Inauguration Day 2009 on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol.

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush lead the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, 2005

The inauguration of the President of the United States occurs upon the commencement of a new term of a President of the United States.

The only inauguration element mandated by the United States Constitutionis that the President make an oath or affirmation before that person can «enter on the Execution» of the office of the presidency. However, over the years, various traditions have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to a day-long event, including parades, speeches, and balls.

This day, now known as Inauguration Day, was on March 4 from 1793 until 1933. Since then, Inauguration Day has occurred on January 20 (the 1933 ratification of the Twentieth Amendment changed the start date of the term).

From the presidency of Andrew Jackson through Jimmy Carter, the primary Inauguration Day ceremony took place on the Capitol’s EastPortico.^[1] Since the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the ceremony has been held at the Capitol’s West Front. The inaugurations of William Howard Taft in 1909 and Reagan in 1985 were moved indoors at the Capitol due to cold weather. The War of 1812 and World War II caused two inaugurations to be held at other locations in Washington, D.C..

Since Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth swore in President John Adams, no Chief Justice has missed an Inauguration Day. When Inauguration Day has fallen on a Sunday, the Chief Justice has administered the oath to the President either on inauguration day itself or on the preceding Saturday privately and the following Monday publicly.

Inaugural ceremonies

Second inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt, 1905

The inauguration for the first U.S. president, George Washington, was held on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City^[2] where he was sworn in by Robert Livingston, the Chancellor of the State of New York.^[3] In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first to be sworn in as president in Washington, D.C., which only officially became the federal capital that year.^[4] Inauguration day was originally on March 4, four months after election day, but this was changed to noon on January 20 by the Twentieth Amendment in 1933.^[4]

The inaugural celebrations usually last ten days, from five days before the inauguration to five days after. However, in 1973, the celebrations marking Richard Nixon’s second inauguration were marred by the passing of former presidentLyndon B. Johnson two days after the inauguration. The celebrations came to an end as Washington began preparations for the state funeral for Johnson. Because of the construction work on the center steps of the East Front, Johnson’s casket was taken up the Senate wing steps of the Capitol when taken into the rotunda to lie in state.^[5] When it was brought out, it came out through the House wing steps of the Capitol.^[5]

Inauguration Day is a Federal holiday observed only by federal employees who work in the District of Columbia;Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, and the cities ofAlexandria and Fairfax in Virginia, and who are regularly scheduled to perform non-overtime work on Inauguration Day. There is no in-lieu-of holiday for employees and students who are not regularly scheduled to work or attend school on Inauguration Day. The primary reason for the holiday is to relieve traffic congestion that occurs during this major event.

Organizers

Inauguration platform under construction for Woodrow Wilson‘s first inauguration in 1913

Since 1901, all inaugural ceremonies at the United States Capitol have been organized by the Congressional Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.^[6]

The U.S. military have participated in Inauguration Day ceremonies sinceGeorge Washington, because the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Since the first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, that participation has been coordinated by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (now called the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee).

The Presidential Inaugural Committee is the legal entity which raises and distributes funds for events other than the ceremony such as the balls and parade.^[7]

Locations

All but one of the inaugural ceremonies were held at the building housing the United States Congress. Washington gave his first address at Federal Hall in New York City and his second address in Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Adams also gave his in Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Jefferson gave both of his addresses at the United States Capitol inWashington, D.C. and all addresses since then have been given there, except for Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s fourth address, which he gave at the White House. Depending on the weather, the ceremonial swearing-in is held outside or inside of the Capitol building.

Dates

Invitation to the January 20, 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama

Inaugural ceremonies have been held on five different calendar dates in the year: April 30, March 4, March 5, January 20, January 21. Washington gave his first address on April 30, 1789 and his second one on March 4, 1793, which was the commencement date for presidential terms. This March 4 date was changed to January 20 by the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Sunday exceptions

From the years 1793 to 1933, the addresses were given on March 4 with only four exceptions. Because March 4 fell on a Sunday in each of their respective inaugural years, Monroe, Taylor, Hayes and Wilson each gave an address on Monday, March 5. Since 1937, addresses have been given on January 20 with only two exceptions (other than following a premature end to the Presidential term). PresidentsEisenhower and Reagan each gave an address on Monday, January 21. The next inauguration day that will fall on a Sunday is January 20, 2013.

