar on constitutional law. 

Vice President-elect Biden married Jill Jacobs in 1977. He is the father of three children: Beau, 

Hunter, and Ashley. Beau is Delaware’s Attorney General and is currently an active member of 

the Delaware National Guard, serving as captain in the 261st Signal Brigade. Hunter is an 

attorney and Ashley is a social worker. Biden also has five grandchildren: Naomi, Finnegan, 

Maisy, Natalie, and Hunter. 

 

 

 

 

 

 
First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush 

Laura Bush is actively involved in issues of national and global concern, with a particular 

emphasis on education, health care, and human rights. In March 2005, Mrs. Bush made an 

historic trip to Afghanistan, witnessing firsthand the inspirational progress achieved by the 

Afghan people after the fall of the Taliban regime. She visited the Women's Teacher Training 

Institute in Kabul, which is training women to lead classrooms that girls were once forbidden to 

enter. She also met with President Hamid Karzai and expressed America's continued support for 

Afghanistan's new democracy, which ensures equal rights for women and men. Mrs. Bush's 

involvement in Afghanistan began in 2001, when she became the first wife of a president ever to 

deliver the president's weekly radio address. She used the opportunity to call attention to the 

plight of women suffering under the Taliban. 

Mrs. Bush is Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade, serving as an 

international spokesperson for efforts to educate people throughout the world, especially women 

and girls. 

As the leader of President Bush's Helping America's Youth initiative, Mrs. Bush is listening to 

the concerns of young people, parents, and community leaders throughout the country and 

drawing attention to programs that help children avoid risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use, 

early sexual activity, and violence. She's highlighting the need of every child to have a caring 

adult role model in his or her life - whether that adult is a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, or 

mentor. 

One of Mrs. Bush's first priorities in the White House was to convene the Summit on Early 

Childhood Cognitive Development. Prominent scholars and educators shared research on the 

best ways for parents and caregivers to prepare children for lifelong learning. Because children 

also need excellent teachers, Mrs. Bush works with teacher recruitment programs like Teach For 

America, The New Teacher Project, and Troops to Teachers. 

Laura Bush is passionate about the importance and pleasures of reading, and she joined with the 

Library of Congress to launch the first National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., in 

September 2001. The 2007 National Book Festival drew over 120,000 book-lovers from across 

the nation. 

In honor of her mother, a breast cancer survivor, Mrs. Bush supports education campaigns for 

breast cancer and heart disease. She is a partner with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

Institute in publicizing The Heart Truth, which is that heart disease is the leading cause of death 

among women in America. Mrs. Bush educates women about their risks and emphasizes the 

importance of healthy eating, exercise, and preventive screenings. 

A hiking and camping enthusiast, Mrs. Bush helped to start Preserve America, a national 

initiative to protect our cultural and natural heritage. She highlights preservation efforts across 

the country and encourages Americans to get involved in preserving main streets, parks, and 

community heritage treasures. 
Laura Bush was born on November 4, 1946, in Midland, Texas, to Harold and Jenna Welch. 

Inspired by her second grade teacher, she earned a bachelor of science degree in education from 

Southern Methodist University in 1968. She taught in public schools in Dallas and Houston. In 

1973, she earned a master of library science degree from the University of Texas and worked as 

a public school librarian. In 1977, she met and married George Walker Bush. They are the 

parents of twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, who are named for their grandmothers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Mrs. Michelle Obama 

When people ask Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn’t hesitate. First and foremost, 

she is Malia and Sasha’s mom. But before she was a mother — or a wife, lawyer, or public 

servant — she was Fraser and Marian Robinson’s daughter. 

The Robinsons lived in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. Fraser was a pump 

operator for the Chicago Water Department, and despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 

at a young age, he hardly ever missed a day of work. Marian stayed home to raise Michelle and 

her brother Craig, skillfully managing a busy household filled with love, laughter, and important 

life lessons. 

A product of Chicago public schools, Michelle studied sociology and African-American studies 

at Princeton University. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988, she joined the 

Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met the man who would become the love of 

her life. 

After a few years, Michelle decided her true calling lay in encouraging people to serve their 

communities and their neighbors. She served as assistant commissioner of planning and 

development in Chicago’s City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the 

Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares youth for public service. 

In 1996, Michelle joined the University of Chicago with a vision of bringing campus and 

community together. As associate dean of student services, she developed the university’s first 

community service program, and under her leadership as vice president of community and 

external affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center, volunteerism skyrocketed. 

As First Lady, Michelle Obama looks forward to continuing her work on the issues close to her 

heart – supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, and 

encouraging national service. Michelle and Barack Obama have two daughters: Malia, 10, and 

Sasha, 7. Like their mother, the girls were born on the South Side of Chicago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Mrs. Lynne Cheney 

Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, has loved history for as long as she can 

remember, and she has spent much of her professional life writing and speaking about the 

importance of knowing history and teaching it well. 

As chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993, she published 

American Memory, a report that warned about the failure of schools to transmit knowledge of 

the past to upcoming generations. ―A system of education that fails to nurture memory of the 

past denies its students a great deal,‖ Mrs. Cheney wrote: ―the satisfactions of mature thought, an 

attachment to abiding concerns, a perspective on human existence.‖ Currently, as a senior fellow 

at the American Enterprise Institute, she emphasizes the particular value of knowing our nation’s 

history. ―One of the important lessons we can learn is that freedom isn’t inevitable,‖ she says. 

―This realization should make the liberty we enjoy all the more important to us, all the more 

worth defending.‖ 

Mrs. Cheney has written articles about history for numerous publications on topics ranging from 

woman suffrage in the West to the way Americans celebrated the country’s centennial. She was a 

member of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the Constitution and served on Texas 

Governor George W. Bush’s education team. She was part of a group that revised Texas 

standards for the study of history. 

Over the course of her career, Mrs. Cheney has authored or co-authored twelve books. One of 

the first, Kings of the Hill (second edition, 1996), was co-written with Dick Cheney, thenCongressman from Wyoming. Kings of the Hill profiles various political figures, among them 

Henry Clay and Sam Rayburn, who played powerful roles in the House of Representatives. Mrs. 

Cheney’s 1995 book, Telling the Truth, analyzed the effect of postmodernism on study in the 

humanities. In Blue Skies, No Fences (2007), Mrs. Cheney took a personal approach to history, 

recounting her years growing up in Casper, Wyoming, and telling the stories of the men and 

women whose journeys brought her family to the high plains of the West. 

Mrs. Cheney has written five bestselling books about American history for children and their 

families, and well over a million copies of these books are in print. The first, America: A 

Patriotic Primer, released in May 2002, is an alphabet book for children of all ages and their 

families that celebrates the ideas and ideals that are the foundations of our country. The second, 

A Is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women, released in September 2003, tells 

the story of women’s contributions to American history. The third, When Washington Crossed 

the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots, released in October 2004, tells of the 

dramatic military campaign that began on Christmas night, 1776. The fourth, A Time for 

Freedom: What Happened When in America, released in October 2005, puts the great events and 

figures of American history into context and tells the story of freedom in America. The fifth, Our 

50 States: A Family Adventure Across America, released in 2006, provides a state-by-state 

celebration of the cities, historical figures, artists, innovators, and landmarks that together create 

the wonder that is the United States. Her most recent book, We the People: The Story of Our 

Constitution (2008), chronicles the events of the summer of 1787 and the remarkable process by 

which America’s Founding Fathers framed the Constitution - a document that, in Mrs. Cheney’s 

words, ―created our nation and offered a vision of ordered liberty to all the world.‖
In addition to donating a portion of her proceeds from children’s books to charity, Mrs. Cheney 

established the James Madison Book Award in April 2003 in an effort to encourage historical 

knowledge. As one of Mrs. Cheney’s signature initiatives, this Award includes the James 

Madison Book Award Fund, which has annually presented a $10,000 award to the author of a 

book that best represents excellence in bringing knowledge and understanding of American 

history to young people. The 2008 winner is The Many Rides of Paul Revere by James Cross 

Giblin. And winner of the $5,000, one-time Lifetime Achievement Award, also presented in 

2008, is Albert Marrin, whose newest book is The Great Adventure: Theodore Roosevelt and the 

Rise of Modern America. 

Mrs. Cheney earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors from Colorado College, her 

Master of Arts from the University of Colorado, and her Ph.D. with a specialization in 19thCentury British literature from the University of Wisconsin. She is the recipient of awards and 

honorary degrees from numerous colleges and universities. 

Vice President and Mrs. Cheney were married in 1964. They have two grown daughters, Mary 

and Elizabeth, three granddaughters, and three grandsons. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Dr. Jill Biden 

Dr. Jill Biden was raised in Willow Grove, PA. Jill met Joe Biden when she was a student at the 

University of Delaware. They married two years later at the United Nations chapel in New York 

City in June 1977. Jill has said that when she married Joe, she knew she was marrying the whole 

family, including his two sons, Beau and Hunter. In 1981, Joe and Jill had their daughter, 

Ashley. They also have five grandchildren: Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, and Hunter Biden. 

Jill has been an educator for 27 years. She recently completed her 15th year as a teacher at a 

community college in Delaware where she taught English composition. Before that she spent 13 

years in the public schools, including as a part-time teacher in the Rockford Psychiatric Hospital 

Adolescent Program. 

While working full-time and raising a family, Jill earned two masters degrees: a Master’s degree 

in English from Villanova University in 1987 and a Master’s degree in reading from West 

Chester University in 1981. In 2007, Jill earned a Doctorate in Education from the University of 

Delaware. Her dissertation focused on the challenge of retaining students in community colleges. 

Jill has always been engaged in the issues that matter to her most, including healthcare. After 

losing a friend to cancer, Jill started the Biden Breast Health Initiative to educate girls about 

proper breast health. Since 1993 the program has educated more than 7,000 ninth through twelfth 

grade girls in Delaware about the importance of breast health. 

Jill also is involved with Delaware Boots on the Ground, an organization that helps military 

families. Last summer, Jill started a program called Book Buddies to get kids reading at an early 

age. The program helps low-income children and raises money to buy books. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The Justices of the Supreme Court 

John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, was born in Buffalo, New York, 

January 27, 1955. He married Jane Marie Sullivan in 1996 and they have two children - 

Josephine and John. He received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1976 and a 

J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979. He served as a law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of 

the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1979–1980 and as a law clerk for 

then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States during 

the 1980 Term. He was Special Assistant to the Attorney General, 

U.S. Department of Justice from 1981–1982, Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan, 

White House Counsel’s Office from 1982–1986, and Principal Deputy Solicitor General, U.S. 

