16TH INAUGURAL CEREMONIES
PRESIDENT
ZACHARY
TAYLOR
March 5, 1849
VICE PRESIDENT
MILLARD
FILLMORE
March 5, 1849
ABOUT THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONIES
Zachary Taylor was sworn-in as the 12th President of the United States, and Millard Fillmore was sworn-in as the 12th Vice President of the United States.
Location:
East Portico, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.
Weather:
Cloudy with snow flurries. Heavy snow began during the Inaugural Ball. Estimated noon temperature of 42°F.
FACTS, FIRSTS, & PRECEDENTS
March 4, 1849 fell on a Sunday, so following precedent, Taylor was inaugurated the next day, Monday, March 5, 1849; Three Inaugural Balls were held that evening, and Taylor attended all of them.
VICE PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE
Administered to Millard Fillmore
by the Honorable David R. Atchison,
Senate President pro tempore
VICE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
Delivered by Vice President Millard Filmore to the Senate
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
“In the discharge of these duties my guide will be the Constitution, which I this day swear to ‘preserve, protect, and defend.’ For the interpretation of that instrument I shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals established by its authority and to the practice of the Government under the earlier Presidents, who had so large a share in its formation.”
President Zachary Taylor
Read full address in the Senate Journal
PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE
Administered to Zachary Taylor
by the Honorable Roger B. Taney,
Chief Justice of the United States