Evening star., 1933-03-05
Each inaugural on
Symbolic of Its Period,
Gay in Peace, Somber
in War The Spirit of
Yesterdays Ceremonies
Was Optimistic as the
Country Prepares for a
"New Deal"

Martin Van Buren, was o secondary figure at
his own elevation to the presidency jackson
rose from q sick bed to ride up the Avenue
with him and take the cheers of the crowd
It was all his .doings after all.
In the dead of Winter, few days after the
electoral vote was announced, William Henry
Harrison started from his home in North Bend,
Ind, for Washington. March T. 1841, was q
gala day in Washington in spite of the heavy
rain. The greatest crowd ever to attend an
Inauguration up to that time was in the city.
There was salute of 26 guns at daybreak.
A carriage drawn by four white horses called
for Harrison at his hotel. The old soldier in
sisted on riding horseback. He rode to and
from the Capitol. mounted on a white charger,
holding his hat in his hand and waving it in
acknowledgment of the cheering along the
route. He was attended by an escort Of
mounted marshals. crowd estimated at
10000 heard his inaugural address from the
east pOrticO.
That was a rather pretentious parade for
those days. Tippecanoe clubs from Virginia
and Maryland were represented with log cabins
mounted on wheels, each with its hard-cider
barrel and coonskin nailed to the door. George
town students marched down the Avenue,
headed by the faculty in birettas and black
robes.
1t was hard day for the aged conqueror
All the afternoon he received at the White
House. That night there were three inaugural
balls, He attended all three of them Tho
exertion and the excitement killed him. A
month later John Tyler was President of the
United States.
Sheets of rain drenched the crowd which
listened to the inaugural address of James K.
Polk. For a half hour he spoke over a sea Of
umbrellas. miracle was wrought that day.
Prof Samuel 6 r Morse his
netic telegraph on the portico and he sent to
Baltimore a running account of what the Presi-
dent said
The day of Zachary Taylors Inauguration
was warm and sunny. Cannons roared and the
city church bells pealed at dawn. The old
soldier, dressed in a black suit, rode to the
Capitol in a carriage drawn by four black
horses. There were IL companies of soldiers
in the parade. They we're followed by Rough
and Ready clubs of Washington, Georgetown
and Alexandria, delegation from Baltimore
had four bands in line. There was a con-
tingent of feathered and blanketed Indians.
Wild cheering followed the administration Of
the oath by Chief Justice Taney Zachary
Taylor was a soldier and not a scholar His
inaugural address short and blundering.
He told his cheering admirers that the United
States was at peace with all the world and
with the balance of mankind" That night
there three inaugural balls. The Presi-
dent and Vice President attended them all.
Old Zachary even tried to dance. His wife
would take no part in the gayety. He was at
tended by his daughter Betty, in simple
white dress with single white rose in her
. hair. The big ball at a temporary structure in
Judiciary Square remains gala event in the
social history of Washington.
There was a raw northwest wind and the
Avenue covered with suSh the day Frank
lin Pierce was inaugurated. The weather was
tk,n haor tI,a
new President. His only son had been killed
in a railroad wreck in Connecticut few days
before while on the way to Washington to see
his father take the oath of office. There were six
military companies and the Marine Band in
the parade 1t was colorless affair The new
Vice President, william r. King of Alabama,
was not even present. He took the oath in a
Cuban plantation house. where he had gone
for his health. While Pierce was speaking from
the east portico snow began to fall and the
storm was almost blizzard before he finished.
THE next Inauguration was a much more
ii colorful affair James Buchanan was
escorted to the Capitol by more than 80 mill
tary and uniformed civic organizations. The
retiring President and his successor rode in
an open carriage drawn by two gray horses.
The great inaugural ball, held in temporary
annex to the City Hall, lasted all night. North
and South danced together.
There are always soldiers In an inaugural
parade. But on March 4. 1861, they marched
grimly and with guns loaded. A week before
Abraham Lincoln and his family had stolen
into the seat Of the national government, filed
with Southern sympathizers, under cover Of
the chill damp Of Winter morning. There
were muttered threats that Lincoln never
would live to take the oath. The morning
dawned warm and sunny. Lincoln and Bu-