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Presidential Inaugurations: Invitations and Tickets in the U.S. Senate Collection

Image of the front of the 1933 Inauguration Ticket

The inauguration of the president and vice president of the United States is a cyclical, regularly scheduled event held every four years. The ceremony is a tradition which dates back to George Washington, and represents the peaceful transfer of power from one individual to another.

The day begins with the outgoing president and a delegation of congressional leaders escorting the president-elect from the White House to the Capitol. Members of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies then escort the president-elect to the inaugural platform on the West front of the Capitol, where the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States administers the oath of office in front of thousands of spectators. Following the swearing in ceremony, the president and invited guests have lunch in the Capitol's Statuary Hall. The president then travels back to the White House leading a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. The day concludes with inaugural balls at various locations around the city.

All of the inaugural activities held at the United States Capitol—including the official swearing-in ceremony and the luncheon which follows—are a congressional responsibility carried out by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). The committee is also responsible for the printing and distribution of the invitations and tickets required to attend the event at the Capitol. Fifty-four presidential inaugural ceremonies have been held at more than ten different locations. However, more presidents have taken the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol than anywhere else.

In addition to the invitations and tickets seen here, the Office of Senate Curator's inaugural collection also includes inaugural programs, inaugural luncheon menus and luncheon programs, floor plans and seating charts, badges, ribbons, press credentials, historic engravings, and photographs.

Introduction
1925 Coolidge-Dawes
1929 Hoover-Curtis
1933 Roosevelt-Garner
1937 Roosevelt-Garner
1941 Roosevelt-Wallace
1945 Roosevelt-Truman
1949 Truman-Barkley
1953 Eisenhower-Nixon
1957 Eisenhower-Nixon
1961 Kennedy-Johnson
1965 Johnson-Humphrey
1969 Nixon-Agnew
1977 Carter-Mondale
1985 Reagan-Bush
1989 Bush-Quayle
1993 Clinton-Gore
1997 Clinton-Gore
2001 Bush-Cheney
2005 Bush-Cheney
2009 Obama-Biden