23RD INAUGURAL CEREMONIES

PRESIDENT
RUTHERFORD B.
HAYES

March 5, 1877

VICE PRESIDENT
WILLIAM
WHEELER

ABOUT THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONIES

Rutherford B. Hayes was sworn-in as the 19th President of the United States, and William Wheeler was sworn-in as the 19th Vice President of the United States.

Location:

East Portico, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.

Weather:

Cloudy with brief periods of light snow. Estimated noon temperature of 35°F.

Bible Used:

Bible provided by D. W. Middleton, Clerk of the Supreme Court, open to Psalm 118:11-13.

FACTS, FIRSTS, AND PRECEDENTS

March 4, 1877 fell on Sunday, so Hayes privately took oath of office on Saturday, March 3 in the White House Red Room to ensure peaceful transition of power; the public Inauguration was on Monday, March 5.

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VICE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

Delivered by William Wheeler
in the Senate Chamber.

Read address in the Congressional Record

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VICE PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE

Administered to William Wheeler
by President pro tempore Thomas W. Ferry
in the Senate Chamber.

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 INAUGURAL ADDRESS

“It must be a government which submits loyally and heartily to the Constitution and the laws–the laws of the nation and the laws of the States themselves–accepting and obeying faithfully the whole Constitution as it is.”

President Rutherford B. Hayes

Read full address in the Congressional Record

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 PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE

Administered to Rutherford B. Hayes
by the Honorable Morrison R. Waite,
Chief Justice of the United States.