The first inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd President of the United States was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1993 on the West Front of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Bill Clinton as President and Al Gore as Vice President. At 46 years, 154 days of age time of his first inauguration, Clinton was the third-youngest person to become president, and the first from the Baby Boomer generation.
Video First inauguration of Bill Clinton
Pre-inaugural events
Reunion on the mall
America's Reunion on the Mall was a two-day multi-stage festival as part of the 1993 Presidential Inaugural Celebration, held from January 17-19. One million people attended the event on the National Mall between Capitol Hill and the Washington Monument. With tents stretching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, it was reported to be the largest festival ever held on the Mall. The two-hour outdoor concert that started the festival kicked off the Clinton/Gore Inaugural. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the free concert, which featured entertainers Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Michael Bolton, Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, and rapper LL Cool J.
Inaugural Bell Ringing Ceremony
On January 17, President-elect Clinton addressed the crowd in a short bell-ringing ceremony to mark his inauguration, after leading a procession across the Memorial Bridge from Washington, DC to Arlington, VA. The ceremony included a brief videotape and statement from the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour, and live video links from NASA Mission Control in Houston, TX, south central Los Angeles, Oklahoma, Nashville, San Francisco, Tallahassee, Little Rock, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Keams Canyon, AZ, and Atlanta, where crowds had assembled to take part in a bell-ringing ceremony to show the unity of the nation. At 6 p.m., Clinton and Gore, with the help of their children, grasped the red rope attached to the bell and led the nation in a bell ringing ceremony. A spectacular display of fireworks ended the evening's public events.
Visit to the Arlington Cemetery
On January 19, Clinton visited the Arlington Cemetery to visit the graves of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. The visit was not on Clinton's schedule, and only a small group of reporters and photographers was allowed to witness the gathering from 150 yards away. After kneeling at the graveside for a few moments, the Clintons each placed a white rose on the grave of Robert Kennedy, who was shot June 5, 1968, while campaigning for the presidency. Clinton then walked alone to John F. Kennedy's grave and placed another white rose on the marker and knelt for several seconds before the grave. Clinton had met President Kennedy briefly as a teenager in 1963, and credits that encounter with leading him to enter public service.
Presidential Gala
On January 19, 1993, a cast including Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, the Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe, comedians Chevy Chase and Bill Cosby, and actors Jack Lemmon and James Earl Jones performed at the 42nd Presidential Inaugural Gala at The Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland in honor of Clinton. A specially re-formed Fleetwood Mac also took the stage to perform the song "Don't Stop"' which had been Bill Clinton's campaign song.
Kids' Inaugural
Also on January 19, the Clintons took part in an event aimed at younger audiences at the Kennedy Center. Billed as two separate one-hour specials, the Inaugural Celebration for Children and the Inaugural Celebration for Youth were both aired live on Disney Channel.
The Inaugural Celebration for Children was hosted by Markie Post and featured appearances from Mr. Rogers, the Muppets, Raffi, Emmylou Harris, Rosanne Cash, and the cast of Adventures in Wonderland. Notably, during the finale of the special, Steve Whitmire perched the Kermit the Frog puppet on Hillary Clinton's shoulder as he sang during the final song, a photo of which appeared in newspapers across the country.
This was followed by the Inaugural Celebration for Youth, which was hosted by Will Smith and featured appearances from Clarence Clemmons, Boyz II Men, Celine Dion, Kenny Loggins, Vanessa Williams, Jay R. Ferguson, Al Gore, the Joffrey Ballet, the L.A. Youth Ensemble Theatre, and the cast of The Mickey Mouse Club.
Maps First inauguration of Bill Clinton
Inauguration events
Organization
The inaugural ceremonies and luncheon for Clinton's inauguration were planned and executed by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, as all inaugurations since 1901 have been. Senator Wendell H. Ford chaired the committee for Clinton's first inauguration. It is estimated that the committee spent $33 million on the inauguration.
Vice Presidential Oath
The ceremony began with the Vice Presidential Oath of Office. Byron White, the Associate Justice, administered the oath to Albert A. Gore Jr. The Oath of Office for the Vice President is not specified in the Constitution, but Gore used the current form of the oath, which is also used by the Senators, Representatives, and other government officers:
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of 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 I will well and faithfully perform the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God."
Presidential Oath
At noon, the oath of office was administered to Clinton by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. The oath was sworn on a King James Bible, which was given to him by his grandmother. Standing beside him were his daughter Chelsea and his wife Hillary, who was holding the Bible opened to Galatians 6:9.