Department of Justice from 1989–1993. From 1986–1989 and 1993–2003, he practiced law in 

Washington, D.C. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

Columbia Circuit in 2003. President George W. Bush nominated him as Chief Justice of the 

United States, and he took his seat on September 29, 2005. 

John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice, was born in Chicago, Illinois, April 20, 1920. He married 

Maryan Mulholland, and has four children - John Joseph (deceased), Kathryn, Elizabeth Jane, 

and Susan Roberta. He received an A.B. from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from 

Northwestern University School of Law. He served in the United States Navy from 1942–1945, 

and was a law clerk to Justice Wiley Rutledge of the Supreme Court of the United States during 

the 1947 Term. He was admitted to law practice in Illinois in 1949. He was Associate Counsel to 

the Subcommittee on the Study of Monopoly Power of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. 

House of Representatives, 1951–1952, and a member of the Attorney General’s National 

Committee to Study Antitrust Law, 1953–1955. He was Second Vice President of the Chicago 

Bar Association in 1970. From 1970–1975, he served as a Judge of the United States Court of 

Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. President Ford nominated him as an Associate Justice of the 

Supreme Court, and he took his seat December 19, 1975. 

Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, March 11, 1936.He 

married Maureen McCarthy and has nine children - Ann Forrest, Eugene, John Francis, 

Catherine Elisabeth, Mary Clare, Paul David, Matthew, Christopher James, and Margaret Jane. 

He received his A.B. from Georgetown University and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, 

and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and was a Sheldon Fellow of Harvard University from 

1960–1961. He was in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio from 1961–1967, a Professor of Law 

at the University of Virginia from 1967–1971, and a Professor of Law at the University of 

Chicago from 1977–1982, and a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University and 

Stanford University. He was chairman of the American Bar Association’s Section of 

Administrative Law, 1981–1982, and its Conference of Section Chairmen, 1982–1983. He 

served the federal government as General Counsel of the Office of Telecommunications Policy 

from 1971–1972, Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States from 1972–

1974, and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel from 1974–1977. He was 

appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 

1982. President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he 

took his seat September 26, 1986. 
Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice, was born in Sacramento, California, July 23, 1936. He 

married Mary Davis and has three children. He received his B.A. from Stanford University and 

the London School of Economics, and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School. He was in private 

practice in San Francisco, California from 1961–1963, as well as in Sacramento, California from 

1963–1975. From 1965 to 1988, he was a Professor of Constitutional Law at the McGeorge 

School of Law, University of the Pacific. He has served in numerous positions during his career, 

including a member of the California Army National Guard in 1961, the board of the Federal 

Judicial Center from 1987–1988, and two committees of the Judicial Conference of the United 

States: the Advisory Panel on Financial Disclosure Reports and Judicial Activities, subsequently 

renamed the Advisory Committee on Codes of Conduct, from 1979–1987, and the Committee on 

Pacific Territories from 1979–1990, which he chaired from 1982–1990. He was appointed to the 

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1975. President Reagan nominated him 

as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat February 18, 1988. 

David Hackett Souter, Associate Justice, was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, September 17, 

1939. He was graduated from Harvard College, from which he received his A.B. After two years 

as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, he received an A.B. in Jurisprudence from 

Oxford University and an M.A. in 1989. After receiving an LL.B. from Harvard Law School, he 

was an associate at Orr and Reno in Concord, New Hampshire from 1966 to 1968, when he 

became an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 1971, he became Deputy Attorney 

General and in 1976, Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 1978, he was named an Associate 

Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, and was appointed to the Supreme Court of 

New Hampshire as an Associate Justice in 1983. He became a Judge of the United States Court 

of Appeals for the First Circuit on May 25, 1990. President Bush nominated him as an Associate 

Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat October 9, 1990. 

Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, was born in the Pin Point community of Georgia near 

Savannah June 23, 1948. He married Virginia Lamp in 1987 and has one child, Jamal Adeen, by 

a previous marriage. He attended Conception Seminary and received an A.B., cum laude, from 

Holy Cross College, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1974. He was admitted to law practice 

in Missouri in 1974, and served as an Assistant Attorney General of Missouri from 1974–1977, 

an attorney with the Monsanto Company from 1977–1979, and Legislative Assistant to Senator 

John Danforth from 1979–1981. From 1981–1982, he served as Assistant Secretary for Civil 

Rights, U.S. Department of Education, and as Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission from 1982–1990. He became a Judge of the United States Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1990. President Bush nominated him as an 

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat October 23, 1991. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 15, 1933. 

She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954, and has a daughter, Jane, and a son, James. She 

received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her 

LL.B. from Columbia Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. 

Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 

1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the 

Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She was a Professor of Law at Rutgers 

University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980, and a 

fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 
1977–1978. In 1971, she was instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the 

American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s General Counsel from 1973–1980, 

and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980. She was appointed a Judge of the 

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. President Clinton 

nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat August 10, 

1993.

Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, was born in San Francisco, California, August 15, 1938. 

He married Joanna Hare in 1967, and has three children - Chloe, Nell, and Michael. He received 

an A.B. from Stanford University, a B.A. from Magdalen College, Oxford, and an LL.B. from 

Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to Justice Arthur Goldberg of the Supreme Court 

of the United States during the 1964 Term, as a Special Assistant to the Assistant U.S. Attorney 

General for Antitrust, 1965–1967, as an Assistant Special Prosecutor of the Watergate Special 

Prosecution Force, 1973, as Special Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1974–

1975, and as Chief Counsel of the committee, 1979–1980. He was an Assistant Professor, 

Professor of Law, and Lecturer at Harvard Law School, 1967–1994, a Professor at the Harvard 

University Kennedy School of Government, 1977–1980, and a Visiting Professor at the College 

of Law, Sydney, Australia and at the University of Rome. From 1980–1990, he served as a Judge 

of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and as its Chief Judge, 1990–1994. He 

also served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1990–1994, and of the 

United States Sentencing Commission, 1985–1989. President Clinton nominated him as an 

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat August 3, 1994. 

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., Associate Justice, was born in Trenton, New Jersey, April 1, 1950. 

He married Martha-Ann Bomgardner in 1985, and has two children -Philip and Laura. He served 

as a law clerk for Leonard I. Garth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 

from 1976–1977. He was Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey, 1977–1981, Assistant 

to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1981–1985, Deputy Assistant Attorney 

General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1985–1987, and U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey, 

1987–1990. He was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 

1990. President George W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 

and he took his seat on January 31, 2006. 

Sandra Day O’Connor (Retired), Associate Justice, was born in El Paso, Texas, March 26, 

1930. She married John Jay O’Connor III in 1952 and has three sons - Scott, Brian, and Jay. She 

received her B.A. and LL.B. from Stanford University. She served as Deputy County Attorney of 

San Mateo County, California from 1952–1953 and as a civilian attorney for Quartermaster 

Market Center, Frankfurt, Germany from 1954–1957. From 1958–1960, she practiced law in 

Maryvale, Arizona, and served as Assistant Attorney General of Arizona from 1965–1969. She 

was appointed to the Arizona State Senate in1969 and was subsequently reelected to two twoyear terms. In 1975 she was elected Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court and served 

until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals. President Reagan 

nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat September 25, 

1981. Justice O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006. 
 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Capitol History & Facts 

 
How the Location for the Capitol Was Chosen

The Capitol is located in Washington, D.C., at the eastern end of the National Mall on a plateau 

88 feet above the level of the Potomac River, commanding a westward view across the Capitol 

Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument 1.4 miles away and the Lincoln Memorial 2.2 

miles away. 

Before 1791, the federal government had no permanent site. The early Congresses met in eight 

different cities: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and 

New York City. The subject of a permanent capital for the government of the United States was 

first raised by Congress in 1783; it was ultimately addressed in Article I, Section 8 of the 

Constitution (1787), which gave the Congress legislative authority over "such District (not 

exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of Particular States, and the Acceptance of 

Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States. ..." 

In 1788, the state of Maryland ceded to Congress "any district in this State, not exceeding ten 

miles square," and in 1789 the state of Virginia ceded an equivalent amount of land. In 

accordance with the "Residence Act" passed by Congress in 1790, President Washington in 1791 

selected the area that is now the District of Columbia from the land ceded by Maryland (private 

landowners whose property fell within this area were compensated by a payment of £25 per 

acre); that ceded by Virginia was not used for the capital and was returned to Virginia in 1846. 

Also under the provisions of that Act, he selected three Commissioners to survey the site and 

oversee the design and construction of the capital city and its government buildings. The 

Commissioners, in turn, selected the French engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant to plan the new 

city of Washington. L'Enfant's plan, which was influenced by the gardens at Versailles, arranged 

the city's streets and avenues in a grid overlaid with baroque diagonals; the result is a functional 

and aesthetic whole in which government buildings are balanced against public lawns, gardens, 

squares, and paths. The Capitol itself was located at the elevated east end of the Mall, on the 

brow of what was then called Jenkins' Hill. The site was, in L'Enfant's words, "a pedestal waiting 

for a monument." 

A Brief Construction History of the Capitol

Begun in 1793, the United States Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored. 

The Capitol that we see today is the result of several major periods of construction; it stands as a 

monument to the ingenuity, determination, and skill of the American people. 

The Selection of a Plan 

In accordance with the "Residence Act" passed by Congress in 1790, President Washington in 

1791 selected the area that is now the District of Columbia from land ceded by Maryland. He 

also selected three Commissioners to survey the site and oversee the design and construction of 

the capital city and its government buildings. The Commissioners, in turn, hired the French 

engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant to plan the new city of Washington. He located the Capitol at 

the elevated east end of the Mall, on the brow of what was then called Jenkins' Hill. The site was, 

in L'Enfant's words, "a pedestal waiting for a monument." 
The North Wing of the Capitol in 1800

L'Enfant was expected to design the Capitol and to supervise its construction. However, he 

refused to produce any drawings for the building, claiming that he carried the design "in his 

head"; this fact and his refusal to consider himself subject to the Commissioners' authority led to 

his dismissal in 1792. In March of that year the Commissioners announced a competition, 

suggested by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, that would award $500 and a city lot to 

whoever produced "the most approved plan" for the Capitol by mid-July. None of the 17 plans 

submitted, however, was wholly satisfactory. In October, a letter arrived from Dr. William 

Thornton, a Scottish-trained physician living in Tortola, British West Indies, requesting an 

opportunity to present a plan even though the competition had closed. The Commissioners 

granted this request. 

