The U.S. Constitution requires the incoming President to take a simple oath to “faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States” and to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.” Most presidential inaugurations occur at the U.S. Capitol, as in this photograph of William Taft. Though the oath is the only constitutional requirement, Inauguration Day has become a time of celebration for the incoming administration, characterized by concerts, balls, galas, parades, and receptions.
Notable American citizens, such as Nobel Prize author William Faulkner, often receive elaborate invitations from inauguration committees. Later inaugurations included programs celebrating the winning candidates and their families, like the one below from 1992 which includes photographs of the Clintons and Gores on the campaign trail.
Invitation to Grover Cleveland Inaugural Ball
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William Howard Taft on podium at inauguration
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Ticket for FDR Inauguration Ceremonies
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Program for FDR Inauguration Ceremonies
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Cover.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 1.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 2.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 3.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 4.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 5.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 6.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 7.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Page 8.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
<a href=”../../images/inaugurations/Roosevelt Program Back Cover.jpg” rel=”lightbox” title=”Program of the Ceremonies Attending the Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States at the National Capitol January Twentieth Nineteen Hundred Forty-One. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1941. James O. Eastland Collection.”>
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Invitation addressed to Mr. and Mrs. William Faulkner for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Inauguration.
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Program for Clinton Inauguration Ceremonies
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