31ST INAUGURAL CEREMONIES
PRESIDENT
WILLIAM H.
TAFT
March 4, 1909
VICE PRESIDENT
JAMES
SHERMAN
March 4, 1909
INAUGURAL COMMITTEE
Sen. Philander C. Knox (R-PA), Chair
Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge (R-ME)
Sen. Augustus O. Bacon (D-GA)
Rep. James F. Burke (R-PA)
Rep. Horace O. Young (R-MI)
Rep. John W. Gaines (D-TN)
ABOUT THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONIES
William H. Taft was sworn-in as the 27th President of the United States, and James Sherman was sworn-in as the 27th Vice President of the United States.
Location:
Senate Chamber, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.
Weather:
Heavy, drifting snow, and strong winds. The 10-inch snow fall ended at 12:20 p.m., but the afternoon remained cloudy and windy. Estimated noon temperature of 32°F.
Bible:
Century-old Bible belonging to the Supreme Court, open to I Kings 3:9-11
FACTS, FIRSTS, AND PRECEDENTS
The Inaugural Ceremonies took place in the Senate Chamber because of a blizzard. Strong winds toppled trees and telephone poles, trains were stalled and city streets unpassable. City workers shoveled sand and snow through half the night. It took 6,000 men and 500 wagons to clear 58,000 tons of snow and slush from the parade route; Helen Herron Taft became the first First Lady to accompany her husband on the return ride from the Capitol to the White House following his Inauguration.
TIMELINE
CLICK HERE to read Congressional Record for March 4, 1909.
VICE PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE
Administered to James S. Sherman at the close of the 60th Congress.
(Served from 1909-1912. Another Vice President was not appointed for the remainder of President Taft’s term).
PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE
Administered to William H. Taft
by the Honorable Melville W. Fuller,
Chief Justice of the United States.
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
President William H. Taft
(delivered inside the Senate Chamber)
“I have had the honor to be one of the advisers of my distinguished predecessor, and, as such, to hold up his hands in the reforms he has initiated. I should be untrue to myself, to my promises, and to the declarations of the party platform upon which I was elected to office, if I did not make the maintenance and enforcement of those reforms a most important feature of my administration.”
View annotated draft of address