Thornton's plan depicted a building composed of three sections. The central section, which was 

topped by a low dome, was to be flanked on the north and south by two rectangular wings (one 

for the Senate and one for the House of Representatives). President Washington commended the 

plan for its "grandeur, simplicity and convenience," and on April 5, 1793, it was accepted by the 

Commissioners; Washington gave his formal approval on July 25. 

1793 - 1829

The cornerstone was laid by President Washington in the building's southeast corner on 

September 18, 1793, with Masonic ceremonies. Work progressed under the direction of three 

architects in succession. Stephen H. Hallet (an entrant in the earlier competition) and George 

Hadfield were eventually dismissed by the Commissioners because of inappropriate design 

changes that they tried to impose; James Hoban, the architect of the White House, saw the first 

phase of the project through to completion. 

Construction was a laborious and time-consuming process: the 

sandstone used for the building had to be ferried on boats from the 

quarries at Aquia, Virginia; workers had to be induced to leave 

their homes to come to the relative wilderness of Capitol Hill; and 

funding was inadequate. By August 1796 the Commissioners were 

forced to focus the entire work effort on the building's north wing 

so that it at least could be ready for government occupancy as 

scheduled. Even so, some third-floor rooms were still unfinished 

when the Congress, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, 

and the courts of the District of Columbia occupied the Capitol in late 1800. 

In 1803, Congress allocated funds to resume construction. A year earlier, the office of the 

Commissioners had been abolished and replaced by a Superintendent of the City of Washington. 

To oversee the renewed construction effort, Benjamin Henry Latrobe was appointed architect. 

The first professional architect and engineer to work in America, Latrobe modified Thornton's 

plan for the south wing to include space for offices and committee rooms; he also introduced 

alterations to simplify the construction work. 

Latrobe began work in 1804 by removing a squat, oval, temporary building known as "the 

Oven," which had been erected in 1801 as a meeting place for the House of Representatives. By 
The Capitol after the Fire of 1814

1807 construction on the south wing was sufficiently advanced that the House was able to 

occupy its new legislative chamber, and the wing was completed in 1811. 

In 1808, as work on the south wing progressed, Latrobe began the rebuilding of the north wing, 

which had fallen into disrepair. Rather than simply repair the wing, he redesigned the interior of 

the building to increase its usefulness and durability; among his changes was the addition of a 

chamber for the Supreme Court. By 1811 he had completed the eastern half of this wing, but 

funding was being increasingly diverted to preparations for a second war with Great Britain. By 

1813, Latrobe had no further work in Washington and so he departed, leaving the north and 

south wings of the Capitol connected only by a temporary wooden passageway. 

The War of 1812 left the Capitol, in Latrobe's later 

words, "a most magnificent ruin": on August 24, 1814, 

British troops set fire to the building, and only a sudden 

rainstorm prevented its complete destruction. 

Immediately after the fire, Congress met for one session 

in Blodget's Hotel, which was at Seventh and E Streets, 

N.W. From 1815 to 1819, Congress occupied a building 

erected for it on First Street, N.E., on part of the site now 

occupied by the Supreme Court Building. This building 

later came to be known as the Old Brick Capitol.

Latrobe returned to Washington in 1815, when he was rehired to restore the Capitol. In addition 

to making repairs, he took advantage of this opportunity to make further changes in the 

building's interior design (for example, an enlargement of the Senate Chamber) and introduce 

new materials (for example, marble discovered along the upper Potomac). However, he came 

under increasing pressure because of construction delays (most of which were beyond his 

control) and cost overruns; finally, he resigned his post in November 1817. 

On January 8, 1818, Charles Bulfinch, a prominent Boston architect, was appointed Latrobe's 

successor. Continuing the restoration of the north and south wings, he was able to make the 

chambers for the Supreme Court, the House, and the Senate ready for use by 1819. Bulfinch also 

redesigned and supervised the construction of the Capitol's central section. The copper-covered 

wooden dome that topped this section was made higher than Bulfinch considered appropriate to 

the building's size (at the direction of President James Monroe and Secretary of State John 

Quincy Adams). After completing the last part of the building in 1826, Bulfinch spent the next 

few years on the Capitol's decoration and landscaping. In 1829, his work was done and his 

position with the government was terminated. In the 20 years following Bulfinch's tenure, the 

Capitol was entrusted to the care of the Commissioner of Public Buildings. 

1830 - 1868

The Capitol was by this point already an impressive structure. At ground level, its length was 

351 feet 7-1/2 inches and its width was 282 feet 10-1/2 inches. Up to the year 1827--records 

from later years being incomplete--the project cost was $2,432,851.34. Improvements to the 

building continued in the years to come (running water in 1832, gas lighting in the 1840s), but by 

1850 its size could no longer accommodate the increasing numbers of senators and 
Dome Construction in 1858

representatives from newly admitted states. The Senate therefore voted to hold another 

competition, offering a prize of $500 for the best plan to extend the Capitol. Several suitable 

plans were submitted, some proposing an eastward extension of the building and others 

proposing the addition of large north and south wings. However, Congress was unable to decide 

between these two approaches, and the prize money was divided among five architects. Thus, the 

tasks of selecting a plan and appointing an architect fell to President Millard Fillmore. 

Fillmore's choice was Thomas U. Walter, a Philadelphia architect who had entered the 

competition. On July 4, 1851, in a ceremony whose principal oration was delivered by Secretary 

of State Daniel Webster, the President laid the cornerstone for the northeast corner of the House 

wing in accordance with Walter's plans. Over the next 14 years, Walter supervised the 

construction of the extensions, ensuring their compatibility with the architectural style of the 

existing building. However, because the Aquia Creek sandstone used earlier had already 

deteriorated noticeably, he chose to use marble for the exterior. For the veneer, Walter selected 

marble quarried at Lee, Massachusetts, and for the columns he used marble from Cockeysville, 

Maryland. 

Walter faced several significant challenges during the course of construction. Chief among these 

was the steady imposition by the government of additional tasks without additional pay. Aside 

from his work on the Capitol extensions and dome, Walter designed the wings of the Patent 

Office building, extensions to the Treasury and Post Office buildings, and the Marine barracks in 

Pensacola and Brooklyn. When the Library of Congress in the Capitol's west central section was 

gutted by a fire in 1851, Walter was commissioned to restore it. He also encountered obstacles in 

his work on the Capitol extensions. His location of the legislative chambers was changed in 1853 

at the direction of President Franklin Pierce, based on the suggestions of the newly appointed 

supervising engineer, Captain Montgomery C. Meigs. In general, however, the project 

progressed rapidly: the House of Representatives was able to meet in its new chamber on 

December 16, 1857, and the Senate first met in its present chamber on January 4, 1859. The old 

House chamber was later designated National Statuary Hall. In 1861, most construction was 

suspended because of the Civil War, and the Capitol was used briefly as a military barracks, 

hospital, and bakery. In 1862, work on the entire building was resumed. 

As the new wings were constructed, more than doubling the length of the Capitol, it became 

apparent that the dome erected by Bulfinch no longer suited the building's proportions. In 1855 

Congress voted for its replacement based on Walter's design for a new, fireproof cast-iron dome. 

The old dome was removed in 1856, and 5,000,000 pounds of new masonry was placed on the 

existing Rotunda walls. Iron used in the dome construction had an aggregate weight of 8,909,200 

pounds and was lifted into place by steam-powered derricks. 

In 1859 Thomas Crawford's plaster model for the Statue of 

Freedom, designed for the top of the dome, arrived from the 

sculptor's studio in Rome. With a height of 19 feet 6 inches, the 

statue was almost 3 feet taller than specified, and Walter was 

compelled to make revisions to his design for the dome. When 

cast in bronze by Clark Mills at his foundry on the outskirts of 

Washington, it weighed 14,985 pounds. The statue was lifted into 
place atop the dome in 1863, its final section being installed on December 2 to the 

accompaniment of gun salutes from the forts around the city. 

The work on the dome and the extensions was completed under the direction of Edward Clark, 

who had served as Walter's assistant and was appointed Architect of the Capitol in 1865 after 

Walter's resignation. In 1866, the Italian-born artist Constantino Brumidi finished the canopy 

fresco, a monumental painting entitled The Apotheosis of Washington. The Capitol extensions 

were completed in 1868. 

1869 – 1902

Clark continued to hold the post of Architect of the Capitol until his death in 1902. During his 

tenure, the Capitol underwent considerable modernization. Steam heat was gradually installed in 

the Old Capitol. In 1874 the first elevator was installed, and in the 1880s electric lighting began 

to replace gas lights. 

Between 1884 and 1891, the marble terraces on the north, west, and south sides of the Capitol 

were constructed. As part of the grounds plan devised by landscape architect Frederick Law 

Olmsted, these terraces not only added over 100 rooms to the Capitol but also provided a 

broader, more substantial visual base for the building. 

On November 6, 1898, a gas explosion and fire in the original north wing dramatically illustrated 

the need for fireproofing. The roofs over the Statuary Hall wing and the original north wing were 

reconstructed and fireproofed, the work being completed in 1902 by Clark's successor, Elliott 

Woods. In 1901 the space in the west central front vacated by the Library of Congress was 

converted to committee rooms. 

1903 - 1970

During the remainder of Woods's service, which ended with his death in 1923, no major 

structural work was required on the Capitol. The activities performed in the building were 

limited chiefly to cleaning and refurbishing the interior. David Lynn, the Architect of the Capitol 

from 1923 until his retirement in 1954, continued these tasks. Between July 1949 and January 

1951, the corroded roofs and skylights of both wings and the connecting corridors were replaced 

with new roofs of concrete and steel, covered with copper. The cast-iron and glass ceilings of the 

House and Senate chambers were replaced with ceilings of stainless steel and plaster, with a 

laylight of carved glass and bronze in the middle of each. The House and Senate chambers were 

completely remodeled, improvements such as modern air conditioning and lighting were added, 

and acoustical problems were solved. During this renovation program, the House and Senate 

vacated their chambers on several occasions so that the work could progress. 

The next significant modification made to the Capitol was the east front extension. This project 

was carried out under the supervision of Architect of the Capitol J. George Stewart, who served 

from 1954 until his death in 1970. Begun in 1958, it involved the construction of a new east front 

32 feet 6 inches east of the old front, faithfully reproducing the sandstone structure in marble. 

