Moving Inaugurations Outdoors

We have become used to the grand spectacle of presidents being inaugurated on the steps of the US Capitol, but outdoor inaugurations were actually a rarity in the early years of the nation.

The tradition in the early 1800s was for presidents to take the oath of office inside the Capitol, before members of Congress and other invited guests. But that changed in 1817, when the inauguration of James Monroe was moved outdoors thanks to a lively argument about chairs. That's right, chairs.

A large crowd assembled on a Washington street to witness Monroe's inauguration. And 12 years later, when Andrew Jackson took the oath of office for the first time, the first large inaugural ceremony was held on the steps of the Capitol. As befits Jackson, and his followers, it was a raucous affair. And large outdoor inaugurations became an American tradition.

Image: James Monroe/Library of Congress