Attendees

In addition to the public, the attendees at the ceremony generally include Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, high-ranking military officers, former presidents, living Medal of Honor recipients, and other dignitaries.

The outgoing president attends the inauguration, barring those cases where succession was due to his death. There have been four exceptions:

• John Adams did not attend Jefferson’s inauguration.
• John Quincy Adams did not attend Jackson’s inauguration.
• Andrew Johnson did not attend Grant’s inauguration.
• Woodrow Wilson did not attend Harding’s inauguration (but did ride to the Capitol with him).

Gerald Ford had no inauguration, but rather a swearing-in ceremony. Richard Nixon left Washington, D.C. before his resignation took effect and did not attend the ceremony.

Ceremony elements

Oaths of office

Clinton takes the oath of office during his1993 presidential inauguration on January 20, 1993.	First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993) Video of the First inauguration of Bill Clinton. First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993) audio only version
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Since 1937, the vice president-elect takes the oath of office at the same ceremony as the president-elect; before then, the vice presidential oath was administered in the Senate. The Vice-President-elect takes the oath first. Unlike the president, the United States Constitution does not specify an oath of office for the Vice President. Several variants of the oath have been used since 1789; the current form, which is also recited bySenators, Representatives and other government officers, has been used since 1884:

Immediately after the vice-presidential oath, the United States Marine Band will perform four ruffles and flourishes, followed by Hail, Columbia.

At noon, the new presidential term begins. At about that time, the president-elect takes the oath of office, traditionally administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, using the form mandated in Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution:

According to Washington Irving’s biography of George Washington, in the first inauguration President Washington added the words «so help me God» after accepting the oath. This is confirmed by Donald R. Kennon, Chief Historian, United States Capitol Historical Society.^[9] However, the only contemporaneous source that fully reproduced Washington’s oath completely lacks the religious codicil.^[10] The first newspaper report that actually described the exact words used in an oath of office, Chester Arthur’s in 1881,^[11] repeated the «query-response» method where the words, «so help me God» were a personal prayer, not a part of the constitutional oath. The time of adoption of the current procedure, where both the Chief Justice and the President speak the oath, is unknown.

There is no requirement that any book, or in particular a book of sacred text, be used to administer the oath, and none is mentioned in the Constitution. With the use of the Bible being customary for oaths, at least in the 18th and 19th centuries, a Bible was generally used. Several Presidents were sworn in on the George Washington Inaugural Bible.^{[citation needed]} On some occasions, the particular passage to which it was opened has been recorded, as below. Only one president, Franklin Pierce, is definitely known to have affirmed rather than sworn; there are conflicting reports concerning Herbert Hoover, but the use of a Bible is recorded and suggests that he swore in the usual fashion. Barack Obama used the Lincoln Bible for his swearing in.^[12]

	Four ruffles and flourishes played before «Hail to the Chief»
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The presidential oath has been administered by 15 Chief Justices, one Associate Justice, and two New York state judges.

Immediately after the presidential oath, the United States Marine Band will perform four ruffles and flourishes, followed by Hail to the Chief, while simultaneously, a 21-gun salute is fired using artillery pieces from the Presidential Guns Salute Battery, 3d United States Infantry Regiment «The Old Guard» located in Taft Park, north of the Capitol. The actual gun salute begins with the first ruffle and flourish, and ‘run long’ (i.e. the salute concludes after Hail to the Chief has ended).

Inaugural address

	«Inaugural address of Barack Obama» The most recent inaugural address, in full, made by Barack Obama after beingsworn in as the forty-fourth President of the United States on January 20, 2009. (Duration: 18 minutes, 58 seconds)
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Newly sworn-in presidents usually give a speech referred to as an inaugural address. Until William McKinley‘s first inaugural address in 1897, the president elect traditionally gave the address before taking the oath; McKinley requested the change so that he could reiterate the words of the oath at the close of his address. Four presidents gave no address:Tyler, Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Arthur. In each of these cases, the incoming President was succeeding a President who had died in office, and was not elected as president in the next election. Gerald Ford addressed the nation via broadcast after taking the oath, but he characterized his speech as «Not an inaugural address, not a fireside chat, not a campaign speech—just a little straight talk among friends.»^[13] Fifty-four addresses have been given by thirty-seven presidents. George Washington‘s second address was the shortest (135 words), and William Henry Harrison delivered the longest (8,495 words).