Presidential address
Clinton, the first Democratic president in 12 years (since Jimmy Carter), then delivered his inaugural address. In the 1,598-word speech, Clinton informed the nation of his intentions as a leader. Clinton portrayed change as a positive factor, not something to be feared. He reminded his audience that America has a history of overcoming challenges through bold action and re-creating itself for the better in the process using examples such as the Great Depression and the Civil War. As the first President elected in the post-Cold War era, Clinton stressed the importance of renewal for America, and hinted that he would work to make positive change in America. "The Star Spangled Banner", the American national anthem and "God Bless America", an American patriotic song, were both played following Clinton's address. The full speech can be read in section 4.
Poetry
After Clinton's inaugural address, Maya Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning". The poem, which Angelou wrote specifically for the inauguration, shared common themes to Clinton's inaugural address, including change, responsibility, and the President's and the citizenry's role in establishing economic security. Angelou became the second poet in history to read a poem at a presidential inauguration, as Robert Frost was the first, who recited a poem at John F Kennedy's inauguration in 1961.
Religious elements
Since 1937, the inauguration ceremonies have included one or more prayers. During Clinton's first inauguration, Rev. Billy Graham, who also delivered invocations during the first inauguration on George W Bush, and the Second Inauguration of Bill Clinton, gave an invocation and benediction:
- "Our God and our Father, we thank you for this historic occasion when we inaugurate our new President and Vice-President. We thank you for the moral and spiritual foundations which our forefathers gave us and which are rooted deeply in scripture. Those principles nourished and guided us as a nation in the past, but we cannot say that we are a righteous people. We've sinned against you. We've sown to the wind and are reaping the whirlwind of crime, drug abuse, racism, immorality, and social injustice. We need to repent of our sins and turn by faith to you.
- And now, on this twentieth day of January, 1993, we commit to you President-elect Clinton and Vice-President-elect Gore, who you have permitted to take leadership at this critical time in our nation's history. Help them always to see the office to which they've been elected as a sacred trust from you. We pray that you will bless their wives who will share so much of the responsibility and burdens. Make President-elect Clinton know that he is never really alone but that the eternal God can be his refuge and he can turn to you in every circumstance. Give him the wisdom you've promised to those who ask and the strength that you alone can give. We thank you for his predecessor President Bush and the dedication he gave to this office. Bless him as he and Mrs. Bush continue their dedicated service to our country in other spheres. We commit this inaugural ceremony to you and ask that the memory of this event may always remind us to pray for our leaders. I pray this in the name of the one that's called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. Amen."
Post-ceremony traditions
Departure of the outgoing president
Following the inaugural ceremony on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, the outgoing President and First Lady, George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush, left the Capitol to begin their post-presidential lives. Clinton and Gore escorted their predecessors out of the Capitol after the swearing-in ceremony. George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara then departed on a plane to return to Houston, Texas.
Congressional luncheon
Clinton and Gore were guests of honour at a luncheon held by the United States Congress immediately following the inaugural ceremony. The luncheon was held in Statuary Hall and was attended by the leadership of both houses of Congress as well as guests of the president and vice president. By tradition, outgoing President George H. W. Bush and outgoing Vice President Dan Quayle did not attend.
Inaugural Parade
After the luncheon, Clinton and his wife made their way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, followed by a procession of ceremonial military regiments, citizens' groups, marching bands, and floats. The Clintons traveled in a limousine down Pennsylvania Avenue to the cheers of a large crowd lining the street. The Clintons got out of the limousine to walk the final few blocks to the White House, followed by the Gores a few minutes later.
Inaugural balls
After the parade, the president, vice president and their families attended the 11 official inaugural balls held in their honour. Sites for these balls included the Air and Space Museum and the S. Dillon Ripley Center.
Clinton's Inaugural Address
My fellow citizens :
Today we celebrate the mystery of American renewal.
This ceremony is held in the depth of winter. But, by the words we speak and the faces we show the world, we force the spring. A spring reborn in the world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America.
When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change. Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals; life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Though we march to the music of our time, our mission is timeless. Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American.
On behalf of our nation, I salute my predecessor, President Bush, for his half-century of service to America. And I thank the millions of men and women whose steadfastness and sacrifice triumphed over Depression, Fascism and Communism.
Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the Cold War assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues.
Raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing inequality, and deep divisions among our people.
When George Washington first took the oath I have just sworn to uphold, news traveled slowly across the land by horseback and across the ocean by boat. Now, the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instantaneously to billions around the world.
Communications and commerce are global; investment is mobile; technology is almost magical; and ambition for a better life is now universal. We earn our livelihood in peaceful competition with people all across the earth.
Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the urgent question of our time is whether we can make Change our friend and not our enemy.
This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans who are able to compete and win in it. But when most people are working harder for less; when others cannot work at all; when the cost of health care devastates families and threatens to bankrupt many of our enterprises, great and small; when fear of crime robs law-abiding citizens of their freedom; and when millions of poor children cannot even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead, we have not made Change our friend.
