1. Which U.S. president did not use a Bible at his inauguration?

Franklin Pierce. He placed his hand on a law book. Pierce was suffering a crisis in faith after the death of his 11-year-old son in a train accident on the way to Washington for the inaugural. And he didn't "swear" to the oath; instead, he "affirmed" it. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 9)

2. Which mishap occurred at the inauguration of George Washington?

Nobody thought to bring a Bible to take the oath of office. A quick search of Federal Hall failed to turn up a copy of the Bible. New York chancellor Robert Livingston, who was to administer the oath, remembered there would be a Bible at the nearby Saint John’s Masonic Lodge. The Masonic Bible was opened to a random page from Genesis and Washington placed his hand on it as Livingston administered the oath. After reciting the oath of office, President Washington added the unscripted words, "so help me God," a practice that has been followed by almost every president since. The Bible, now known as the Washington Bible, has been used by four other presidents for their inaugurations. A fifth, George W. Bush, had to scrap plans to use the Bible because of bad weather. The book was also used at Washington's funeral, the dedication of the Washington Monument in 1885, and the rededication of the U.S. Capitol cornerstone in 1959. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 8)

3. Which long-winded president delivered the longest inaugural address?

William Henry Harrison. On 4 March 1841, Harrison gave his 8,000-word speech for nearly two hours. At age 68, he was the oldest president yet. To demonstrate that he maintained plenty of youthful vigor, he spoke without an overcoat or hat to ward off the cold. Harrison caught a cold that turned into pneumonia and died a month later. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 46)

4. Which president gave the shortest address?

George Washington. After taking the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, Washington proceeded to the Senate chamber where he read a speech before members of Congress and other dignitaries. His second inauguration took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 4 March 1793, in the Senate chamber of Congress Hall. There he gave the shortest inaugural address on record—just 135 words—before repeating the oath of office. (Inaugural History, at http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/inauguraladdress.cfm)

5. Why did Zachary Taylor postpone his inauguration?

The date in question, 4 March 1849, fell on a Sunday. James K. Polk's term of office officially ended at noon on Sunday, March 4, 1849. Taylor refused to take the oath of office until Monday, March 5, 1849. Missouri senator David Rice Atchison was serving as president pro tempore of the Senate, which made him next in line after the president and vice president. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 60 )

6. Which president was inaugurated in secret?

Rutherford B. Hayes. The presidential election of 1876 was one of the closest and most disputed elections in history. The outcome was in dispute until a few days before the inauguration, when Republican Hayes was declared the winner by one electoral vote. Angry Democrats threatened to protest. President Ulysses S. Grant ordered troops to Washington to prevent trouble. Grant's term was due to expire at noon on Sunday, March 4. In observation of the Sabbath, Hayes' inauguration wasn't scheduled until Monday. Republicans feared that Democrats might somehow take advantage of the one-day gap to install Tilden in the White House or otherwise embarrass them and decided to take preemptive action. Before a gala White House dinner on Saturday, March 3, Grant escorted Hayes to the Red Room. There, in front of a handful of cabinet members, Chief Justice Morrison Waite secretly administered the oath of office. The men returned to the dinner without announcing the inauguration. Hayes was publicly inaugurated the following Monday at noon. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 96)

7. Whose inaugural address was the first to be broadcast on television?

Harry S. Truman. Truman’s inaugural address was broadcast in 1949. James Buchanan's 1857 inauguration was the first to be photographed. William McKinley held the first inaugural ceremony recorded by a motion picture camera in 1897. Herbert Hoover's inauguration was the first recorded by talking newsreel in 1929. In 1997, William J. Clinton was the first President whose inaugural ceremony was broadcast live on the Internet. (Inaugural Inaugural http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/index.cfm)

8. Who was the first president to take the oath of office in Washington, DC?

Thomas Jefferson. On March 4, 1801, Jefferson walked with few attendants and little fanfare to the Capitol building from his nearby lodgings at a boarding house to become the first president to be inaugurated in the nation's new capital city. Upon entering the Senate chamber, now the Old Supreme Court Chamber, Jefferson took the oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Marshall and addressed the audience gathered in the Senate chamber. After his inaugural address he finished his day with a meal at the boarding house. (Inaugural, http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/potusswearingin02.cfm)

9. How many presidents did NOT take the oath of office in Washington, DC?

6. George Washington: 1789—Federal Hall, New York City; 1793—Congress Hall, Philadelphia; John Adams: 1797—Congress Hall, Philadelphia; Chester A. Arthur: 1881—residence, New York City; Theodore Roosevelt: 1901—residence, Buffalo, New York; Calvin Coolidge: 1923—residence, Plymouth, Vermont; Lyndon B. Johnson: 1963—Air Force One, Dallas, Texas

10. Who was the first president to be inaugurated on January 20 instead of March 4?

Franklin D. Roosevelt. A change made by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution called for Roosevelt to be inaugurated on 20 January 1937. This year also marked the first time the vice president was inaugurated outdoors on the same platform with the president. (Inaugural, http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/index.cfm)

1. About to undertake the arduous duties that I have been appointed to perform by the choice of a free people, I avail myself of this customary and solemn occasion to express the gratitude which their confidence inspires and to acknowledge the accountability which my situation enjoins. While the magnitude of their interests convinces me that no thanks can be adequate to the honor they have conferred, it admonishes me that the best return I can make is the zealous dedication of my humble abilities to their service and their good...

It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people.

Andrew Jackson (4 March 1829)

2. I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction to the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days...

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profit. These dark days will be worthy all they cast us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men...

Our primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (4 March 1933)

3. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty...

Let [us] seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

John F. Kennedy (20 February 1961)

4. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured...

Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.

Abraham Lincoln (4 March 1865)

5. Justice was the promise that all who made the journey would share in the fruits of the land.

In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry. In a land of healing miracles, neighbors must not suffer and die unattended. In a great land of learning and scholars, young people must be taught to read and write.

For the more than 30 years that I have served this Nation, I have believed that this injustice to our people, this waste of our resources, was our real enemy. For 30 years or more, with the resources I have had, I have vigilantly fought against it. I have learned, and I know, that it will not surrender easily.

But change has given us new weapons. Before this generation of Americans is finished, this enemy will not only retreat-it will be conquered.

Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, "His color is not mine," or "His beliefs are strange and different," in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this Nation.

Lyndon B. Johnson (20 January 1965)