Religious elements

Since 1937, the ceremony has incorporated two or more prayers. Musical works and poetry readings have been included on occasion.^[14]

Other elements

Congressional luncheon

Since 1953, the president and vice president have been guests of honor at a luncheon held by the United States Congress immediately following the inaugural ceremony. Other than at State of the Union addresses, the Red Mass, andstate funerals, it is the only time the president, vice president, and both houses of Congress congregate in the same location.

Parade

The Inaugural Parade onPennsylvania Avenue passes the Presidential reviewing stand in front of the White House in January 2005.

Since Thomas Jefferson‘s second inaugural on March 4, 1805, it has become tradition for the president to parade down Pennsylvania Avenuefrom the Capitol to the White House. The only president not to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue was Ronald Reagan in his second inauguration in 1985, due to freezing cold temperatures made dangerous by high winds. Reagan paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue during his first inauguration, in 1981, amidst the celebrations that broke out across the country because of news just minutes into his term that the 52 American hostages held in Iran for the previous 444 days had been released. In 1977, Jimmy Carter walked from the Capitol to the White House, although for security reasons, subsequent presidents have only walked a part of the way.

Prayer service

A tradition of a national prayer service, usually the day after the inauguration, dates back to George Washington and since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the prayer service has been held at the Washington National Cathedral.^[15]

Security

The security for the inaugural celebrations is a complex matter, involving not only the Secret Service, but other Federal law enforcement agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Office of Federal Protective Service (ICE-FPS), all five branches of the Armed Forces, the Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Federal law enforcement agencies also sometimes request assistance from various other state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. One issue is the ability of protesters to engage in free speech while providing protection for the government officials at risk for assassination or bodily harm.

Presidential Medals

Beginning with George Washington, there has been a traditional association with Inauguration festivities and the production of a presidential medal. With the District of Columbia attracting thousands of attendees for inauguration, presidential medals were an inexpensive souvenir for the tourists to remember the occasion. However, the once-simple trinket turned into an official presidential election memento. In 1901, the first Inauguration Committee on Medals and Badges was established as part of the official Inauguration Committee for the re-election of President McKinley. The Committee saw official medals as a way to raise funding for the festivities. Gold medals were to be produced as gifts for the President, Vice President, and Committee Chair; Silver medals were to be created and distributed among Inauguration Committee members; and bronze medals would be for sale for public consumption. McKinley’s medal was simple with his portrait on one side and writing on the other side.^[16]

Unlike his predecessor, when Theodore Roosevelt took his oath of office in 1905, he found the previous presidential medal unacceptable. As an art lover and admirer of the ancient Greek high-relief coins, Roosevelt wanted more than a simple medal—he wanted a work of art. To achieve this goal, the President hired Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a famous American sculptor, to design and create his inauguration medal. Saint-Gaudens’s obsession of perfection resulted in a forestalled release and the medals were distributed after the actual inauguration. However, President Roosevelt was very pleased with the result.

Saint-Gaudens’ practice of creating a portrait sculpture of the newly elected president is still used today in presidential medal creation. After sitting for the sculptor, the clay sketch is turned into a life mask and plaster model. Finishing touches are added and an epoxy cast is created, which is used to produce the die cuts. The die cuts are then used to strike the President’s portrait on each medal. The most recent Presidential Inauguration Medal released was for President Obama in 2009.^[17]

The Smithsonian Institute and The George Washington University hold the two most complete collections of presidential medals in the United States.

List of inaugural ceremonies

This is a list of the 56 planned inaugural ceremonies. For a list of the 72 instances when the oath of office has been taken, see Oath of office of the President of the United States.

