Second inauguration of Ronald Reagan
{{short description|50th United States presidential inauguration}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox historical event
|Event_Name = Second presidential inauguration of Ronald Reagan
|Image_Name = President Ronald Reagan Being Sworn in for a Second Term by Chief Justice Warren Burger as Nancy Reagan Observes in the United States Capitol Rotunda.jpg
|Image_Caption = Ronald Reagan takes the oath of office for his second term
| organizers = Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
| participants = Ronald Reagan
40th president of the United States
— Assuming office
Warren E. Burger
Chief Justice of the United States
— Administering oath
George H. W. Bush
43rd vice president of the United States
— Assuming office
Potter Stewart
Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
— Administering oath
| Location = Entrance Hall, White House (official)
United States Capitol,
Washington, D.C. (public)
|Date = {{Start date and age|1985|01|20}} (official)
{{Start date|1985|01|21}} (public)
| notes = {{Succession links|left=1981|right=1989}}
}}
{{Ronald Reagan series}}
The second inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States was the 50th inauguration, marking the commencement of his second and final four-year term as president and of George H. W. Bush as vice president. A private swearing-in ceremony took place on Sunday, January 20, 1985, at the White House,{{Cite web |title=Reagan's Second Inauguration |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/reagans-second-inauguration}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7VhWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5268%2C2853263|newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington)|agency=Associated Press|last=Putzel|first=Michael|title=Inaugural put on ice |date=January 21, 1985 |page=A1}} followed by a public inauguration ceremony on Monday, January 21, 1985, at the Capitol's rotunda.
Public inauguration
As the weather outside was harsh, with daytime temperatures of {{convert|7|F}} and wind chills of {{convert|-25|F}}, the event organizers were forced to move the public inaugural ceremony, which had been planned for the open air, inside to the Capitol Rotunda.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8vhNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5752%2C2827399 |newspaper=Free Lance-Star |location=(Fredericksburg, Virginia)|agency=Associated Press |last=Hunt |first=Terence |title=Reagan sees 'a new America'|date=January 21, 1985 |page=1}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7lhWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5602%2C2961416 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington)|agency=Associated Press|title=Reagan: Peace with mighty defense |date=January 22, 1985 |page=A1}}{{cite web |url=http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/chronology/rwreagan1985.cfm |title=Inauguration of President Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1985 |access-date=March 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006180020/http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/chronology/rwreagan1985.cfm |archive-date=October 6, 2012 }} Forty years later, Donald Trump's second inauguration was also moved inside to the Capital rotunda due to cold weather.
Jessye Norman sang Simple Gifts from Aaron Copland's Old American Songs.{{cite web|url=https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/50th-inaugural-ceremonies/|title=50TH INAUGURAL CEREMONIES|publisher=United States Senate|access-date=June 15, 2021|archive-date=|archive-url=}} As had officially happened the day before, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the presidential oath of office to Reagan, and former Associate Justice Potter Stewart administered the vice-presidential oath to Bush. After Reagan's inaugural address and the pronunciation of the benediction by Peter J. Gomes, the U.S. Marine Band played The Star Spangled Banner.
The weather necessitated that the outdoor parade be canceled. A replacement event was held in the Capital Centre;{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-21-mn-14177-story.html|title = Reagan Sworn in; Inaugural Parade Canceled by Cold : Health Threat to Thousands Feared; Public Ceremony Today to be Indoors| work=Los Angeles Times |date = January 21, 1985|first=George|last=Skelton|page=1}}
Coverage of the inauguration was provided throughout the United States by NBC,{{YouTube|id=SFrxfoae0lU|title=1985 US Presidential Inauguration - NBC Coverage - 10:00AM-3:58PM}} CBS,{{YouTube|id=ar1_1S47thM|title=1985 US Presidential Inauguration - CBS Coverage - 11:00AM-3:35PM}} ABC,{{YouTube|id=4FnlcTdmHCM|title=1985 US Presidential Inauguration - ABC Coverage - 11:00AM-3:58PM}} and CNN.{{YouTube|id=LExUUu59b2g|title=Ronald Reagan Second Inauguration (January 21st, 1985) CNN Coverage [Partial]}}
Inauguration committee
Former UPI correspondent John Chambers, son of Whittaker Chambers, served as executive director of the Joint Congressional Committee on the Presidential Inauguration, for Reagan's second inauguration and again for the first inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993.
{{cite news
| title = President's Oath Will Be Taken Twice Next Year
| newspaper = Washington Post
| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1984/09/26/presidents-oath-will-be-taken-twice-next-year/f544baf3-0199-4072-b01c-b892c61b9b24/
| date = September 26, 1984
| access-date = February 21, 2020}}
{{cite news
| title = The Super Rumor
| work = New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/18/us/briefing-the-super-rumor.html
| date = September 18, 1984
| access-date = February 21, 2020}}
Aftermath
On May 27, 1985 (Memorial Day), twenty of the more than fifty high school marching bands that had been scheduled to perform in the cancelled inaugural parade performed in the President's Inaugural Bands Parade held at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center theme park. The performance was preceded by a speech delivered by President Reagan.{{cite web |title=Remarks to Participants in the President's Inaugural Bands Parade at Walt Disney's EPCOT Center Near Orlando, Florida |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/remarks-participants-presidents-inaugural-bands-parade-walt-disneys-epcot-center |publisher=Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=June 2, 2021 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Remarks to Participants in the President's Inaugural Bands Parade at Walt Disney's EPCOT Center Near Orlando, Florida {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-participants-the-presidents-inaugural-bands-parade-walt-disneys-epcot-center-near |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |access-date=June 2, 2021 |ref=The American Presidency Project (University of California Santa Barbara)}}{{cite web |last1=Groer |first1=Anne |title=INAUGURAL BANDS GET 2ND SHOT AT EPCOT |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-05-15-8501190616-story.html |website=Sun-Sentinel.com |publisher=South Florida Sun-Sentinel |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=May 15, 1985}}{{cite web |last1=Wicks |first1=Kathy |title=May 27, 1985 - A Special One-Day Parade at Walt Disney World |url=https://www.wdwradio.com/2016/02/may-27-1985-special-one-day-parade-walt-disney-world/ |website=WDW Radio |access-date=June 2, 2021 |date=February 9, 2016}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
{{commons category|Ronald Reagan 1985 presidential inauguration}}
{{wikisource|Ronald Reagan's Second Inaugural Address}}
- [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/reagan2.asp Text of Reagan's Second Inaugural Address]
- [http://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-21-1985-second-inaugural-address Audio of Reagan's Second Inaugural Address]
{{Presidency of Ronald Reagan}}
{{US inaugurations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reagan, 2nd inauguration of Ronald}}
Category:1985 in American politics
Category:1985 in Washington, D.C.