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Date March 4, 1877; 140 years ago (1877-03-04) Location Washington, D.C.
U.S. Capitol Participants President of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes
Assuming office
Chief Justice of the United
States, Morrison R. Waite
Administering oath
Vice President of the United States
William A. Wheeler
Assuming office
President pro tempore of the United States Senate, Thomas W. Ferry
Administering oath | ||
The inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes as the 19th President of the United States took place on March 5, 1877. The inauguration marked the commencement of the four-year term of Rutherford B. Hayes as President and William A. Wheeler as Vice President.
Because March 4, 1877 was a Sunday, Hayes took the oath of office in the Red Room of the White House on March 3, becoming the first president to take the oath of office in the White House. This ceremony was held in secret, because the previous year's election had been so bitterly divisive that outgoing President Grant feared an insurrection by Samuel J. Tilden's supporters and wanted to ensure that any Democratic Party attempt to hijack the public inauguration ceremony would fail. Having been sworn in already in private, Hayes took the oath again publicly on March 5, 1877 on the East Portico of the United States Capitol, and served until March 4, 1881. Hayes' best known quotation, "He serves his party best who serves his country best," is from his 1877 Inaugural Address.