The Father of Inaugurations: Washington's Eight-Day Entry Endures as Most Memorable

DiBacco, Thomas V., The Washington Times (Washington, DC)

Say what you will about the magnificence of recent inaugurations, the first one still stands as the most impressive - even though the money spent was modest by contemporary standards.

That was the inauguration of George Washington, the Virginia general and gentleman who left his Mount Vernon home on April 16, 1789, and began a historic eight-day journey to New York City, which had been chosen as the first capital of the United States of America. From Alexandria - Washington's hometown - to Baltimore, Wilmington, Del., Philadelphia and numerous stops in-between, Washington's horse-drawn carriage was met with parades, big banquets, fireworks, speeches, gun salutes and the pealing of bells. No town wanted to be upstaged in celebratory antics by the previous one - the closer to the Big Apple George Washington got, the greater the big show

In Newark, N.J., for instance, city folk got Washington to ride on a white horse (with a highly ornamented saddle) as a chorus of onlookers sang to him and children scattered flowers in his path. Finally, as …

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: The Father of Inaugurations: Washington's Eight-Day Entry Endures as Most Memorable. Contributors: DiBacco, Thomas V. - Author. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: January 20, 1997. Page number: 8. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 1997 Gale Group.

This material is protected by copyright and, with the exception of fair use, may not be further copied, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means.