The Fifty-Seventh Presidential Inauguration on January 21, 2013 presented by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Swearing-In Ceremony for President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Thirty-Seventh Inaugural Ceremonies, March 4, 1933

 

Inaugural Address

‘I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels.’

Read the address
(Words: 1880)

Presidential Oath of Office

Administered to Franklin D. Roosevelt by the Honorable Charles E. Hughes, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Library of Congress

  • Bible Used: Roosevelt family Bible, the same one used when Roosevelt was sworn in as Governor of New York in 1928 and 1930, open to I Corinthians 13
  • Attire: Morning coat and striped trousers

Vice Presidential Oath of Office

Administered to John Nance Garner.

Library of Congress

  • Location

    East Portico,
    U.S. Capitol
    Washington, DC

    Weather

    Mostly cloudy with a few peaks of sun. Estimated noon temperature of 42°F.

  • Facts, Firsts & Precedents

    • Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt begin tradition of morning worship service by attending St. John's Church.

    • FDR used the same Bible for all four of his Presidential Inaugurations. It is the oldest Inaugural Bible, printed in 1686, and the only one written in a modern foreign language: Dutch.

    • The Roosevelts had planned to host a buffet luncheon at the White House for several hundred guests, but Mrs. Roosevelt cancelled the luncheon at the last minute out of respect for Senator Thomas J. Walsh, who died several days before. Senator Walsh had been chosen by Roosevelt to serve as attorney general.

  • Inaugural Committee