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  Home > Art & History Home > "I Do Solemnly Swear": A Half Century of Inaugural Images > 1853 Inauguration Franklin Pierce 
 
 
1853 Franklin Pierce

Although over 80,000 people flocked to Washington for Franklin Pierce’s inauguration, a snowstorm during the ceremony drove off all but about 20,000 spectators. Pierce was the only president to “solemnly affirm” rather than “solemnly swear” his oath of office. He delivered his inaugural address of over 3,000 words completely from memory.
 
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Interior of the Rotunda—Procession to the Portico.
Interior of the Rotunda—Procession to the Portico.
Interior of the Rotunda—Procession to the Portico.
Interior of the Rotunda—Procession to the Portico.
 
Assembling of the Multitude at the Eastern Portico, at the Commencement of the Inaugural Ceremonies.
Assembling of the Multitude at the Eastern Portico, at the Commencement of the Inaugural Ceremonies.
 
President in Vice-President's Room.
President in Vice-President
 
1857 Inauguration