Facts about past inaugurations (we solemnly swear!)
Every U.S. presidential inauguration is historic in some way. It could be because of the weather, the profound speeches or the lavish parties.
As we prepare to make history again and swear in our first African-American president, we look back on some interesting facts about past presidential inaugurations.
Leading by example
Because of the wars and the Depression, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt refused to have celebrations or parties following their inaugurations in 1913 and in 1937, 1941 and 1945, respectively.
A lot of dancing
Bill Clinton had 14 different inaugural balls after his ceremony in 1997.
A cold reception
Ronald Reagan's inauguration ceremony in 1985 had to be moved indoors and the parade canceled because the noontime temperature in Washington, D.C., was only seven degrees.
If they could see us now
Abraham Lincoln's inauguration in 1865 marked the first time African-Americans participated in the inaugural parade. Woodrow Wilson's inauguration in 1917 marked the first time women participated in the parade.
That wouldn't buy you a cocktail today
Tickets to the first-ever inaugural ball in 1809 for James Madison cost $4 each. Tickets to Obama's Illinois State Society Inaugural Gala cost between $300 and $500 (and it's sold out).
I'm not a crook, I swear on a stack of Bibles
Richard Nixon took the oath of office with his hand on two Bibles. Teddy Roosevelt didn't put his hand on anything.
Less is more
After his second inauguration in 1793, George Washington's speech was 133 words long. The longest inauguration speech (nearly 2 hours long and 10,000 words) was delivered by William H. Harrison in 1841. He did not wear a coat or hat on that cold day and died of pneumonia a month later, while in office.
Not dependent on foreign oil
Shunning the customary carriage, Thomas Jefferson walked the one block from his boardinghouse to his inauguration on Capitol Hill in 1801. After his inauguration in 1977, Jimmy Carter and his family walked the 1.2 miles from the Capitol to the White House.
So help me...
George Washington spontaneously added the words "So help me God" after he took the oath in 1789, and other presidents have followed suit.
But was it on YouTube?
Bill Clinton's 1997 inaugural ceremony was the first to be broadcast over the Internet.
Scary to think about
Franklin Pierce's 11-year-old son died in a train wreck two months before his inauguration. And soon-to-be-First Lady Rachel Jackson died a few weeks before her husband, Andrew, was inaugurated. She died of a stress-fueled heart attack.
$CLASS=breakhead$Famous inauguration address quotes
"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." - Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1933
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in." - Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, held during the Civil War
"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." - Bill Clinton, in 1993
"The supremacy of the nation and its laws should no longer be a subject of debate." - James A. Garfield, in 1881
"The supreme need of our time is for men to live together in peace and harmony." - Harry S. Truman in 1949, during the initial Cold War era
Sources: U.S. News & World Report, National Geographic, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN.com, Associated Press