Henry Bonilla, January 17, 2005

For more than two hundred years American’s have witnessed the inauguration ceremonies of the President of the United States. This week we will once again celebrate this remarkable American tradition. President-elect George W. Bush’s inauguration ceremony on Thursday, January 20th will mark a great milestone. With this milestone comes more than two centuries of history and tradition.

Many of us take for granted that today’s inaugural ceremonies usually go off without a hitch. But that was hardly the case when our nation began. When the Constitutional Convention convened in 1787, the proceedings associated with today’s presidential inaugurations were entirely new and untired. While drafting the Constitution, our Founding Fathers thought ahead and included several guidelines for the presidential inauguration. Many of those guidelines are still in place today. Our Constitution requires that the president must be a natural born citizen of the United States, has lived in this country for at least fourteen years, and has attained the age of thirty-five. It even specifies the specific oath of office that the new president should affirm. But beyond that, the Constitution remains silent. This silence has left room for a variety of ceremonies, locations and advances in technology.

Our nation’s first presidential inauguration was held on April 30, 1789. President George Washington took the oath of office on a balcony in New York’s Federal Hall. When the ceremony was complete, President Washington returned to the Senate chamber where he read his brief inaugural address, and called upon "the Almighty Being who rules over the universe" to assist the American people in finding "liberties and happiness" under "a government instituted by themselves."

By 1801, the seat of the U.S. Government had moved to Washington, D.C. The City of Washington was quite crude in comparison to today’s standards. With little fanfare, President Thomas Jefferson marked the first president to take the oath of office at our nation’s new capitol building. But for a few occasions, the inauguration ceremonies for our president and vice president would continue in the City of Washington for the next two hundred years.

In 1829, Andrew Jackson marked the first president to be inaugurated on the East Front of the Capitol. Though Jackson’s second inauguration in 1833 was moved indoors to the House Chamber because of his ill health, this tradition would continue until 1981 when Ronald Reagan’s inauguration was held on the West Front of the Capitol. The West Front tradition continued with the 1989 inauguration of George Bush and those of Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1997. This new tradition will continue this weekend with President-elect Bush’s inauguration ceremony.

There have been more changes to the presidential inauguration than just the location. Significant advances in technology have made their marks on these historic occasions. In 1897, the inauguration of William McKinley ushered in a new age, for it was the first to be filmed using the new motion picture technology. The 1925 Calvin Coolidge inauguration was the first to be broadcast live by radio, and the 1949 inauguration of President Truman was the first to be televised live. Just four years ago, the 1997 ceremony marked another first, as it was carried live on the Internet.

Today’s City of Washington, as well as the Capitol Building, bear remarkable differences from the fledgling city of two hundred years ago. However, the ideals our presidents are sworn to uphold have remained true and constant. As you watch this week’s inaugural ceremony, I hope each of you will keep in mind the history of this great tradition and look forward to a future of peace, progress and prosperity.

May God bless each of you and continue to bless America.

Congressman Henry Bonilla represents the 23rd District of Texas.