Inauguration of Warren G. Harding
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| Date | March 4, 1921 |
|---|---|
| Location |
Washington, D.C. U.S. Capitol |
| Participants |
President of the United States, Warren Harding Chief Justice of the United United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies |
The inauguration of Warren G. Harding took place on March 4, 1921, marking the beginning of his tenure as the 29th President of the United States and Calvin Coolidge's tenure as Vice President. Chief Justice Edward D. White administered the Oath of office.[1]
Harding utilized the bible George Washington used at his swearing in. This was the first time an automobile was used in an inaugural ceremony, driving President Wilson and President-Elect Harding to the Capitol. [2]
Later-President Coolidge would criticize the inauguration: "I was struck by the lack of order and formality that prevailed." Coolidge was sworn in as Vice President in the Senate Chamber and on the east portico of the Capitol, respectively, which he believed ruined "all semblance of unity and continuity."[3] Critic H. L. Menken went further, describing Harding's inaugural address itself thus: "It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and doodle. It is balder and dash. But I grow lyrical."[4]
The 1921 Committee of Inaugural Ceremonies consisted of:
- Sen. Philander C. Knox (R-PA)—Chairman
- Sen. Knute Nelson (R-MN)
- Sen. Lee Slater Overman (D-NC)
- Rep. Joseph Gurney Cannon (R-IL)
- Rep. Charles F. Reavis (R-NE)
- Rep. Charles Manly Stedman (D-NC)—Replaced Rep. William W. Rucker (D-MO) who resigned from the Joint Committee.
The event was also attended by Bernice Madigan, a Massachusetts resident who would become one of the oldest people in the world in 2014.
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