The old sandstone walls were not destroyed; rather, they were left in place to become a part of 

the interior wall and are now buttressed by the addition. The marble columns of the connecting 
corridors were also moved and reused. Other elements of this project included 

repairing the dome, constructing a subway terminal under the Senate steps, 

reconstructing those steps, cleaning both wings, birdproofing the building, 

providing furniture and furnishings for the 90 new rooms created by the 

extension, and improving the lighting throughout the building. The project 

was completed in 1962. Subsequent work in the 1960s was concentrated 

chiefly on the construction of the Rayburn House Office Building and on the 

maintenance and repair of the Capitol. 

1970 - Present

Following the 1971 appointment of George M. White, FAIA, as Architect of the Capitol, the 

building was both modernized and restored. Electronic voting equipment was installed in the 

House chamber in 1973; facilities were added to allow television coverage of the House and 

Senate debates in 1979 and 1986, respectively; and improved climate control, electronic 

surveillance systems, and new computer and communications facilities have been added to bring 

the Capitol up to date. The Old Senate Chamber, National Statuary Hall, and the Old Supreme 

Court Chamber, on the other hand, were restored to their mid-19th-century appearance for the 

nation's 1976 Bicentennial celebration. 

In 1983, work began on the strengthening, renovation, and preservation of the west front of the 

Capitol. Structural problems had developed over the years because of defects in the original 

foundations, deterioration of the sandstone facing material, alterations to the basic building fabric 

(a fourth-floor addition and channeling of the walls to install interior utilities), and damage from 

the fires of 1814 and 1851 and the 1898 gas explosion.

To strengthen the structure, over one thousand stainless steel tie rods were set into the building's 

masonry. More than 30 layers of paint were removed, and damaged stonework was repaired or 

replicated. Ultimately, 40 percent of the sandstone blocks were replaced with limestone. The 

walls were treated with a special consolidant and then painted to match the marble wings. The 

entire project was completed in 1987, well ahead of schedule and under budget.

A related project, completed in January 1993, effected the repair of the Olmsted terraces, which 

had been subject to damage from settling, and converted the terrace courtyards into several 

thousand square feet of meeting space.

As the Capitol entered its third century, restoration and modernization work continued under the 

guidance of Alan M. Hantman, FAIA, who was appointed Architect of the Capitol in 1997 

following George M. White's 1995 retirement, and Stephen T Ayers, AIA, who has served as 

Acting Architect of the Capitol since Mr. Hantman's retirement in 2007. Major projects included 

conservation of the Rotunda canopy and frieze and the Statue of Freedom, creation of murals in 

three first-floor House corridors, and replacement of worn Minton tiles in the Senate corridors. 

Permanent television broadcasting facilities were installed in the Senate Chamber, and the 

subway system linking the Capitol with the Dirksen and Hart Senate Office Buildings

was replaced with a new system. Repair and restoration of the House monumental stairs was 

completed in 1996. A program of barrier removal begun in the 1970s continues in compliance

East Front in 1959
with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Construction of a Capitol Visitor Center is under way; 

the Center is located under the East Front Plaza and will contain exhibits, orientation displays, 

theaters, and other facilities to make the visitor's experience in the Capitol more informative and 

meaningful.

Architectural features & Historic Spaces 

Designed from the outset to house the United States Congress, the Capitol was a bold experiment 

in a new nation. The building has been enlarged and modified over the years, and it contains 

some of the most important spaces in American history and architecture.

As the Capitol Complex has been expanded, new buildings have reflected the taste and values of 

their time, offering the latest amenities available while retaining a connection to the Capitol's 

neoclassical forms.

The United States Capitol

Dome--The cast-iron dome of the United States Capitol, constructed

between 1855 and 1866, may well be the most famous man-made landmark 

in America. It is such a fitting finale for the building it crowns, so familiar 

and dignified, that it seems surprising that its design and construction came 

late in the Capitol's architectural evolution. Only the marble west front 

terraces (1884-1892) and the east front extension (1958-1962) are more 

recent additions to the Capitol than its dome.

Rotunda--The Rotunda is a large, domed, circular room located in the center 

of the Capitol on the second floor. It has been used for ceremonial functions, 

such as the unveiling of statues, inaugurations, and the lying in state of 

distinguished citizens. Its lower walls hold historic paintings, and a frescoed 

band, or "frieze," depicting significant events in American history rings its 

upper walls. The Rotunda canopy, a 4664-square-foot fresco painting 

entitled The Apotheosis of Washington, depicts the first President of the 

United States rising into the clouds in glory.

Old Senate Chamber--This semicircular, half-domed chamber, located north 

of the Rotunda, was occupied by the Senate between 1810 and 1859. After 

the Senate moved to its present chamber, this room was used by the 

Supreme Court from 1860 until 1935.
Old Supreme Court Chamber--Until 1935, the Capitol housed the Supreme 

Court of the United States as well as the Congress. This semicircular, 

umbrella-vaulted room, located north of the Crypt, was used by the Court 

between 1810 and 1860.

Crypt--On the Capitol's first floor is the Crypt, which lies beneath the 

Rotunda and dome directly above. Despite its name, the Crypt has never 

been used for funerary purposes; it serves today for the display of sculpture 

and interpretive exhibits.

Hall of Columns--The Hall of Columns is a dramatic, high-ceilinged 

corridor over 100 feet long on the first floor of the Capitol's House wing. It 

takes its name from the 28 fluted, white marble columns that line the 

corridor. Since 1976, the hall has housed part of the National Statuary Hall 

Collection.

National Statuary Hall (The Old Hall of the House)--The House of 

Representatives first occupied this space south of the Rotunda in 1809 and 

used it as their meeting room for almost 50 years. In 1857 the House moved 

to its present chamber, and in 1864 Congress invited each state to contribute 

two statues of prominent citizens to a for permanent display in the room, 

which was renamed National Statuary Hall. Today it houses part of the 

National Statuary Hall Collection.

The Brumidi Corridors--The vaulted, ornately decorated corridors on the 

first floor of the Senate wing are called the Brumidi Corridors in honor of 

Constantino Brumidi, the Italian artist who designed the murals and the 

major elements. Brumidi first painted at the Capitol in 1855, and he spent 

much of the next 25 years until his death in 1880 decorating the building's 

rooms and corridors.

Minton Tiles--The richly patterned and colored tiled floors are one of the 

most striking features of the extensions of the United States Capitol. 

Architect Thomas U. Walter chose encaustic tile for its beauty, durability, 

and sophistication.

The Small Senate Rotunda--The small rotunda in the old Senate wing of the 

Capitol was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe as an ornamental air 

shaft. It was constructed after the fire of 1814 as a means of lighting the 

corridors and circulating air into rooms that open onto the space.
The Small House Rotunda--The Small House Rotunda is one of the most 

architecturally significant spaces in the Capitol. It was designed in 1804 by 

architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe during his first building campaign after 

he was appointed by Thomas Jefferson to construct the south wing of the 

Capitol.

Flags over the East and West Central Fronts 

of the United States Capitol 

 

No record has been found for the earliest date the flag was flown over the east and west central 

fronts of the Capitol. Early engravings and lithographs in the office of the Architect of the 

Capitol show flags flying on either side of the original low dome above the corridors connecting 

the areas now known as National Statuary Hall and the Old Senate Chamber. 

After the addition of the new House and Senate wings in the 1850s, even before the great dome 

was completed in 1866, photographs show flags flying over each new wing and the central east 

and west fronts. 

An appropriation to provide flags for the east and west fronts was made in the Sundry Civil 

Appropriations Act [28 Stat. 393], approved August 18, 1894, as follows: "To provide flags for 

the east and west fronts of the center of the Capitol, to be hoisted daily under the direction of the 

Capitol Police board, $100, or so much thereof as may be necessary." 

The custom of flying the flags 24 hours a day over the east and west fronts was begun during 

World War I. Requests were received from all over the country urging that the flag of the United 

States be flown continuously over the public buildings in Washington, D.C. Authorities in charge 

of the Capitol consider it a fitting mark of respect that our flag be kept flying at all times over the 

United States Capitol. 

The east and west front flags, which are 8 by 12 feet, are replaced by new ones when they are no 

longer fitting emblems for display. 
 

 

 

 

Inaugural History 

 
Library of Congress, John F. Kennedy Shakes hands with Father Richard J. Casey after attending Mass 

at Holy Trinity Church.

Morning Worship Service 

On March 4, 1933, at 10:15 a.m., prior to his swearing-in ceremony, President-elect Franklin D. 

Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended a church service at St. John's Episcopal Church, next to 

the White House. They did the same at Roosevelt's 1937 and 1941 Inaugurations, and arranged 

for a private service at the White House the morning of his fourth Inauguration on January 20, 

1945. Roosevelt's Inauguration Day worship service set a precedent that has been followed by 

Presidents ever since. 

Franklin Roosevelt was not the first President to attend church on Inauguration Day, however. In 

1789, George Washington attended a service at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City immediately 

following his swearing-in ceremony. Although this feature of Washington's Inauguration did not 

set a precedent, religion still played a role in subsequent swearing-in ceremonies. Almost all 

Presidents since George Washington have placed their hand on a Bible when taking the oath of 

office. And all Presidents have included some reference to the Almighty in their Inaugural 

addresses (except George Washington's second address, which was only 135 words). 

The following list provides information on Inauguration Day worship services attended by 

Presidents and Presidents-elect since 1933. 

President Inauguration Date Service Attended

George W. 

Bush

Saturday, January 

20, 2001

Attended private service at St. John's Episcopal Church

William J. 

Clinton

Monday, January 

20, 1997

Attended private prayer service at Metropolitan AME 

Church

William J. 

Clinton

Wednesday, 

January 20, 1993

Attended private prayer service at Metropolitan AME 

Church (8:00 a.m.)
George H. W. 

Bush

Friday, January 20, 

1989

Attended private service at St. John's Episcopal Church

Ronald Reagan Sunday, January 20, 

1985

Attended service at National Cathedral Monday, January 

21; attended private service at St. John's Episcopal 

Church

Ronald Reagan Tuesday, January 

20, 1981

Attended private service at St. John's Episcopal Church

James E. Carter Thursday, January 

20, 1977

8:00 a.m. interfaith prayer service at the Lincoln 

Memorial

Richard M. 

Nixon

Saturday, January 

20, 1973

No apparent church service Inauguration Day morning; 

attended church the next day

Richard M. 

Nixon

Monday, January 

20, 1969

Attended official prayer breakfast in West Auditorium of 

the State Department

Lyndon B. 

Johnson

Wednesday, 

January 20, 1965

Attended private service at National City Christian 

Church (9:00 a.m.)

John F. 

