Why is the inauguration always January 20? What happens when it falls on a Sunday? How many inaugural balls are there? The US presidential inauguration is full of history and tradition. Here's a look at President Obama's big day in question and answer form.
President Barack Obama, (l.), takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, not seen, as his wife Michelle, holds the Lincoln Bible and daughters Sasha, (r.) and Malia, watch, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009.
Chuck Kennedy/AP/File
EnlargeWith his wife and two daughters at his side, President Barack Obama will raise his right hand and place his left on two stacked Bibles as he takes the oath of office for another four-year term. His second?inauguration?promises the pageantry of the first, but on a smaller scale than 2009, when a record 1.8 million people filled the nation's capital to witness Obama making history as America's first black president.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
Obama has chosen to use two Bibles during his swearing-in ? one owned by Martin Luther King Jr. and the other by Abraham Lincoln. He used the Lincoln Bible while taking the oath four years ago. He is adding King's Bible for an?inaugural?ceremony that will take place on Jan. 21, the federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader.
At the 57th presidential?inauguration?a week from Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer the oath to Vice President Joe Biden. It's a day rich in history and tradition.
A look at the?inauguration, in question-and-answer form:
Q: Why is the?inauguration?on Jan. 21 instead of Jan. 20?
A: The Constitution's 20th Amendment, passed by Congress in March 1932 and ratified by the necessary states the following January, sets the?inauguration?date as Jan. 20 at noon.
Because that's a Sunday this year, Obama will take the official oath of office that day in a private ceremony. A public ceremony will be held Jan. 21 on the west front of the U.S. Capitol. Local officials are planning for an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people to crowd onto the National Mall to witness the oath-taking ceremony.
This is the seventh time the?inauguration?date has fallen on a Sunday.?Inaugural?ceremonies, however, are not traditionally held on Sundays because courts and other public institutions are closed.
Before 1933, the president had been sworn in on March 4, typically the final day of the congressional season. But the stretch between the November elections and the March 4?inauguration?led to a lengthy lame-duck sessions of Congress and became a concern during times of national crisis.
Sen. George Norris, R-Neb., suggested the 20th Amendment, which called for a new Congress to begin on Jan. 3 and for the president to be?inaugurated?on Jan. 20. President Franklin Roosevelt's first?inauguration, in 1933, was the last swearing-in ceremony held on March 4.
___
Q: What is the oath the president recites?
A: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Those words transform citizen to president and mark the beginning of a new administration.
Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade 2012 Turkey Cooking Times Butterball mashed potatoes Apple Black Friday how to cook a turkey emma stone
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.