The Inauguration of President Calvin Coolidge in 1925

March 04, 1925

On this date, the first national radio broadcast of an inauguration occurred when President Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office on the East Front of the Capitol. Elected Vice President in 1920, Coolidge first took the oath of office when President Warren Harding died suddenly in 1923. After winning election to a full term in 1924, Coolidge followed his predecessor’s example and insisted upon a modest inaugural ceremony. “I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people,” Coolidge remarked. “The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government.” The simple inaugural proceedings did, however, make headlines. The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company installed a series of loud speakers and microphones on the inaugural platform. The new equipment, operated from a room located in the basement of the Capitol, enabled people in attendance to better hear the proceedings and allowed those not in the nation’s capital to “listen in” on the day’s events. For the occasion, a radio announcers’ booth was constructed on the inaugural platform. More than 20 radio stations broadcast the proceedings to an estimated 23 million listeners, including many children whose school auditoriums had been fitted with electronic equipment to facilitate the broadcast of the historic event. People who tuned in heard detailed descriptions of the Capitol grounds and the history of past inaugurations. The broadcast also made mention of many in attendance, from the new Speaker of the House for the 69th Congress (1925–1927), Nicholas Longworth of Ohio, to former Congresswomen Mae Nolan of California and Alice Robertson of Oklahoma.

Related Highlight Subjects

• Address (43)
• Artifacts in the House Collection (113)
• Coolidge, Calvin (4)
• Harding, Warren G. (2)
• Joint Sessions and Meetings (45)
• Longworth, Nicholas (10)
• Nolan, Mae Ella (3)
• Radio (8)
• Robertson, Alice (4)
• Inaugurations (5)

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