George Washington is inaugurated as the first President on this day in 1789. Shown here, his handwritten inauguration speech.
Wondering why Inauguration Day now falls on January 20th? Find out from the FDR Library.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the Presidential oath on a second floor balcony of Federal Hall. Below, an enthusiastic crowd assembled in the streets. The President and members of Congress then retired to the Senate Chamber, where Washington delivered his first inaugural address.
Keenly aware of the momentousness of the occasion, Washington accepted the Presidency and spoke of his determination to make the American experiment a success. He humbly noted the power of the nation’s call for him to serve as President and the shared responsibility of the President and Congress to preserve “the sacred fire of liberty” and a republican form of government. You can read the transcript of this speech.
(via congressarchives)
Source: usnatarchives
FDR at The First Presidential Library Dedication
The first Presidential Library and Museum was conceived and built under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s direction from 1939 to 1940 in Hyde Park, NY. The official FDR Library dedication was a small, quiet affair, with close friends and family attending the ceremony.
-History of the FDR Library
The Yalta Conference Cloak
The photos of the Big Three at the Yalta Conference are well-known, but have you ever looked closely at what FDR was wearing?
In contrast to the double-breasted coats worn by Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt wore a distinctive wool and velvet cloak during his trip to the Crimea, Ukraine, in February 1945.
The garment is a U.S. Navy regulation officer’s boatcloak. President Roosevelt’s was made at the Naval Clothing Depot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City in August 1942. It is a standard officer’s boatcloak, ordered and unaltered for FDR’s use.
The cloak is designed to be worn during movement by a boat to protect the wearer from the cold and his clothing from the effects of spray. It opens at the front and is fitted with two frogs (knotted lengths of braided cord), which engage to secure the cloak closed. The relative ease with which such a cloak could be put on and taken off made wearing it an attractive alternative to a more conventional garment—especially for someone whose ease of movement was hampered by the effects of polio.
Roosevelt wore similar boatcloaks during other trips he made during his Presidency. The image of FDR in these cloaks is one of the most enduring of the war years.
-from the FDR Library
Rally, 1972
Richard Nixon speaking at a campaign event at Nassau County Coliseum in New York. 10/23/1972.
-from the Nixon Library
Source: research.archives.gov
This morning, Mayor Bloomberg delivered remarks at the dedication ceremony for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island.
“Today, we dedicate this park to New York’s single greatest contribution to the preservation of our republic, and the peace of our world, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It will stand forever as a monument to the man who brought us through the Great Depression and brought us victory over great evil.”
Read more at http://on.nyc.gov/RBqQID
Photo Credit: @nycmayorsoffice Instagram
October 15, 1964. LBJ campaigns with RFK across New York. The former Attorney General is campaigning to be elected Senator from New York against Kenneth Keating.
According to his memoir The Vantage Point, LBJ encouraged and assisted Kennedy both out of loyalty to JFK and because he though Bobby would make a good Senator. Adlai Stevenson had also decided to try for the nomination, but when LBJ threw his weight behind RFK, Stevenson dropped out.
LBJ Library photos 415-181-WH64 and 415-139-WH64. Public domain.
The World Trade Center seen beyond the Brooklyn Bridge Across the East River
In remembrance of September 11, 2001, a photo of the World Trade Center one year after it opened. April, 1974.
The following 9/11 resources have been carefully selected by the George W. Bush Library:
The National September 11th Memorial Museum
September 11, 2001, Documentary Project
Source: research.archives.gov
102 Floors, 6,500 Windows, 73 Elevators, 410 Days to Complete - The Glorious Empire State Building
President Hoover dedicated the Empire State Building on this day, May 1, 1931.
Herbert Hoover’s dedication was delivered from the White House where a ceremonial switch had been set up. The President touched the switch and an operator in New York was cued to turn on the Empire State Building lights.
Photographer Lewis Hine documented incredible aerial scenes of workers constructing the Empire State Building. Here’s one of Hine’s photos of a workman on the framework of the skyscraper.
Source: research.archives.gov
FDR Opens the World Fair on Long Island, New York
On April 30, 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to appear on television by addressing the opening ceremonies of New York World’s Fair.
Listen to his remarks - from The Presidential Timeline
Source: presidentialtimeline.org
On this day in 1789, George Washington delivered the first Presidential Inaugural Address.
George Washington’s first inauguration took place at Federal Hall in New York City, where the first Congress was assembled. Keenly aware of the momentousness of the occasion, Washington accepted the Presidency and spoke of his determination to make the American experiment a success. All eight pages of the speech delivered to Congress are in George Washington’s own clear and distinctive handwriting.
Here are images of the opening of George Washington’s first inaugural address, April 30, 1789; and a portrait of President Washington hanging in the Oval Office of the White House, 11/5/1946. ID #199469
Source: archives.gov