Date	President	Location	Administered by[18]	Document Sworn On	Inaugural Addresses
April 30, 1789	George Washington	Balcony ofFederal Hall New York,New York	Robert Livingston Chancellor of New York	Washington Bible opened at random to Genesis 49:13 due to haste.[19]	George Washington’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1793	George Washington	SenateChamber Congress Hall Philadelphia,Pennsylvania	William Cushing Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States	Unknown[20]	George Washington’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1797	John Adams	HouseChamber Congress Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Oliver Ellsworth	Unknown[20]	John Adams’ Inaugural Address
March 4, 1801	Thomas Jefferson	Senate Chamber,U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1805	Thomas Jefferson	Senate Chamber, U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	Thomas Jefferson’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1809	James Madison	HouseChamber, U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	James Madison’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1813	James Madison	House Chamber, U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	James Madison’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1817	James Monroe	In front of Old Brick Capitol (1st & A Sts., N.E.) now site of the Supreme Court Building	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	James Monroe’s First Inaugural Address
March 5, 1821	James Monroe	House Chamber, U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	James Monroe’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1825	John Q. Adams	House Chamber, U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	A book of US law[21]	John Quincy Adams’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1829	Andrew Jackson	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	Andrew Jackson’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1833	Andrew Jackson	House Chamber, U.S. Capitol	John Marshall	Unknown[20]	Andrew Jackson’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1837	Martin Van Buren	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Roger B. Taney	Bible open to Proverbs 3:17[20][22]	Martin Van Buren’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1841	William H. Harrison	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Roger B. Taney	Unknown[20]	William Henry Harrison’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1845	James K. Polk	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Roger B. Taney	Unknown	James K. Polk’s Inaugural Address
March 5, 1849	Zachary Taylor	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Roger B. Taney	Unknown	Zachary Taylor’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1853	Franklin Pierce	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Roger B. Taney	Law book[20][23]	Franklin Pierce’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1857	James Buchanan	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Roger B. Taney	Unknown[20]	James Buchanan’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1861	Abraham Lincoln	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Roger B. Taney	Lincoln Bible opened at random[20]	Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1865	Abraham Lincoln	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Salmon P. Chase	Bible open to Matthew 7:1, Matthew 18:7, Revelation 16:7[24]	Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1869	Ulysses S. Grant	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Salmon P. Chase	Unknown[20]	Ulysses S. Grant’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1873	Ulysses S. Grant	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Salmon P. Chase	Bible open to Isaiah 11:1-3[25]	Ulysses S. Grant’s Second Inaugural Address
March 5, 1877	Rutherford B. Hayes	East Portico, U.S. Capitol (publicly)	Morrison R. Waite	Bible open to Psalms 118:11-13[25]	Rutherford B. Hayes’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1881	James A. Garfield	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Morrison R. Waite	Bible open to Proverbs 21:1[25][26]	James A. Garfield’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1885	Grover Cleveland	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Morrison R. Waite	Bible opened at random by Chief Justice to Psalms 112:4-10[27]	Grover Cleveland’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1889	Benjamin Harrison	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Melville W. Fuller	Bible open to Psalms 121:1-6[25]	Benjamin Harrison’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1893	Grover Cleveland	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Melville W. Fuller	Bible open to Psalms 91:12-16	Grover Cleveland’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1897	William McKinley	In front of Original Senate Wing U.S. Capitol	Melville W. Fuller	Bible open to 2 Chronicles 1:10[28]	William McKinley’s First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1901	William McKinley	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Melville W. Fuller	Bible open to Proverbs 16[25]	William McKinley’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1905	Theodore Roosevelt	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Melville W. Fuller	Bible open to James 1:22-23[25]	Theodore Roosevelt’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1909	William H. Taft	Senate Chamber, U.S. Capitol	Melville W. Fuller	Bible open to 1 Kings 3:9-11[25]	William Howard Taft’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1913	Woodrow Wilson	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Edward D. White	Bible open to Psalm 119[25]	Woodrow Wilsons First Inaugural Address
