Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes as the 19th president of the United States happened privately on March 3, 1877, and publicly on March 5, 1877. It was the start of the only four-year term of Rutherford B. Hayes as president and William A. Wheeler as vice president.^[1]

Two inaugural ceremonies happened because March 4, 1877, was on a Sunday. The first ceremony was done at the White House, and the second ceremony was done at the East Front of the United States Capitol Building. The event was the 23rd presidential inauguration and the first ceremony was the first time a president was sworn in at the White House.^[2]

The first ceremony was done secretly and with a lot of security because of how controversial the presidential election was in 1876. It was so controversial that Ulysses S. Grant, the outgoing president, was afraid a revolt would happen by those who supported Samuel J. Tilden, Hayes's opponent in the election. However, Grant assured that any attempts to take over the ceremony would not succeed.

The second ceremony happened two days later, this time in public. The quote, "He serves his party best who serves his country best," comes from his inaugural address. Hayes also was the first president to not mention God in his inaugural address.^[3]

Wikisource has original writing related to this article:

Rutherford B. Hayes's Inaugural Address

• Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes at the Library of Congress
• Our Campaigns.com coverage of the Hayes Inauguration
• Text of Hayes' Inaugural Address