Tomorrow is the day

January 20.

The day the President of the United States is sworn in to office.
I wondered about the day. January 20. Why that day?

Inaugurations used to be held in March of the following year.  It took that long to select a cabinet and frankly, travel to the oval office.  There were no planes back in George Washington's day. Do the math. The election is held in November. Things have changed quite a bit since then!  In 1937, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution changed the date to January. Technology has made it easier to count the votes and get the winner to Washington!

If January 20th happens to fall on a Sunday, the President is sworn in privately, and a public swearing in is held on Monday. The Chief Justice administers the oath at noon. That would be Chief Justice John Roberts for the 45th President, Donald Trump, on Friday.

It is customary for the outgoing president to attend the President elect's inauguration.  I found it interesting that five former presidents chose not to attend their predecessor. Those being:

John Adams
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Johnson
Woodrow Wilson
Richard Nixon

Nine took the oath of office upon their predecessor's death or resignation. The swearing in is kept very low key. I was not born yet, but have seen photos of  Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath in a plane.
Those nine include:

John Tyler
Millard Fillmore
Andrew Johnson
Chester A. Arthur
Theodore Roosevelt
Calvin Coolidge
Harry S. Truman
Lyndon B. Johnson
Gerald Ford

We may not like the outcome of an election, but our democracy works. The old saying is true. There truly is nothing new under the sun.  President Lincoln's inauguration was heavily guarded as war was imminent. The heavy burden that man must have endured while president.

For America, I wish President elect Donald Trump great success.