Second inauguration of Richard Nixon
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The second
inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
of
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
as
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
was held on Saturday, January 20, 1973, at the East Portico of the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
This was the 47th
inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
and marked the commencement of the second and final term of both Richard Nixon as president and
Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (; November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second of two vice presidents to resign, the first being John C. ...
as
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
. Both Agnew and Nixon resigned within two years of this term. In December 1973,
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
replaced Agnew as vice president and in the following year, replaced Nixon as president. This made Nixon the first and, as of 2025, only person to be inaugurated four times as both president and vice president. Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the William Mitchell College o ...
administered both the presidential and vice presidential oaths of office. During the ceremony, ''Look With Pride On Our Flag'', a song dedicated to President Nixon and composed by Hank Fort, was played. Weather conditions for 12 noon at Washington National Airport, located 3.1 miles (4.8 km) from the ceremony, were: 42 °F (6 °C), wind 16 mph (25 km/h), and cloudy.


Inaugural festivities

The inaugural theme was "The Spirit of '76". The 1973 Inaugural Committee's chairman was J. Willard Marriott. Other officers of the committee and its working groups included
Jeb Magruder Jeb Stuart Magruder (November 5, 1934May 11, 2014) was an American businessman and high-level political operative in the Republican Party who served time in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. He served President Richard Nixon in vari ...
, Mark Evans, Ken Rietz, Ed Cowling, Ann Dore, Pam Powell.
H. R. Haldeman Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Water ...
was not officially part of the committee but was involved in many of the committee's important decisions. When former president
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
, whom Nixon succeeded four years earlier, died two days after the inauguration, several events planned were cancelled to allow for a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
. Also, Johnson's casket traveled the entire length of the Capitol, entering through the Senate wing when taken into the rotunda to
lie in state Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a m ...
, and exiting through the House wing; this was due to inauguration construction on the East Front steps.


Concerts

Three simultaneous inaugural concerts were planned: a Symphonic Concert (a "show for financial contributors") held at
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
Concert Hall, a Youth Concert ("a show for young people", to feature the Osmonds and the Carpenters), and an American Music Concert ("a show for all others", to feature country, folk, jazz, Dixieland, etc). The committee decided to program Eugene Ormandy, Nixon's favorite conductor (Nixon had awarded Ormandy the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...
in 1970), and the Philadelphia Orchestra for the Symphonic Concert, breaking the tradition since the 1930s of hiring the National Symphony Orchestra for the inauguration. In early December 1972 the committee considered asking
Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian and American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after t ...
for a new work to accompany a reading of Lincoln's 2nd inaugural address for the concert (possibly at the suggestion of Nixon's friend and supporter
Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...
, for whom Tiomkin's The Ballad of High Noon became a signature tune). But with fears that Tiomkin would work too slow, and at Ormandy's suggestion, Vincent Persichetti was approached to write the work. Persichetti completed the work in two weeks, it became his ''A Lincoln Address'', opus 124. During the time that Persichetti was composing; the Vietnam War's Christmas Bombings began. The committee developed reservations about the appropriateness of Lincoln's address at the inauguration in the climate of war, and pulled Persichetti's composition from the program after it had been announced. The Symphonic Concert's program consisted of: * National Anthem * Copland's
Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that yea ...
* Beethoven's 5th symphony * a choral medley of patriotic American music, including portions of the Declaration of Independence read by
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
, and ending with America the Beautiful, led by Robert Wagner and the
Los Angeles Master Chorale The Los Angeles Master Chorale is a professional Choir, chorus in Los Angeles, California, and one of the resident companies of both The Music Center and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1964 by Roger Wagner to be one ...
* Grieg's
Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...
played by
Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...
* Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture.


Protests

Just like during Nixon's first inauguration, there were protests over the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.


See also

*
Presidency of Richard Nixon Richard Nixon's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 37th president of the United States began with First inauguration of Richard Nixon, his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 19 ...
*
First inauguration of Richard Nixon The first United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Richard Nixon as the 37th president of the United States was held on Monday, January 20, 1969, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 46 ...
*
1972 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew defeated Democratic Senator George McGovern and former Ambassador Sargent Shriver in ...


References


External links


Video of Nixon's Second Inaugural Address from hulu.com (with audio)

Text of Nixon's Second Inaugural Address

Audio of Nixon's Second Inaugural Address
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nixon, Richard 1973 in Washington, D.C. Inauguration 2 United States presidential inaugurations 1973 in American politics January 1973 in the United States Spiro Agnew