Kennedy

Friday, January 20, 

1961

Attended Mass at Holy Trinity Church

Dwight D. 

Eisenhower

Sunday, January 20, 

1957

Attended services at National Presbyterian Church (9:00 

a.m.); took private oath of office that day; public 

ceremony the next day

Dwight D. 

Eisenhower

Tuesday, January 

20, 1953

Attended service at National Presbyterian Church (9:30 

a.m.)

Harry S Truman Thursday, January 

20, 1949

Attended service at St. John's Episcopal Church (10:00 

a.m.)

Franklin D. 

Roosevelt

Saturday, January 

20, 1945

Private service held in the East Room of the White House

Franklin D. 

Roosevelt

Monday, January 

20, 1941

Attended service at St. John's Episcopal Church (10:30 

a.m.)

Franklin D. 

Roosevelt

Wednesday, 

January 20, 1937

Attended service at St. John's Episcopal Church (10:00 

a.m.)

Franklin D. 

Roosevelt 

Saturday, March 4, 

1933

Attended service at St. John's Episcopal Church (10:15 

a.m.)
Library of Congress, Taft and Roosevelt driving to the Capitol, 1909.

Procession to the Capitol 

On Inauguration Day, after a morning worship 

service, the President-elect, Vice Presidentelect, and their spouses will be escorted to the 

White House by members of the Joint 

Congressional Committee on Inaugural 

Ceremonies. After a brief meeting, the 

President-elect and the outgoing President will 

then proceed together to the Capitol for the 

swearing-in ceremonies. This tradition has 

endured, with few exceptions, since 1837, 

when Martin Van Buren and Andrew Jackson 

rode together in a carriage made from wood 

taken from the U.S.S. Constitution. The Vice 

President and Vice President-elect will follow, 

as will family members, cabinet members, 

and members of the JCCIC. 

Since the first Inauguration of George Washington in 1789, the procession to the Inaugural 

ceremonies has provided an occasion for much celebration. In fact, the Inaugural parade that now 

follows the swearing-in ceremony first began as the procession, when military companies, bands, 

the President's cabinet, elected officials, and friends escorted the President-elect to the 

Inauguration. Procedures changed in 1873, when President Ulysses S. Grant reviewed the troops 

from a stand in front of the White House after the swearing-in ceremony. In 1881, a single 

military division escorted President-elect Garfield to the Capitol, and the full parade occurred 

after the Inauguration. 

Although most presidents rode to their Inaugurations in a carriage (or later, an automobile), 

Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson both walked to their swearing-in ceremonies. In 1825, 

outgoing President James Monroe took part in the procession to the Capitol in his own carriage, 

following President-elect John Quincy Adams' carriage. In 1841, William Henry Harrison rode 

to the Capitol for his swearing-in ceremony on the back of a "white charger," surrounded by his 

close political allies. In 1845, outgoing President John Tyler joined President-elect Polk for the 

carriage-ride to the Capitol, firmly establishing the tradition first carried out by Van Buren and 

Jackson in 1837. 

By the time of Zachary Taylor's Inauguration in 1849, a routine for the procession had been 

established, although it would change in small ways over time. A military and civilian escort 

would parade to the President-elect's lodgings, where they were joined by the outgoing President. 

The outgoing President would take his seat in the carriage to the right of the President-elect, and 

the whole entourage would then proceed to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony. 

At the 1857 Inauguration of James Buchanan, members of the Senate Committee on 

Arrangements for the Inauguration formed an escort, and joined the President and President-elect 

in the carriage, starting a long-running tradition. 
Lincoln did not join the procession to the Capitol for his second Inauguration in 1865. He had 

already gone to the Capitol early that morning to sign last-minute bills into law. The parade 

proceeded without him, and even made history as African Americans marched for the first time. 

In 1869, Andrew Johnson became only the third President who did not join the President-elect in 

the procession to the Capitol, nor did he attend the swearing-in ceremony. He remained at the 

White House, signing last-minute legislation until his term expired at noon. 

The 1877 Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes started the tradition of the President-elect going 

first to the White House to meet the outgoing President before proceeding to the Capitol. The 

Vice President and Vice President-elect followed in a separate carriage, and after them, members 

of the Senate Committee on Arrangements. Future Inaugurations would follow this precedent. 

Edith Galt Wilson became the first First Lady to accompany her husband in the carriage to the 

Capitol in 1917. In 1921, Warren G. Harding became the first President to ride to his 

Inauguration in an automobile. Lyndon B. Johnson's procession to the Capitol in 1965 was 

marked by stringent security measures, including a bullet-proof limousine. 

Today, the Presidential procession to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony follows a firmly 

established protocol, based on the evolving traditions of past Inaugurations. 

 

Vice President’s Swearing-In Ceremony 

Just before the President-elect takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day, the Vice Presidentelect will step forward on the Inaugural platform and repeat the oath of office. Although the 

United States Constitution specifically sets forth the oath required by the President, it only says 

that the Vice President and other government officers should take an oath upholding the 

Constitution. It does not specify the form of that oath. 

The First Congress passed an oath act on June 1, 1789, authorizing only senators to administer 

the oath to the Vice President (who serves as the president of the Senate). Later that year, 

legislation passed that allowed courts to administer all oaths and affirmations. Since 1789, the 

oath has been changed several times by Congress. The present oath repeated by the Vice 

President of the United States, Senators, Representatives, and other government officers has been 

in use since 1884. The oath reads: 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United 

States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the 

same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and 

that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So 

help me God. 
U.S. Senate Collection

Vice-President Wheeler Taking the Oath of 

Office in the Senate Chamber

While tradition dictates that the Chief Justice of the Supreme 

Court administers the oath of office to the President-elect, a 

variety of officials have administered the oath to Vice 

Presidents. The president pro tempore of the Senate 

administered the oath to the first three Vice Presidents—John 

Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr—and to many 

Vice Presidents from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 

twentieth century. Some Vice Presidents took the oath from 

the Chief Justice. On some occasions, the outgoing Vice 

President administered the oath to the Vice President-elect. 

Since World War II, Vice Presidents have chosen friends and 

associates to administer the oath of office. 

The location of the Vice President's oath-taking ceremony 

has also changed since John Adams became Vice President in 

1789. Today, the Vice President recites the oath on the west 

front terrace of the U.S. Capitol. Until 1937, most Vice 

Presidents took the oath of office in the Senate chamber, prior 

to the President's swearing-in ceremony. This made the Vice President's swearing-in ceremony 

distinct and separate from the President's. 

For most of the nation's history, Inauguration Day was March 4, which was also the final day of 

the congressional session. During the morning, the galleries of the Senate chamber would begin 

to fill with family members and friends of Senators, Representatives, and the incoming and 

outgoing Presidents and Vice Presidents. Members of the House, the diplomatic corps, cabinet 

members, and members of the Supreme Court would enter next. Finally, the Vice Presidentelect, the President, and the President-elect would enter the crowded chamber, which would then 

grow quiet to hear the Vice President deliver his farewell address before gaveling the session 

closed. 

At noon (the doorkeeper often had to push the clock hands back to fulfill the noon adjournment 

requirement), the Vice President-elect would take the oath of office, and then deliver his 

Inaugural address. Following that, the newly-sworn Vice President would call the Senate into 

extraordinary session, and then the Senators-elect would come forward and take their oaths of 

office. Finally, the procession would form and make its way to the east front portico of the 

Capitol for the President's swearing-in ceremony. 

In 1937, Inauguration Day moved to January 20, a change enacted by the 20th amendment to the 

Constitution. The Vice President's swearing-in ceremony also moved, from the Senate chamber 

to the Inaugural platform on the Capitol's east front. In 1981, the Inaugural ceremonies moved to 

the west front terrace of the Capitol, where they have been held ever since. 

Although the Vice Presidential swearing-in ceremony lost some of its distinctness after it moved 

to the east front portico, it gained a public audience, and reflected the growing political 

importance of the Vice President as part of the executive branch of government. 
Presidential Swearing-In Ceremony 

"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."

—Presidential oath of office, Article II, Section 1, United States Constitution 

Proceedings associated with the Presidential elections and Inaugurations, almost routine after 

two centuries, were entirely new and untried following the Constitutional Convention of 1787. 

The Constitution provides that the President be elected through an electoral college, with 

membership equal to the number of Senators and Representatives from each state. It authorizes 

Congress to determine when elections are held, when the Electoral College meets, and when the 

new President takes the oath of office. The Constitution also requires that the President must be a 

native born citizen of the United States, have lived in this country for at least fourteen years, and 

have attained the age of thirty-five. It even specifies the oath of office that the new President 

should swear or affirm. Beyond that, the Constitution says nothing about the Inaugural ceremony 

The first Inauguration of George Washington occurred on April 30, 1789, in front of New York's 

Federal Hall. Our nation's first President took the oath of office on a balcony overlooking Wall 

Street. With the ceremony complete, the crowd below let out three big cheers and President 

Washington returned to the Senate chamber to deliver his brief Inaugural address. He called 

upon "That Almighty Being who rules over the universe" to assist the American people in 

finding "liberties and happiness under "a government instituted by themselves." 

National Archives, April 30, 1789: George Washington taking Inaugural oath at 

Federal Hall, New York, New York
Library of Congress

U.S. Capitol, north wing,1801.

Four years later, on March 4, 1793, Washington's 

second Inauguration happened in Philadelphia, 

where the government had taken up temporary 

residence while a permanent capital was being built 

along the Potomac. The President took his oath in 

the small Senate chamber on the second floor of 

Congress Hall, a Georgian-style structure just west 

of Independence Hall. In contrast to his elaborate 

first Inauguration, this ceremony was a simple 

affair. Amidst a room crammed with dignitaries, 

Washington gave the shortest Inaugural address on 

record—just 135 words—and repeated the oath of 

office, administered by Supreme Court Justice 

William Cushing. 

By March of 1801, the seat of the U.S. government had moved to Washington, D.C. The streets 

were muddy, almost impassable, and overgrown with bushes. Crude arrangements for the 

workers charged with constructing buildings for the federal government scarred the landscape. 

At the time, the Capitol Building comprised just one wing, which housed the Senate, the House 

of Representatives, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court, all under one roof. On 

March 4, 1801, President-elect Thomas Jefferson walked with few attendants and little fanfare to 

the Capitol Building from his nearby lodgings at a boarding house to become the first President 

to be inaugurated in the nation’s new capital city. Upon entering the Senate chamber, now the 

Old Supreme Court Chamber, Jefferson immediately took the oath of office administered by 

Chief Justice John Marshall and addressed the audience gathered in the Senate chamber. After 

his Inaugural address he finished his day with a meal at the boarding house. But for a few 

occasions, the Inauguration ceremonies for all future Presidents and Vice Presidents would take 

place in the City of Washington. 

