JFK’s Religion as Reflected in His Inaugural Address

by Mike Purdy | Apr 6, 2015 | Inaugurations, John F. Kennedy, Religion, Speeches

John F. Kennedy’s watershed 1960 election as the first Roman Catholic president was a source of concern for many Protestant Americans. Others, such as former President Harry Truman, were less concerned about the influence of the Vatican on a JFK presidency. Truman at...

What Presidents Took the Oath of Office the Most Number of Times?

by Mike Purdy | Feb 26, 2013 | Barack Obama, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, Inaugurations, Ronald Reagan, Woodrow Wilson

FDR’s 4th oath of officeWhen we think about which presidents took the oath of office the most number of times, obviously Franklin D. Roosevelt immediately comes to mind.  FDR was elected to an unprecedented four terms as president and took the oath of...

The Plot to Kill Lincoln Before His Inauguration

by Mike Purdy | Feb 10, 2013 | Abraham Lincoln, Assassinations, Inaugurations

On February 11, 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln spoke to a thousand citizens gathered in Springfield, Illinois to wish him well before he departed that day for Washington, D.C. to assume the presidency.  Lincoln’s remarks in Springfield:  At...

Locations of Presidents Taking Oath of Office

by Mike Purdy | Feb 7, 2013 | Inaugurations

America’s presidents have taken the oath of office in 24 different locations since the first presidential inauguration of George Washington on April 30, 1789.Some took the oath of office privately, either because of the death or resignation of the president...

President Obama Reflects on the History of the Moment

by Mike Purdy | Jan 30, 2013 | Barack Obama, Inaugurations

After taking the ceremonial oath of office for his second term on January 21, 2013, President Obama left the inaugural stage on the west front of the U.S. Capitol to re-enter the building.  One more time:  But as he got to the top of the stairs and...

When Inauguration Day Falls on a Sunday

by Mike Purdy | Nov 28, 2012 | Barack Obama, Dwight Eisenhower, Inaugurations, James Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Rutherford Hayes, Woodrow Wilson, Zachary Taylor

When Barack Obama’s second term as president begins on January 20, 2013, it will mark only the seventh time in our nation’s history that Inauguration Day has fallen on a Sunday.  Traditionally, official inaugural ceremonies have not been held on...