We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps. But we have not done so. Instead, we have drifted, and that drifting has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.
Though our challenges are fearsome, so are our strengths. And Americans have ever been a restless, questing, hopeful people. We must bring to our task today the vision and will of those who came before us.
From our revolution, the Civil War, to the Great Depression to the civil rights movement, our people have always mustered the determination to construct from these crises the pillars of our history.
Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time. Well, my fellow citizens, this is our time. Let us embrace it.
Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.
And so today, we pledge an end to the era of deadlock and drift; a new season of American renewal has begun. To renew America, we must be bold. We must do what no generation has had to do before. We must invest more in our own people, in their jobs, in their future, and at the same time cut our massive debt. And we must do so in a world in which we must compete for every opportunity. It will not be easy; it will require sacrifice. But it can be done, and done fairly, not choosing sacrifice for its own sake, but for our own sake. We must provide for our nation the way a family provides for its children.
Our Founders saw themselves in the light of posterity. We can do no less. Anyone who has ever watched a child's eyes wander into sleep knows what posterity is. Posterity is the world to come; the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility. We must do what America does best: offer more opportunity to all and demand responsibility from all.
It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, from our government or from each other. Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country. To renew America, we must revitalize our democracy.
This beautiful capital, like every capital since the dawn of civilization, is often a place of intrigue and calculation. Powerful people maneuver for position and worry endlessly about who is in and who is out, who is up and who is down, forgetting those people whose toil and sweat sends us here and pays our way.
Americans deserve better, and in this city today, there are people who want to do better. And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve to reform our politics, so that power and privilege no longer shout down the voice of the people. Let us put aside personal advantage so that we can feel the pain and see the promise of America. Let us resolve to make our government a place for what Franklin Roosevelt called "bold, persistent experimentation," a government for our tomorrows, not our yesterdays. Let us give this capital back to the people to whom it belongs.
To renew America, we must meet challenges abroad as well at home. There is no longer division between what is foreign and what is domestic; the world economy, the world environment, the world AIDS crisis, the world arms race; they affect us all.
Today, as an old order passes, the new world is more free but less stable. Communism's collapse has called forth old animosities and new dangers. Clearly America must continue to lead the world we did so much to make.
While America rebuilds at home, we will not shrink from the challenges, nor fail to seize the opportunities, of this new world. Together with our friends and allies, we will work to shape change, lest it engulf us.
When our vital interests are challenged, or the will and conscience of the international community is defied, we will act; with peaceful diplomacy when ever possible, with force when necessary. The brave Americans serving our nation today in the Persian Gulf, in Somalia, and wherever else they stand are testament to our resolve.
But our greatest strength is the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced, and we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands, are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom. Their cause is America's cause.
The American people have summoned the change we celebrate today. You have raised your voices in an unmistakable chorus. You have cast your votes in historic numbers. And you have changed the face of Congress, the presidency and the political process itself. Yes, you, my fellow Americans have forced the spring. Now, we must do the work the season demands.
To that work I now turn, with all the authority of my office. I ask the Congress to join with me. But no president, no Congress, no government, can undertake this mission alone. My fellow Americans, you, too, must play your part in our renewal. I challenge a new generation of young Americans to a season of service; to act on your idealism by helping troubled children, keeping company with those in need, reconnecting our torn communities. There is so much to be done; enough indeed for millions of others who are still young in spirit to give of themselves in service, too.
In serving, we recognize a simple but powerful truth: we need each other. And we must care for one another. Today, we do more than celebrate America: we rededicate ourselves to the very idea of America.
An idea born in revolution and renewed through two centuries of challenge. An idea tempered by the knowledge that, but for fate we, the fortunate and the unfortunate, might have been each other. An idea ennobled by the faith that our nation can summon from its myriad diversity the deepest measure of unity. An idea infused with the conviction that America's long heroic journey must go forever upward.
And so, my fellow Americans, at the edge of the 21st century, let us begin with energy and hope, with faith and discipline, and let us work until our work is done. The scripture says, "And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not."
From this joyful mountaintop of celebration, we hear a call to service in the valley. We have heard the trumpets. We have changed the guard. And now, each in our way, and with God's help, we must answer the call.
Thank you, and God bless you all.
See also
- Presidency of Bill Clinton
- Second inauguration of Bill Clinton
- United States presidential election, 1992
- Bill Clinton Presidential Campaign, 1992
References
External links
- Video of Clinton's First Inaugural Address from C-SPAN (via YouTube with audio)
- New York Times coverage of the 1993 inauguration
- Text of Clinton's First Inaugural Address
- Audio of Clinton's First Inaugural Address
Source of article : Wikipedia
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