Swearing-In Ceremony for President Benjamin Harrison
Twenty-Sixth Inaugural Ceremonies, March 4, 1889
Inaugural Address
‘Fellow-Citizens: There is no constitutional or legal requirement that the President shall take the oath of office in the presence of the people, but there is so manifest an appropriateness in the public induction to office of the chief executive officer of the nation that from the beginning of the Government the people, to whose service the official oath consecrates the officer, have been called to witness the solemn ceremonial.’
Read the address
(Words: 4392)
Presidential Oath of Office
Administered to Benjamin Harrison by the Honorable Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Twenty-Sixth Inaugural Ceremonies
- Bible Used: Bible provided by Clerk of the Supreme Court James H. McKenney, opened to Psalm 121:1-6.
- Attire: Double breasted frock coat, striped trousers
Vice Presidential Oath of Office
Administered to Levi P. Morton.
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Location
East Portico,
U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC -
Facts, Firsts & Precedents
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Weather
Rained all day. Total rainfall was 0.86 inches. Took oath of office in a downpour under an umbrella. Estimated noon temperature of 43°F.