Andrew Jackson's Inauguration on March 4, 1829 was the first of 35 held on the east front of the 

Capitol. Though Jackson's second Inauguration in 1833 took place inside the House chamber 

because of his ill health and bad weather, Presidents from Martin Van Buren in 1837 to 

Theodore Roosevelt in 1905 were sworn into office on the Capitol's east front. In 1909 a raging 

blizzard forced William Howard Taft's ceremony indoors to the Senate chamber. 

The turn of the century brought a milestone worth noting—the formation of the Joint 

Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Until the twentieth century, the Inaugural 

ceremonies had been handled exclusively by the United States Senate. In 1901, one hundred 

years after the Inauguration of Thomas Jefferson, the Joint Committee was formed to plan and 

conduct the Inauguration ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol. Senator Marcus A. Hanna, a 

Republican from Ohio, became the first chairman, responsible for President William McKinley’s 

second Inauguration. 
Architect of the Capitol

January 20, 1981—Ronald Reagan's 

Inaugural ceremony in progress on the 

Capitol's west front.

On March 4, 1913, Woodrow Wilson resumed use of the east 

front for his Inauguration. The ceremony continued to be held 

there until Franklin D. Roosevelt's unprecedented fourth 

Inauguration on January 20, 1945. With the nation and the 

President weary after four years of war, Roosevelt chose to 

have a simple, low-key ceremony on the south portico of the 

White House. 

In 1949, Harry Truman's Inauguration saw the return of the 

ceremonies to the Capitol's east front, where they remained 

through the Inauguration of Jimmy Carter in 1977. 

Ronald Reagan's 1981 Inauguration was the first held on the 

west front of the Capitol. Seeking to minimize construction 

costs and improve visibility for a larger number of spectators, 

Congress shifted the ceremony from its traditional location of 

the east front. Although Ronald Reagan's second Inauguration, 

on January 21, 1985, was forced indoors to the Capitol Rotunda 

because of bitterly cold weather, the Inaugurations of George 

Bush in 1989, Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1997, and George W. 

Bush in 2001 continued the west front tradition. 

Sadly, not all Presidential Inaugurals have been stately formal ceremonies, or happy occasions. 

Eight Vice Presidents have taken the oath of office upon the death of a President, while another 

was sworn in following a Presidential resignation. John Tyler was at his home in Williamsburg, 

Virginia, when he received the news that President William Henry Harrison had died. Tyler 

immediately took a coach to Washington. The next day, April 6, 1841, Tyler was sworn in as 

President at the Indian Queen Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. Chief Justice William Cranch of 

the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia administered the oath to Tyler, as he did nine years 

later to Millard Fillmore, following the death of President Zachary Taylor. On July 10, 1850, 

Vice President Fillmore took the oath in a public ceremony in the House of Representatives 

chamber. 

President Abraham Lincoln died early on the morning of April 15, 1865, and shortly afterwards 

Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn in quietly at Kirkwood House, in Washington, by 

Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase. At 2:00 a.m. on September 20, 1881, Chester Alan Arthur took 

the oath at his home on Lexington Avenue, in New York City. Two days later, President Arthur 

repeated the oath in the Vice President's Room in the Capitol, in the presence of former 

Presidents Grant and Hayes. When William McKinley died, on September 14, 1901, Theodore 

Roosevelt took the oath in the home of Ansley Wilcox, in Buffalo, New York. News of President 

Harding's death reached Vice President Calvin Coolidge at his family's homestead in Plymouth, 

Vermont in the small hours of the morning on August 3, 1923. By the light of a kerosene lamp, 

Coolidge took the oath from his father, Colonel John Calvin Coolidge, a farmer, notary public, 

and justice of the peace. On August 21, Coolidge repeated the ceremony in his suite at the 

Willard Hotel in Washington. 
LBJ Library 

Sarah T. Hughes, U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Texas, administering oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson in the Conference Room 

aboard Air Force One at Love Field, Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963. 

Harry Truman took his oath as President in the Cabinet Room at the White House on the evening 

of April 12, 1945, following the death of Franklin Roosevelt. On November 22, 1963, in a 

crowded cabin on Air Force One, at Love Field in Dallas, Texas, Lyndon Johnson was sworn in 

as President after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Judge Sarah T. Hughes, who 

administered the oath that day, became the first woman to swear in a President. Most recently, 

when President Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Vice President Gerald R. Ford took 

the oath of office in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, becoming the ninth Vice 

President to complete an unexpired Presidential term. 

Although Inaugural traditions have changed through the years, their fundamental premise 

remains unchanged and unwavering. The American Presidential Inauguration Ceremony, with its 

speeches and attendant festivities, has represented both national renewal and continuity 

leadership for the past two hundred years and will continue to do so into the future. 
Library of Congress

Theodore Roosevelt delivers his Inaugural address, 

1905.

Inaugural Address

The custom of delivering an address on Inauguration 

Day started with the very first Inauguration—George 

Washington's—on April 30, 1789. After taking his oath 

of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York 

City, Washington proceeded to the Senate chamber 

where he read a speech before members of Congress 

and other dignitaries. His second Inauguration took 

place in Philadelphia on March 4, 1793, in the Senate 

chamber of Congress Hall. There, Washington gave the 

shortest Inaugural address on record—just 135 words—

before repeating the oath of office. 

Every President since Washington has delivered an 

Inaugural address. While many of the early Presidents 

read their addresses before taking the oath, current 

custom dictates that the Chief Justice of the Supreme 

Court administer the oath first, followed by the 

President's speech. 

William Henry Harrison delivered the longest Inaugural address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 

1841—a bitterly cold, wet day. He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to have been 

brought on by prolonged exposure to the elements on his Inauguration Day. John Adams' 

Inaugural address, which totaled 2,308 words, contained the longest sentence, at 737 words. 

After Washington's second Inaugural address, the next shortest was Franklin D. Roosevelt's 

fourth address on January 20, 1945, at just 559 words. Roosevelt had chosen to have a simple 

Inauguration at the White House in light of the nation's involvement in World War II. 

In 1921, Warren G. Harding became the first President to take his oath and deliver his Inaugural 

address through loud speakers. In 1925, Calvin Coolidge's Inaugural address was the first to be 

broadcast nationally by radio. And in 1949, Harry S. Truman became the first President to 

deliver his Inaugural address over television airwaves. 

Most Presidents use their Inaugural address to present their vision of America and to set forth 

their goals for the nation. Some of the most eloquent and powerful speeches are still quoted 

today. In 1865, in the waning days of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln stated, "With malice 

toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us 

strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall 

have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish 

a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt 

avowed, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." And in 1961, John F. Kennedy declared, "And 

so my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for 

your country." 
Today, Presidents deliver their Inaugural address on the west front of the Capitol, but this has not 

always been the case. Until Andrew Jackson's first Inauguration in 1829, most Presidents spoke 

in either the House or Senate chambers. Jackson became the first President to take his oath of 

office and deliver his address on the east front portico of the U.S. Capitol in 1829. With few 

exceptions, the next 37 Inaugurations took place there, until 1981, when Ronald Reagan's 

swearing-in ceremony and Inaugural address occurred on the west front terrace of the Capitol. 

The west front has been used ever since. 

To read the Inaugural addresses from the nation's 54 Inaugurations, visit Yale Law School's 

Avalon Project. 

Inaugural Luncheon 

On January 20, after the newly elected President has taken the oath of office and delivered his 

Inaugural address, he will be escorted to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol for the traditional 

Inaugural luncheon, hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies 

(JCCIC). While this tradition dates as far back as 1897, when the Senate Committee on 

Arrangements gave a luncheon for President McKinley and several other guests at the U.S. 

Capitol, it did not begin in its current form until 1953. That year, President Dwight D. 

Eisenhower, Mrs. Eisenhower, and fifty other guests of the JCCIC dined on creamed chicken, 

baked ham, and potato puffs in the now-restored Old Senate Chamber. 

From the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, Presidents left the Capitol after 

the Inauguration ceremonies and traveled to the White House for a luncheon prepared by the 

outgoing President and First Lady. After the luncheon, the President and his party would view 

the parade from a stand erected in front of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Architect of the Capitol, President Reagan speaking at his inaugural 

luncheon in the U.S. Capitol, January 21, 1985.
Library of Congress

The Inauguration Procession in Honor of President 

Buchanan Passing through Pennsylvania Avenue, 

Washington City, March 4th, 1857.

As the parade grew larger over the years, and lasted later and later into the afternoon, organizers 

began to look for ways to hasten its start. In 1897, they proposed that the President go directly 

from the Capitol to the reviewing stand, and have lunch there, if he desired. Instead, the 

Presidential party dined in the Capitol as guests of the Senate Committee on Arrangements. In 

1901, the President again took his lunch at the Capitol, and the parade delays continued. In 1905, 

the luncheon returned to the White House, again in the hopes that the parade could start earlier. 

Eventually, the organizers turned their focus to shortening the parade, rather than the luncheon. 

As the twentieth century progressed, the White House luncheons became more and more 

elaborate. In 1945, President and Mrs. Roosevelt played host to over two thousand guests in what 

would be the last White House post-inaugural luncheon. In 1949, Secretary of the Senate Leslie 

Biffle hosted a small lunch for President Truman in his Capitol reception room. They dined on 

South Carolina turkey, Smithfield Ham, potato salad, and pumpkin pie. And in 1953, the JCCIC 

began its current tradition of hosting a luncheon for the President, Vice President and their 

spouses, Senate leaders, the JCCIC members, and other invited guests. 

Since then, the JCCIC has organized a luncheon celebration at eight Presidential Inaugurations. 

Often featuring cuisine reflecting the home states of the new President and Vice President, as 

well as the theme of the Inauguration, the luncheon program includes speeches, gift presentations 

from the JCCIC, and toasts to the new administration. 

Inaugural Parade 

When the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural 

Ceremonies has concluded its luncheon, the guests of 

honor—the newly sworn President and Vice President—

will make their way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the 

White House, leading a procession of ceremonial military 

regiments, citizens' groups, marching bands, and floats. 

The President, Vice President, their wives, and special 

guests will then review the parade as it passes in front of a 

specially built reviewing stand. The Inaugural parade is a 

celebrated and much anticipated event for millions of 

Americans across the country. 

