# Boycotting a presidential inauguration by a president **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369 "2019-03-01T06:33:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ric62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/1 "2019-03-01T06:33:45Z")
In Ron Chernow’s book Hamilton he writes that John Adams left Washington before Thomas Jefferson was sworn in, making Adams one of three presidents to boycott the elected president’s inauguration. Who were the other two? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/2 "2019-03-01T12:39:27Z")
Nixon left before Ford was sworn in. I’m not sure if they are counting that, because Ford wasn’t “elected” president. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/3 "2019-03-01T12:55:43Z")
Kennedy and LBJ? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/4 "2019-03-01T13:25:30Z")
I’m guessing they don’t include any of the presidents that died in office. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/5 "2019-03-01T13:46:55Z")
John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/6 "2019-03-01T15:11:22Z")
And whomever follows Trump will be 4 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/7 "2019-03-01T15:26:51Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Johnson. Not Andrew Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/8 "2019-03-01T16:04:36Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Not Andrew Johnson. cite? [From Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson#Completion_of_term) _Grant had made it known that he was unwilling to ride in the same carriage as Johnson, as was customary, and Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all. Despite an effort by Seward to prompt a change of mind, he spent the morning of March 4 finishing last-minute business, and then shortly after noon rode from the White House to the home of a friend._ Wikipedia isn’t always accurate. Maybe you know something it doesn’t. If so, please specify. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/9 "2019-03-01T16:17:01Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > cite? > > [From Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson#Completion_of_term) > > _Grant had made it known that he was unwilling to ride in the same carriage as Johnson, as was customary, and Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all. Despite an effort by Seward to prompt a change of mind, he spent the morning of March 4 finishing last-minute business, and then shortly after noon rode from the White House to the home of a friend._ > Wikipedia isn’t always accurate. Maybe you know something it doesn’t. If so, please specify. No need to get snarky. I merely mixed up Johnson’s own inauguration with the one he himself refused to attend. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/10 "2019-03-01T16:27:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > No need to get snarky. I merely mixed up Johnson’s own inauguration with the one he himself refused to attend. Apologies for the “snarky” bit-long time family friend unexpectedly died from pneumonia late last night. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/11 "2019-03-01T16:28:52Z")
No snark intended. Wiki does contain factual errors and isn’t always a reliable cite. It was possible that you were right and it was wrong. Edit - sorry to hear about your friend. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/12 "2019-03-01T20:35:00Z")
So if I have sorted out all the snark, what it amounts to is that Adams didn’t go to Jefferson’s, his son Q didn’t go to Andrew **Jackson’s** and Andrew **Johnson** didn’t go to Grant’s. And there is the prediction that agent Orange will not go to his successor’s. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/13 "2019-03-01T22:55:21Z")
I’ve been going through the _Congressional Globe_’s records of the inaugurations. In most cases, the presence of the outgoing president is mentioned. We already knew Andrew Johnson wasn’t present at Grant’s first inauguration (1869), and he is not mentioned one way or the other in the Globe. Van Buren isn’t mentioned in the [report of William Henry Harrison’s inauguration](http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llcg&fileName=008/llcg008.db&recNum=246) (1841). According to [this Google Books result](https://books.google.com/books?id=9gUwSOypTuIC&lpg=PP1&dq=van%20buren&pg=PA158#v=onepage&q=harrison&f=false) he was gracious to Harrison in the weeks leading up to the inauguration but did not attend the ceremony itself, and he wasn’t even invited. According to the book, Van Buren was continuing the tradition set by both Adamses, that an incumbent who lost the election to the president-elect did not attend the inauguration. Since Van Buren was willing to attend but wasn’t invited, you can’t really call it a boycott. I don’t know if the Adamses were invited to the inaugurations of their successors that they didn’t attend. So apparently Grover Cleveland in 1889 was the first outgoing president who attended the inauguration after losing the election to the incoming president (Benjamin Harrison). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boycotting-a-presidential-inauguration-by-a-president/830369/14 "2019-03-02T02:30:37Z")
[Moderating] > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > And whomever follows Trump will be 4 Speculating about future actions of presidents isn’t really material for GQ. Let’s leave this thread to verified history, shall we?