| Second presidential inauguration of Abraham Lincoln | |
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Lincoln taking the oath at his second inauguration. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administering oath of office. |
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| Participants | Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson |
| Location | Washington, D.C. the Capitol's east front |
| Date | March 4, 1865 |
The second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th President of the United States took place on March 4, 1865. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second term of Abraham Lincoln as President and only term of Andrew Johnson as Vice President. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administered the Oath of office.[1]
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Before the president was sworn in, Vice President-elect Andrew Johnson took his oath. At the ceremony Johnson, who had been drinking to offset the pain of typhoid fever (as he explained later), gave a rambling address in the Senate chamber and appeared obviously intoxicated.[2] Historian Eric Foner has labeled the inauguration "a disaster for Johnson" and his speech "an unfortunate prelude to Lincoln's memorable second inaugural address." At the time Johnson was ridiculed in the press as a "drunken clown."[3]
While Lincoln did not believe his address was particularly well received at the time, it is now generally considered one of the finest speeches in American history. Historian Mark Noll has deemed it "among the handful of semisacred texts by which Americans conceive their place in the world."[4]
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