Washington's First Inauguration,
April 30, 1789
George Washington (1732-1799)
Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789
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Holograph manuscript
Manuscript Division (3.11)
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George Washington passed through several cities -- including
Philadelphia and Trenton -- on the way to his first inauguration
at Federal Hall in New York City, then the temporary capital of
the United States. Aware of the importance of this national ritual,
the brown-suited Washington set many precedents during his first
inauguration: the swearing-in took place outside; the oath was
taken upon a Bible; an inaugural address was given (to the assembled
Congress inside the Hall) the contents of which set the pattern
for all subsequent addresses; and festivities accompanied the
inauguration, including a church service, a parade, and fireworks.
According to a description in the May 1789 issue of Columbian
Magazine: "About noon the illustrious Washington appeared,
and as he passed under the first triumphal arch, the acclamations
of an immense crowd of spectators rent the air, and the laurel
crown, at that instant, descended on his venerable head. His Excellency
was saluted on the common by a discharge from the artillery, and
escorted into Philadelphia by a large body of troops, together
with his excellency the president of the state, and a numerous
concourse of respectable citizens."
Washington's inaugural address, numbering ten pages, reveals
both the deep anxiety and the tenacious idealism with which he
approached the office of the presidency. He steeped his words
in a moral context: "No people can be bound to acknowledge and
adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more
than those of the United States."
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