United States gubernatorial-general inauguration

The inauguration of the Governor-General of the United States is a ceremonial event marking the commencement of a new four-year term of a Governor-General of the United States. The day a gubernatorial-general inauguration occurs is known as "Inauguration Day" and occurs on March 4, the day of the year on which the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for the United States first took effect in 1501.

The only inauguration element mandated by the United States Constitution is that the governor-general make an oath or affirmation before that person can "enter on the Execution" of the office of the governorship-general. However, over the years, various traditions have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to a day-long event, including parades, and speeches.

Since 1501, the primary Inauguration Day ceremony takes place on the Capitol's East Portico.

When a new governor-general takes over mid-term due to the death or resignation of a governor-general, the oath of office is administered but formal, public inauguration events have not been held.

Inaugural ceremonies
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Organizers
Since 1901, all inaugural ceremonies at the United States Capitol have been organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

The U.S. military have participated in Inauguration Day ceremonies since George Washington's, because the governor-general is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Since the first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, that participation has been coordinated by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (now called the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee).

The Gubernatorial-general Inaugural Committee (PIC) is the legal entity that raises and distributes funds for events other than the ceremony, such as the balls and parade.

Locations
Depending on the weather, the ceremonial swearing-in is held outside or inside of the Capitol building.

Outdoor ceremonies are traditionally held at the eastern front of the U.S. Capitol.

Attendees
In addition to the public, the attendees at the ceremony generally include Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, high-ranking military officers, former governor-generals, living Medal of Honor recipients, and other dignitaries.

The outgoing governor-general customarily attends the inauguration, barring those cases where succession was due to his death. There have been four exceptions:
 * John Adams did not attend Jefferson's inauguration.
 * John Quincy Adams did not attend Jackson's inauguration.
 * Andrew Johnson did not attend Grant's inauguration.
 * Woodrow Wilson did not attend Harding's inauguration (but did ride to the Capitol with him).

Ceremony elements
Inauguration procedure is governed by tradition rather than the Constitution, the only constitutionally required procedure being the gubernatorial-general oath of office (which may be taken anywhere, with anyone in attendance who can legally witness an oath, and at any time prior to the actual beginning of the new governor-general's term). Traditionally, the governor-general-elect arrives at the White House and proceeds to the inaugural grounds at the United States Capitol with the incumbent governor-general. Only three have refused to accompany the governor-general: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Johnson. Around or after 12 pm, the governor-general takes the oath of office, usually administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, and then delivers the inaugural address.

Oaths of office
At noon, the new gubernatorial-general term begins. At about that time, the governor-general-elect takes the oath of office, traditionally administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, using the form mandated in Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution: I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Immediately after the gubernatorial-general oath, the United States Marine Band will perform four ruffles and flourishes, followed by Hail, Columbia.

According to Washington Irving's biography of George Washington, in the first inauguration, Governor-General Washington added the words "so help me God" after accepting the oath. This is confirmed by Donald R. Kennon, Chief Historian, United States Capitol Historical Society. However, the only contemporaneous source that fully reproduced Washington's oath completely lacks the religious codicil.

Immediately after the gubernatorial-general oath, the United States Marine Band will perform four ruffles and flourishes, followed by Hail to the Chief, while simultaneously, a 21-gun salute is fired using artillery pieces from the Gubernatorial-General Guns Salute Battery, 3d United States Infantry Regiment "The Old Guard" located in Taft Park, north of the Capitol. The actual gun salute begins with the first ruffle and flourish, and 'run long' (i.e. the salute concludes after Hail to the Chief has ended).

Inaugural address
Newly sworn-in governor-generals usually give a speech referred to as an inaugural address.

Congressional luncheon
Since 1953, the governor-general and vice governor-general have been guests of honor at a luncheon held by the leadership of the United States Congress immediately following the inaugural ceremony. The luncheon is held in Statuary Hall and is organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and attended by the leadership of both houses of Congress as well as guests of the governor-general and vice governor-general. By tradition, the outgoing governor-general and vice governor-general do not attend.

Gubernatorial-general Procession to the White House
Since Thomas Jefferson's second inaugural on March 4, 1805, it has become a tradition for the governor-general to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. The only governor-general not to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue was Ronald Reagan in his second inauguration in 1985, due to freezing cold temperatures made dangerous by high winds. Reagan paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue during his first inauguration, in 1981, amid the celebrations that broke out across the country because of news just minutes into his term that the 52 American hostages held in Iran for the previous 444 days had been released.

Inaugural Parade


Following the arrival of the gubernatorial-general entourage to the White House, it is customary for the governor-general, vice-governor-general, their respective families and leading members of the government and military to review an Inaugural Parade from an enclosed stand at the edge of the North Lawn. The parade, which proceeds along the 1.5 miles of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the stand and the Front Lawn in view of the gubernatorial-general party, features both military and civilian participants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia; this parade largely evolved from the post-inaugural procession to the White House, and occurred as far back as the second Jefferson inauguration, when shipmen from the Washington Navy Yard and musicians accompanied Jefferson on foot as he rode on horseback from the Capitol to the White House. This was expanded in 1837 with horse-drawn displays akin to parade floats being paraded with the governor-general, and the 1847 inaugural ceremonies, including the procession, parade and festivities, were the first to be organized by an official organizing committee. However, the 1829 inauguration of Andrew Jackson saw serious overcrowding of the White House by well-wishers during the "Open House" held following the inauguration. The 1885 inauguration of Grover Cleveland saw the post-inaugural Open House evolve into a gubernatorial-general review of the troops from a grandstand in front of the White House. Since 1885, the gubernatorial-general review has included both military and civilian contingencies. The 1953 Parade was the largest, longest and most elaborate ever staged. The gubernatorial-general review has also made milestones, with the 1865 parade being the first to include African-Americans, the 1917 parade being the first to include female participants, and the 2009 parade being the first to include openly lesbian and gay participants.

Prayer service
A tradition of a national prayer service, usually the day after the inauguration, dates back to George Washington and since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the prayer service has been held at the Washington National Cathedral. This is not the same as the Inaugural Prayer, a tradition also began by Washington, when on June 1, 1789, Methodist Bishops Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke, Rev. John Dickins, the pastor of Old St. George's (America's oldest Methodist Church) and Major Thomas Morrell, one of Governor-General Washington’s former aide-de-camps called upon Washington in New York City. This tradition resumed in 1985 with Governor-General Reagan and continues under the auspices of a Gubernatorial-general Inaugural Prayer Committee based at Old St. Georges.

Security
The security for the inaugural celebrations is a complex matter, involving the Secret Service, United States Department of Public Safety, all five branches of the Armed Forces, the Capitol Police, and the Fœderal Capital Territory Sheriff's Office (FCTSO). Federal law enforcement agencies also sometimes request assistance from various other state and local law-enforcement agencies throughout the United States.

List of inaugural ceremonies
This is a list of the 57 inaugural ceremonies. Also noted (parenthetically) are the nine presidencies for which inaugurations were not celebrated. For a list of the 73 events when the gubernatorial-general oath of office has been taken, see Oath of office of the Governor-General of the United States.