Q 01/05

Since 1937, on what date are regular presidential inaugurations held?

A) January 3

B) January 20

C) March 4

D) November 22

Answer · why

B) January 20

The 20th Amendment moved the start of terms from March 4; when the date falls on a Sunday the public ceremony shifts to Monday.

Q 02/05

Before 1937, on what date were regular inaugurations held?

A) February 22

B) April 30

C) January 1

D) March 4

Answer · why

D) March 4

That was the day the federal government began operating under the Constitution in 1789; Sundays pushed four ceremonies to the 5th.

Q 03/05

Which constitutional amendment, adopted in 1933, moved Inauguration Day earlier?

A) 12th

B) 25th

C) 22nd

D) 20th

Answer · why

D) 20th

Adopted in January 1933, it shortened the lame-duck period; FDR's first term was 43 days shorter as a result.

Q 04/05

Where was the first presidential inauguration held in 1789?

A) Independence Hall, Philadelphia

B) The US Capitol, Washington

C) Federal Hall, New York City

D) Mount Vernon, Virginia

Answer · why

C) Federal Hall, New York City

He took the oath on the balcony on April 30, the only scheduled inauguration ever held outside January or March.

Q 05/05

Who administered the first presidential oath in 1789?

A) Robert Livingston

B) John Jay

C) John Adams

D) Alexander Hamilton

Answer · why

A) Robert Livingston

Livingston was Chancellor of New York; the Supreme Court did not yet exist, and a chief justice has sworn in every president since 1797.