# Presidential Inauguration Day **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967 "2013-01-22T01:20:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/1 "2013-01-22T01:20:44Z")
I heard today’s ceremony was just that - a token ceremony. The real swearing-in took place yesterday in private. My questions on this are: A) Has this actually always been the case for every Presidential Inauguration Day? B) Is it because yesterday was actually Jan 20th? (And, why do we care about Jan 20th, anyway?) C) Is it because that Supreme Court genius flubbed it last time, so he wanted privacy in case it happened again this time? D) Is it a new tradition? E) Other? What’s up with dat? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/2 "2013-01-22T01:25:58Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I heard today’s ceremony was just that - a token ceremony. The real swearing-in took place yesterday in private. My questions on this are: > > A) Has this actually always been the case for every Presidential Inauguration Day? > B) Is it because yesterday was actually Jan 20th? (And, why do we care about Jan 20th, anyway?) > C) Is it because that Supreme Court genius flubbed it last time, so he wanted privacy in case it happened again this time? > D) Is it a new tradition? > E) Other? > > What’s up with dat? It’s B- the 20th Amendment says the President’s term ends at noon on January 20th, so the swearing-in must be before that, and I guess they don’t like to do the big ceremony on a Sunday. Before the 20th amendment, most inaugurations were in March, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/3 "2013-01-22T01:37:16Z")
Unless I’m mistaken, Obama has the distiction of being the only President besides FDR to take the oath four times. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/4 "2013-01-22T01:39:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Unless I’m mistaken, Obama has the distiction of being the only President besides FDR to take the oath four times. I wish the SD had a “Like” button for such sharp, observant comments as this one! Neat claim to fame, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/5 "2013-01-22T01:48:17Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It’s B- the 20th Amendment says the President’s term ends at noon on January 20th, so the swearing-in must be before that, and I guess they don’t like to do the big ceremony on a Sunday. Before the 20th amendment, most inaugurations were in March, I think. March 4th, changed to shorten the ‘lame duck’ period. Roosevelt’s first inauguration (1933) was the last on March 4. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/6 "2013-01-22T01:53:19Z")
Big thread on this very recently. Tried to search for it but it must’ve been hiding. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/7 "2013-01-22T02:36:09Z")
[This earlier thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678254), perhaps ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/8 "2013-01-22T02:42:25Z")
The swearing-in on Sunday was “in private” in the sense that it wasn’t in front of an audience of hundreds of thousands, but it was [still televised](http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/InofP), so it wouldn’t have been private enough to hide any mistakes. Ronald Reagan had a “private inauguration” that was even less private, being held in front of a [sizable audience](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Ronald_Reagan_inauguration_private_ceremony_1985.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/9 "2013-01-22T03:02:34Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Unless I’m mistaken, Obama has the distiction of being the only President besides FDR to take the oath four times. So far. Maybe he can yet break the record. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/10 "2013-01-22T21:36:49Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > So far. Maybe he can yet break the record. 😉 True. That limit of 2 terms only applies to natural-born US citizens, right? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/11 "2013-01-22T23:33:06Z")
Well, after one of his recent inaugurations, I assume the more public one, as he was walking away he stopped and turned to take in the scene and said “I’m never going to see this again.” So, apparently it hasn’t dawned on him to go for a third term. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/12 "2013-01-22T23:39:05Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > March 4th, changed to shorten the ‘lame duck’ period. Roosevelt’s first inauguration (1933) was the last on March 4. Even when the Inauguration was in March whenever March 4th fell on a Sunday they held a private swearing-in on that day, and saved the big public ceremonies for Monday. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/13 "2013-01-23T02:00:45Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Even when the Inauguration was in March whenever March 4th fell on a Sunday they held a private swearing-in on that day, and saved the big public ceremonies for Monday. Not always; hence the [David Rice Atchison myth.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rice_Atchison#.22President_for_One_Day.22) As to the OP: A) Has this actually always been the case for every Presidential Inauguration Day? No. It’s only been done a couple times. It’s only necessary when Inauguration day falls on a Sunday, and only because some presidents thought that would be impious. B) Is it because yesterday was actually Jan 20th? (And, why do we care about Jan 20th, anyway?) The Constitution sets January 20 as the day the president gets sworn in. Since Inauguration Day fell on Sunday, it was decided, according to tradition, to move it to Monday. C) Is it because that Supreme Court genius flubbed it last time, so he wanted privacy in case it happened again this time? Not a factor. And flubbing really had no serious legal effect – I’m sure it happened from time to time – just before it was going out live on TV. The intention of the oath is what’s important, not the exact words. Obama did it over four years ago to appease though who were insistent that the mistake made a difference, even though they had nothing to base that upon. D) Is it a new tradition? It’s a longstanding tradition to not hold the Inauguration on a Sunday. There will only be one inauguration for presidents until the 20th falls on a Sunday again. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-inauguration-day/647967/14 "2013-01-23T02:30:45Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > So far. Maybe he can yet break the record. 😉 He’s the first _two-term_ president to be sworn in four times. Many on-line news sources were all over that factoid yesterday.