The tradition of an Inaugural parade dates back to the very 

first Inauguration, when George Washington took the oath 

of office on April 30, 1789, in New York City. As he 

began his journey from Mount Vernon to New York City, 

local militias joined his procession as it passed through 

towns along the way. Once he arrived in New York City, 

members of the Continental Army, government officials, members of Congress, and prominent 

citizens escorted Washington to Federal Hall for his swearing-in ceremony. 
The early Inaugural parades primarily consisted of escorts for the President-elect to the Capitol. 

Thomas Jefferson's first Inauguration, in 1801, was the first to take place in the new capital city 

of Washington. Only the north wing of the Capitol was completed at that time, and as Jefferson 

walked from his nearby boardinghouse to the Capitol, he was accompanied by an Alexandria, 

Virginia company of riflemen, friends, and "fellow citizens." After his second Inauguration in 

1805, a procession formed at the navy yard made up of members of Congress and citizens—

including navy yard mechanics—which then escorted President Jefferson from the Capitol to the 

White House after the Inauguration, accompanied by military music performed by the Marine 

Band. The Marine Band has played at every Presidential Inauguration since. 

The first organized parade occurred in 1809, at the Inauguration of James Madison. A troop of 

cavalry from Georgetown escorted him to the Capitol. After taking the oath of office, Madison 

sat in review of nine companies of militia. Future Inaugurations saw these military escorts grow 

more and more elaborate. William Henry Harrison's parade in 1841 featured floats, and for the 

first time, military companies from outside the Washington, D.C. area accompanied the 

President-elect to the Capitol. Citizens clubs, political clubs, several military bands, and groups 

of college students also marched in the parade, setting future precedent. 

In 1865, during Abraham Lincoln's second Inauguration, African Americans marched in the 

parade for the first time. Four companies of African American troops, a lodge of African 

American Odd Fellows, and African American Masons joined the procession to the Capitol, and 

then back to the White House after the Inaugural. 

In 1873, President Grant started the tradition of reviewing the parade at the White House after 

the Inaugural ceremony, shifting the focus of excitement to the post-Inaugural procession, rather 

than the escort to the Capitol. In 1881, President James Garfield reviewed the parade from a 

specially built stand in front of the White House. Reviewing stands were also erected along 

Pennsylvania Avenue for visitors. In 1897, President McKinley reviewed the parade in a glassenclosed stand to protect him from cold, and possibly harsh, weather. 

Despite a blizzard that forced the Inauguration ceremony indoors for William H. Taft in 1909, 

the parade proceeded as planned, as workers busily cleared snow from the parade route. For the 

first time, the First Lady accompanied her husband as they led they parade from the Capitol to 

the White House. The only parade known to have been canceled owing to bad weather was 

Ronald Regan's second in 1985, when frigid temperatures made the situation dangerous. The 

largest parade, with 73 bands, 59 floats, horses, elephants, and civilian and military vehicles, and 

lasting 4 hours and 32 minutes, occurred in 1953 at Dwight D. Eisenhower's first Inauguration. 

Today, the limit is set at 15,000 participants. 

Women first participated in the Inaugural parade in 1917, at Wilson's second Inauguration. In 

1921, President Warren G. Harding became the first President to ride in the procession in an 

automobile. The parade was first televised in 1949, at the Inauguration of Harry S. Truman. 

Jimmy Carter broke precedent in 1977 by walking in the parade, from the Capitol to the White 

House, with his wife Rosalynn and their daughter Amy. 
U.S. Senate Collection

The Inauguration Ball: Arrival of the President's Party, March 4, 1873.

Today, the parade is organized by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, and participants are 

selected by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Requests to participate in Inauguration Day 

events for marching bands, marching units, mounted units, and other performers are collected by 

the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee. Further information and an application to participate 

may be found at the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee.

Inaugural Ball 

On May 7, 1789, one week after the 

Inauguration of George Washington in 

New York City, sponsors held a ball to 

honor the new President. It was not 

until 1809, however, after the 

Inauguration of James Madison at the 

Capitol in Washington, D.C., that the 

tradition of the Inaugural ball began. 

That night, First Lady Dolley Madison 

hosted the gala at Long's Hotel. Four 

hundred tickets sold for $4 each. In 

1833 two balls were staged for 

President Andrew Jackson, one at 

Carusi's Assembly Rooms, and the 

other at Central Masonic Hall. William 

Henry Harrison attended all three of the 

1841 Inaugural balls held in his honor. 

The Inaugural ball quickly turned into an anticipated highlight of Washington society, and its 

location became a prime topic of discussion and angst. Organizers wanted a building that could 

accommodate large numbers of guests. A temporary wooden building was erected in the city's 

Judiciary Square in 1849 for one of Zachary Taylor's Inaugural balls. By the time of James 

Buchanan's Inauguration in 1857, the idea of multiple balls was abandoned for one grand ball 

that could accommodate thousands of guests. Again, a temporary ballroom was built in Judiciary 

Square for the occasion. Food purchased for Buchanan's ball included $3000 worth of wine, 400 

gallons of oysters, 500 quarts of chicken salad, 1200 quarts of ice cream, 60 saddles of mutton, 8 

rounds of beef, 75 hams, and 125 tongues. 

In 1865, the ball following Lincoln's second Inauguration took place in the model room of the 

Patent Office—the first time a government building was used for the celebration. The Inaugural 

ball for Grant's 1869 Inauguration was held in the north wing of the Treasury Building. 

Apparently there was not enough room there for dancing, and a snafu in the checkroom forced 

many guests to leave without their coats and hats. So for Grant's 1873 Inauguration, a temporary 

building was again constructed in Judiciary Square. 

Grant's second ball proved a disaster, however. The weather that night was freezing cold, and the 

temporary structure had no heat or insulation. Guests danced in their overcoats and hats, the food 

was cold, they ran out of coffee and hot chocolate, and even the caged decorative canaries froze. 
Later Inaugural balls were held at the National Museum building (now the Smithsonian Arts and 

Industries building) and the Pension Building, which became the favorite venue from 1885 

through 1909. 

In 1913, the city's Inaugural organizers began planning the ball to celebrate Woodrow Wilson's 

Inauguration, again to be held at the Pension Building, but President-elect Wilson thought 

otherwise. He felt the ball was too expensive and unnecessary for the solemn occasion of the 

Inaugural, and asked the Inaugural committee to cancel it. The city of Washington had not 

missed an Inaugural ball since 1853, when a grieving President Franklin Pierce—mourning the 

recent loss of his son—asked that the ball be cancelled. Although some D.C. residents felt very 

disappointed by Wilson's request, others felt relieved. The Pension Building was often closed for 

over a week in preparation for the ball, causing the government's business there to shut down. 

President-elect Warren G. Harding also requested that the Inaugural committee do away with the 

elaborate ball (and the parade as well) in 1921, hoping to set an example of thrift and simplicity. 

The committee complied, and instead, the chairman of the Inaugural ball committee hosted a 

huge private party at his home. Subsequent Inaugurations followed this trend, with charity balls 

becoming the fashion for the Inaugurations of Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. 

Roosevelt. 

President Harry Truman revived the official ball in 1949. Organizers for Dwight D. Eisenhower's 

1953 Inaugural ball added a second event due to the great demand for tickets. Four years later, 

Eisenhower's second Inauguration featured four balls. Kennedy attended five in 1961. President 

Carter attempted to strip the balls of their glitz and glamour in 1977, calling them parties and 

charging no more than $25 each, but by the 2nd inaugural of President William Jefferson Clinton 

in 1997, the number of balls reached an all-time high of fourteen. George W. Bush's inaugural in 

2001 saw the number of official balls decline to eight, and his 2nd inaugural in 2005 was 

celebrated with nine official balls. 

Today, the official Inaugural balls are planned by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. 

Inauguration 

Date 

President Facts and Firsts 

April 30, 1789 George 

Washington

First Inauguration; precedents set include the phrase, "So help me 

God," and kissing the Bible after taking the oath.

March 4, 1793 George 

Washington

First Inauguration in Philadelphia; delivered shortest Inaugural 

address at just 135 words. 

March 4, 1797 John Adams First to receive the oath of office from the Chief Justice of the 

United States.

March 4, 1801 Thomas 

Jefferson

First Inauguration in Washington, D.C.

March 4, 1809 James 

Madison

Inauguration held in the House chamber of the Capitol; first 

Inaugural ball held that evening.

March 4, 1817 James 

Monroe

First President to take the oath of office and deliver the Inaugural 

address outdoors; ceremony took place on platform in front of the 

temporary Brick Capitol (where Supreme Court now stands).

March 5, 1821 James March 4, 1821 fell on a Sunday, so Monroe's Inauguration 
Monroe occurred the next day.

March 4, 1829 Andrew 

Jackson

First President to take the oath of office on the east front portico 

of the U.S. Capitol. 

March 4, 1833 Andrew 

Jackson

Last time Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath 

office; he presided over nine Inaugurations, from Adams to 

Jackson. 

March 4, 1837 Martin Van 

Buren

First President who was not born a British subject; first time the 

President-elect and President rode to the Capitol for the 

Inauguration together. 

March 4, 1841 William H. 

Harrison

First President to arrive in Washington by railroad; delivered the 

longest Inaugural address (8,445 words).

April 6, 1841 John Tyler First Vice President to assume Presidency upon the death of the 

President.

March 4, 1845 James K. 

Polk

First Inauguration covered by telegraph; first known Inauguration 

featured in a newspaper illustration (Illustrated London News).

March 4, 1853 Franklin 

Pierce

Affirmed the oath of office rather than swear it; cancelled the 

Inaugural ball. 

March 4, 1857 James 

Buchanan

First Inauguration known to have been photographed. 

March 4, 1861 Abraham 

Lincoln

Lincoln's cavalry escort to the Capitol was heavily armed, 

providing unprecedented protection for the President-elect.

March 4, 1865 Abraham 

Lincoln

African Americans participated in the Inaugural parade for the 

first time. 

March 4, 1873 Ulysses S. 

Grant

Coldest March 4 Inauguration Day; the noon temperature was 

16°F, with wind gusts up to 40 mph. 

March 3, 1877 Rutherford 

B. Hayes

March 4, 1877 fell on Sunday, so Hayes took oath of office on 

Saturday, March 3 to ensure peaceful transition of power; public 

Inauguration on March 5. 

March 4, 1881 James 

Garfield

First President to review the Inaugural parade from a stand built 

in front of the White House. 

