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1 1 (January 6, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/goverxu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congr s lanai Research Servic Informing the legislitave C e since 1914 0 January 6, 2025 The Presidential Inaugural Parade: Past Practices and Congressional Considerations Every four years, following the swearing-in ceremony, inaugural address, and congressional luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, the newly sworn in President traditionally travels to the White House and observes the inaugural parade from a reviewing stand. The next inaugural parade is scheduled to occur on January 20, 2025. Figure 1 shows President George H. W. Bush watching the 1989 inaugural parade. Figure I. President George H. W. Bush Reviewing the Inaugural Parade, 1989 Source: Library of C.ongress, Presidential Keviewing Stand at the Inaugural Parade for President George H.W. Bush on January 20, 1989, Washington, DC. Inaugural Parade Past Practices The inaugural parade has changed over the course of American history. The first inaugural parade appears to have occurred in 1789 for George Washington's inauguration in New York, when the President-elect was escorted to Federal Hall (then the capitol of the United States) by Grand Marshall Colonel Morgan Lewis and a military contingent of 500 men. When the capital moved to Washington, DC, parades appear to have initially been less formal affairs, and there is not consensus about which inauguration might have had the first parade in the District of Columbia. For example, some credit the first parade-like activity to President Thomas Jefferson's second inauguration. In 1805, after taking the oath of office, President Jefferson, rode on horseback from the Capitol to the President's House (the name then used for the White House) amid music and a spontaneous gathering. Others credit the first parade-like activities to President James Madison's first inauguration in 1809, when he was escorted to the Capitol by musicians. Still others note that President James Monroe's first inauguration in 1817 could be the first. For President Monroe's inauguration, citizens followed the President-elect and Vice President-elect to the Capitol Building where he delivered an inaugural address outdoors. With the exception of 1789 for President Washington and 1805 for President Jefferson, each parade prior to the 1841 inauguration of William Henry Harrison appears to have occurred to escort the President to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony. In 1841, the parade occurred after the swearing-in ceremony, when a committee of local Whig Party organizations organized a parade to accompany the President from the Capitol to an open house at the White House. Over the years, the inaugural parade has experienced many firsts. Table 1 lists selected inaugural parade firsts. Table I. Selected Inaugural Parade Firsts Year President First 1837 Martin Van Buren Parade floats 1841 William Henry Harrison Parade planning committee 1865 Abraham Lincoln African Americans participated 1881 James Garfield Review of procession from a stand at the White House 1909 William Howard Taft Automobile 1917 Woodrow Wilson Women participated 1921 Warren G. Harding President rode in an automobile 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson Bullet-proofed, closed limousine Source: Architect of the Capitol, Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol; U.S. President (Clinton), Inaugural Traditions, The Inauguration in Presidential History; and Library of Congress, The Inaugural Site. -naugura Parade Administration In modern times, the inaugural parade is traditionally organized by the military's Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR) on behalf of the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC). The Department of Defense established the predecessor to the JTF-NCR, the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC), for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's first inauguration in 1953. The AFIC was renamed as the JTF-NCR in 2003.

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