March 5, 1917	Woodrow Wilson	East Portico, U.S. Capitol (publicly)	Edward D. White	Bible open to Psalm 46[29]	Woodrow Wilson’s Second Inaugural Address
March 4, 1921	Warren G. Harding	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Edward D. White	Washington Bible open to Micah 6:8[25]	Warren Harding’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1925	Calvin Coolidge	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	William H. Taft	Bible open to John 1[20]	Calvin Coolidge’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1929	Herbert C. Hoover	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	William H. Taft	Bible open to Proverbs 29:18[25]	Herbert Hoover’s Inaugural Address
March 4, 1933	Franklin D. Roosevelt	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Charles E. Hughes	Bible open to1 Corinthians 13:13[30]	Franklin Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address
January 20, 1937	Franklin D. Roosevelt	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Charles E. Hughes	Bible open to I Corinthians 13	Franklin Roosevelt’s Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 1941	Franklin D. Roosevelt	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Charles E. Hughes	Bible open to I Corinthians 13	Franklin Roosevelt’s Third Inaugural Address
January 20, 1945	Franklin D. Roosevelt	South Portico, White House	Harlan F. Stone	Bible open to I Corinthians 13	Franklin Roosevelt’s Fourth Inaugural Address
January 20, 1949	Harry S. Truman	East Portico, U.S. Capitol First inauguration to be televised[31]	Frederick M. Vinson	Bible open to Exodus 20:3-17 and Matthew 5:3-11[32]	Harry S. Truman’s Inaugural Address
January 20, 1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Frederick M. Vinson	Washington Bible open to Psalm 127:1 and a West Point Bible open to II Chronicles 7:14[33]	Dwight Eisenhower’s First Inaugural Address
January 21, 1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower	East Portico, U.S. Capitol (publicly)	Earl Warren	West Point Bible open to Psalm 33:12[34][35]	Dwight Eisenhower’s Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961	John F. Kennedy	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Earl Warren	Closed family Bible[36][37]	John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
January 20, 1965	Lyndon B. Johnson	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Earl Warren	Closed family Bible[20][38]	Lyndon Johnson’s Inaugural Address
January 20, 1969	Richard M. Nixon	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Earl Warren	Bible open to Isaiah 2:4[30]	Richard Nixon’s First Inaugural Address
January 20, 1973	Richard M. Nixon	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Warren E. Burger	Bible open to Isaiah 2:4[39]	Richard Nixon’s Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 1977	Jimmy Carter	East Portico, U.S. Capitol	Warren E. Burger	Bible open to Micah 6:8[40][41]	Jimmy Carter’s Inaugural Address
January 20, 1981	Ronald Reagan	West Front, U.S. Capitol	Warren E. Burger	Bible open to II Chronicles 7:14[20]	Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address
January 21, 1985	Ronald Reagan	Rotunda, U.S. Capitol (public)	Warren E. Burger	Bible open to II Chronicles 7:14[20]	Ronald Reagan’s Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 1989	George H. W. Bush	West Front, U.S. Capitol	William Rehnquist	Washington Bible opened at random in the center and a family Bible on top opened to Matthew 5[20]	George H. W. Bush’s Inaugural Address
January 20, 1993	Bill Clinton	West Front, U.S. Capitol	William Rehnquist	Bible open to Galatians 6:8[20]	Bill Clinton’s First Inaugural Address
January 20, 1997	Bill Clinton	West Front, U.S. Capitol	William Rehnquist	Bible open to Isaiah 58:12[42]	Bill Clinton’s Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 2001	George W. Bush	West Front, U.S. Capitol	William Rehnquist	Closed family Bible[20][43]	George W. Bush’s First Inaugural Address
January 20, 2005	George W. Bush	West Front, U.S. Capitol	William Rehnquist	Open family bible; same one used in 1989 and 2001[20]	George W. Bush’s Second Inaugural Address
January 20, 2009	Barack Obama[44]	West Front, U.S. Capitol	John G. Roberts	Closed Lincoln Bible[45]	Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address
Date	President	Location	Administered by[18]	Document Sworn On[20]	Inaugural Addresses (Texts from Wikisource)