March 4, 1897 William 

McKinley

First Inaugural ceremony recorded by a motion picture camera; 

first President to have a glass-enclosed reviewing stand; first 

Inauguration at which Congress hosted a luncheon for the 

President and Vice President 

March 4, 1901 William 

McKinley

First time the U.S. House joined with the U.S. Senate, creating 

the JCCIC, to make Inaugural arrangements

March 4, 1909 William H. 

Taft

Inauguration took place in the Senate chamber because of 

blizzard; first time President's wife rode with President in the 

procession from the Capitol to the White House after 

Inauguration. 

March 4, 1913 Woodrow 

Wilson

Inaugural ball was suspended for the first time since 1853.

March 4, 1917 Woodrow First President to take the oath of office on Sunday; public 
 

Wilson Inauguration held on Monday, March 5, 1917; first time First 

Lady accompanied President both to and from the Capitol; first 

time women participated in the Inaugural parade.

March 4, 1921 Warren G. 

Harding

First President to ride to and from his Inauguration in an 

automobile. 

March 4, 1925 Calvin 

Coolidge

First Inaugural ceremony broadcast nationally by radio; first time 

a former President (William Taft) administered the oath of office 

as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 

March 4, 1929 Herbert 

Hoover

First Inaugural ceremony recorded by talking newsreel. 

March 4, 1933 Franklin D. 

Roosevelt

FDR and Eleanor begin tradition of morning worship service by 

attending St. John's Church.

January 20, 1937 Franklin D. 

Roosevelt

First President Inaugurated on January 20th, a change made by 

the 20th Amendment to the Constitution; first time the Vice 

President was Inaugurated outdoors on the same platform with 

the President. 

January 20, 1945 Franklin D. 

Roosevelt

First and only President sworn in for a fourth term; had simple 

Inaugural ceremony at the White House.

January 20, 1949 Harry S. 

Truman

First televised Inaugural ceremony; Truman reinstated the official 

Inaugural ball. 

January 20, 1953 Dwight D. 

Eisenhower

Broke precedent by reciting his own prayer after taking the oath, 

rather than kissing the Bible; first time the JCCIC hosted the 

Inaugural luncheon at the Capitol. 

January 20, 1961 John F. 

Kennedy

First time a poet participated in the Inaugural program; first 

Catholic to become President of the United States. 

November 22, 

1963 

Lyndon B. 

Johnson

First time a woman administered the oath of office (U.S. District 

Judge Sarah T. Hughes swore in Johnson on Air Force One).

January 20, 1969 Richard M. 

Nixon

Took the oath of office on two Bibles; both family heirlooms. 

August 9, 1974 Gerald R. 

Ford

First unelected Vice President to become President. 

January 20, 1981 Ronald 

Reagan

First Inauguration held on the west front of the U.S. Capitol.

January 21, 1985 Ronald 

Reagan

January 20th fell on Sunday, so Reagan was privately sworn in 

that day at the White House; public Inauguration on January 21st 

took place in the Capitol Rotunda, due to freezing weather; 

coldest Inauguration day on record, with a noon temperature of 

7°F
Armed Forces Inaugural 

Committee (AFIC) 
AFIC History 

Armed Forces Inaugural Committee 

Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region

 

Military involvement in the inaugural parade has occurred since President George 

Washington’s inauguration:

From his home in Mt Vernon, to be sworn in at New York City, Washington was escorted by 

one civilian and a military aide. Although not planned, all along the way, he was treated to 

military honors by local militia, salutes of cannon firing and leading citizens on horseback. 

The first inaugural parade occurred on April 30, 1789, in New York City and included troop 

of horses, artillery, two companies of grenadiers, a company of light infantry and a battalion 

of infantry troops. 

The inception of the inaugural parade: 

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson was escorted by elements of the Virginia militia, including the 

Richmond Light Infantry Blues. This unit is still in existence as a National Guard unit in the 

Richmond area. 

The “true” start of the inaugural parade occurred when, for his second inaugural, Jefferson 

was informally escorted by civilian workers at the Washington Navy Yard who sang and 

played music. 

In March 1801, Thomas Jefferson was the first president inaugurated in Washington D.C. 

In 1829 and 1833, Andrew Jackson’s inaugurations included the first formal military units.

Under the terms of the 20th Amendment, in 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural 

became the last one to be held in March. January 20 became the date for all future 

inaugurals. In addition, prior to this time the military ceremonial program for the 
inauguration was predominantly an Army function headed by the Military District of 

Washington. 

AFIC was officially organized by the Department of Defense: 

The Department of Defense, in the early 1950s, established AFIC as a joint military 

organization to oversee military ceremonial support to the inauguration, and the first 

inauguration supported by AFIC—Eisenhower’s in 1953—lasted over five hours and remains 

the longest inaugural parade to date. 

Eisenhower’s 1957 inauguration consisted of close to 9,000 military personnel. 

Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural parade consisted of over 15,000 military and 15,000 civilian 

personnel and took over three hours to pass the reviewing stand. In addition, the military 

provided VIP escorts and supported three inaugural balls. 

In 1977, the military continued its ceremonial role even though the cold weather was a major 

factor. During this time, Carter walked along Pennsylvania Avenue, which has since become 

a traditional practice for all newly-elected presidents. 

In 1985 Reagan's second swearing-in ceremony on January 21 had to be held indoors, and 

the parade was canceled. The outside temperature at noon was only seven degrees 

Fahrenheit. 

In 1997, Clinton and the first family also participated in the inaugural parade by walking the 

last few blocks to the White House. 
AFIC Fact Sheet 

Armed Forces Inaugural Committee

Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region

 

OVERVIEW

AFIC provides world-class, professional military ceremonial support to the 56th Presidential 

Inauguration. 

The secretary of defense is authorized by statute to provide military ceremonial support to 

inaugural events. 

AFIC represents all of the U.S. armed forces. 

Service members participating in the 56th presidential inauguration represent an integrated 

total force—soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen, and coast guardsmen—proudly serving their 

country at home and around the world. 

The successes of our operations are due to the training, professionalism and dedication of 

our military personnel and their families. 

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q1: What is AFIC and what is its mission? 

A1: Established every four years at the direction of the secretary of defense, the Armed 

Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC) is a joint service organization that coordinates military 

ceremonial participation and support of inaugural events. AFIC falls under the command of 

Joint Forces Headquarters National Capital Region that, in turn, falls under USNORTHCOM 

as the combatant command. Maj. Gen. Richard Rowe is the commanding general of JFHQNCR and chairman of AFIC. 
Q2: Why is the military involved in the presidential inauguration? 

A2: Military involvement in the presidential inauguration is a centuries-old tradition in 

which we honor our commander in chief, recognize civilian control of the military and 

celebrate democracy. 

Q3: Are there limits to the military’s participation in the inaugural events?

A3: Every four years, the Department of Defense issues guidelines for military support to 

the inauguration which establish how and when military support can be used to support the 

ceremonial events. Criteria require that the ceremonial support be appropriate to the 

occasion and at a level the public may consider reasonable. 

Q4: What is the Presidential Inaugural Committee? 

A4: The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is a not-for-profit, partisan organization 

representing the president-elect. This organization is responsible for organizing and funding 

the inaugural events for the president-elect and vice president-elect. These official events 

may include opening ceremonies, inaugural dinners, the inaugural parade and the inaugural 

balls. Because the PIC is not formed until after the November election, Armed Forces 

Inaugural Committee (AFIC) provides invaluable assistance to the PIC by collecting 

applications from prospective parade participants, providing planning and logistic support 

to the parade, and coordinating ceremonial participation by military units. 

Q5: How many troops will participate? 

A5: For 2009, there are approximately 5,000 military personnel providing ceremonial 

support during the inaugural period, from Jan. 15-29. Of these, approximately 750 

servicemembers are assigned to AFIC to provide ceremonial planning, logistics and 

publications support. 
Q6: How many parade applications were submitted? 

A6: AFIC received 1,382 applications by the deadline, Nov. 18, 2008. Applicants were both 

individuals wishing to participate in the parade and those requesting to be considered for 

other events. The total number of applications AFIC received is approximately three times 

the number of those submitted for the last presidential inauguration. 

Q7: What is the distinction between the 56th presidential inauguration and the inaugural 

period? 

A7: The 56th presidential inauguration refers to the swearing-in ceremony that will take 

place on the Capitol steps on Jan. 20, 2009, at noon. The inaugural period is the 10-day 

period from January 15 to 24—the five days that immediately precede the inauguration and 

the four days that follow it. 

Q8: Who is the approving authority for ceremonial support requests for the 56th 

presidential inauguration? 

A8: The commander of Joint Force Headquarters National Capitol Region (JFHQ-NCR), 

who is also the chairman of the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC), is the approving 

authority for ceremonial support requests that fall within the Department of Defense (DOD) 

guidelines for military support to the inauguration. Ceremonial support requests that do not 

fall within the Department of Defense guidelines are forwarded to the DOD executive 

secretariat. 

BACKGROUND

The Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC) is a joint service committee charged with 

coordinating all military ceremonial support for the presidential inaugural. As a joint 

committee, it includes members from all branches of the armed forces of the United States. 

AFIC is a committee of Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR). 

The U.S. military has participated in this important American tradition since April 30, 

1789, when members of the U.S. Army, local militia units and Revolutionary War 

veterans escorted George Washington to his first inauguration ceremony at Federal Hall 

in New York City. Two hundred twenty years later, the military’s participation continues 
to honor our commander in chief, recognizes civilian control of the armed forces and 

celebrates a peaceful change or continuation of administration. 

Armed forces personnel are preparing to once again provide ceremonial support to the 

56th presidential inaugural during the 10-day inaugural period in January 2009. This 

support is traditionally comprised of musical units, marching bands, color guards, salute 

batteries and honor cordons, which render appropriate ceremonial honors to the 

commander in chief. Historically, as many as 5,000 service members have participated 

in the celebration on Inauguration Day, both in view of the public and behind the 

scenes. 

Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, Jr., U.S. Army, commander, JFHQ-NCR, is the AFIC chairman. 

Rear Adm. Earl L. Gay, U.S. Navy, is assigned as the AFIC deputy chairman, and Sgt. Maj. Brian 

S. Picerno, U.S. Army, serves as the AFIC senior enlisted advisor. 

AFIC closely coordinates with the Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies 

(JCCIC) and the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC). The JCCIC is comprised of key 

congressional leaders and is responsible for the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol and the 

congressional luncheon. The PIC, a not-for-profit, partisan organization representing the 

president-elect, is responsible for organizing and funding many of the inaugural events.