[edit]See also

• United States presidential inaugural addresses
• Andrew Jackson 1829 presidential inauguration
• January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protest
• U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

[edit]References

Further reading

• Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. Bartleby.com. 1989. ISBN 1-58734-025-9.

External links

Wikisource has several original texts related to: U.S. Presidency Inaugural Addresses

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: United States presidential inaugurations

• senate.gov chronology
• Full texts of all U.S. Inaugural Addresses at Bartleby.com
• Inaugural Speeches, 23 videos (access only in the US)
• Presidential Oaths of Office (Library of Congress)
• Bibles and Scripture Passages Used by Presidents in Taking the Oath of Office, Library of Congress
• Inauguration videos from Franklin D. Roosevelt – George W. Bush atYouTube from CSPAN
• Federal Hall, NYC – Site of the first inauguration in 1789
• Inaugural Celebrations at the Nation’s Capital, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University. Includes inauguration photographs and history.

Origen e historia de los discursos presidenciales “Estado de la Nación”

El discurso conocido en Inglés como State of the Union es una obligación constitucional de los presidentes de Estados UnidosPor Bridget HunterWashington.

El presidente Obama se dirijió a los líderes del gobierno federal de Estados Unidos anoche, cumpliendo con una obligación constitucional así como siguiendo una tradición de larga data de los presidentes estadounidenses.La Constitución de Estados Unidos exige al presidente que informe al Congreso “ocasionalmente” sobre el “Estado de la Unión”. Este requisito constitucional ha evolucionado hasta llegar a ser el discurso anual del presidente sobre el Estado de la Unión, que ahora tiene varios propósitos: El discurso informa sobre la condición de Estados Unidos tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, recomienda una agenda legislativa para el año que comienza y ofrece al presidente la oportunidad de comunicar su visión para el país.

En su segundo discurso sobre el Estado de la Unión, Obama se centró principalmente en sus prioridades a nivel nacional, pero también describió las metas de su administración en lo que se refiere a política exterior. El éxito en lograr sus metas dependerá en gran parte de cuán hábilmente pueda trabajar Obama con el Congreso y cuán eficazmente pueda superar la división partidista entre republicanos y demócratas, algo de lo que el presidente está plenamente consciente. En el Congreso 112, el control de la Cámara de Representantes ha pasado al partido Republicano, aunque el partido Demócrata aún tiene la mayoría de los escaños en el Senado.

Como los hizo en 2010, el presidente instó a la unidad de los estadounidenses y al cambio en el tono de la política de Estados Unidos, a un enfoque bipartidista para gobernar, y a centrarse en servir al público en lugar de hacer avanzar las ambiciones políticas.

HISTORIA DEL DISCURSO

La tradición del discurso del Estado de la Unión data de 1790 cuando George Washington, el primer presidente de Estados Unidos pronunció su “Mensaje anual” ante el Congreso en la Ciudad de Nueva York, que entonces era la capital provisional de Estados Unidos. Su sucesor, John Adams, continuó con la tradición.

Sin embargo el tercer presidente del país, Thomas Jefferson, consideraba que tales y elaborados eventos no eran adecuados para la nueva república democrática. Preparó un mensaje por escrito en lugar de comparecer en persona. La influencia de Jefferson fue tal que durante más de un siglo después de él, los presidentes posteriores entregaban mensajes anuales por escrito al Congreso.

En las primeras décadas de la república, la mayoría de estos comunicados eran listas de las propuestas de ley que el presidente deseaba que el Congreso aprobara, reflexiones sobre el tenor de los tiempos y los problemas prácticos que surgían durante el desarrollo del joven país de Estados Unidos. Los comentarios también trataban de la situación internacional y el lugar de Estados Unidos en el mundo.

Durante la crisis que, más que ninguna otra, amenazó la propia existencia de la Unión de Estados Unidos, la Guerra Civil, Abraham Lincoln escribió el que probablemente sea el más elocuente y memorable de todos los mensajes presidenciales que se hayan enviado al Congreso.

“Al liberar a los esclavos, aseguramos la libertad de los libres — igualmente honorable en lo que otorgamos y lo que preservamos”, escribió Lincoln en 1862.

En 1913, Woodrow Wilson revivió la práctica de pronunciar el mensaje anual en persona. Esta decisión se produjo en el momento adecuado pues Estados Unidos estaba en vísperas de una revolución de los medios de comunicación de masas que pronto introduciría a los presidentes en los hogares de los estadounidenses, primero por medio de la radio, y después por la televisión.

Con la elección de Franklin Delano Roosevelt en 1932, los estadounidenses se acostumbraron a escuchar a sus presidentes en la radio así como a verlos y escucharlos en los informativos de noticias que se mostraban en los cines.

En 1945, el mensaje anual se hizo conocido formalmente como el discurso del Estado de la Unión. También se convirtió en algo habitual en la televisión, así como en la radio, al haber aumentado grandemente las ventas de aparatos de televisión en la década de 1950. Al reconocer el poder de la televisión para hacer llegar las palabras del presidente a una gran audiencia, el presidente Lyndon Johnson cambió la hora del discurso de su tradicional mediodía hasta la noche, cuando más televidentes podían verlo.

La tradición de la respuesta de la oposición comenzó en 1966 cuando dos congresistas republicanos, entre los que estaba el futuro presidente Gerald Ford, pronunciaron una respuesta republicana que fue televisada luego del discurso del Estado de la Unión pronunciado por el presidente Johnson.