© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Inauguration Past

All the pomp and circumstance of Saturday's inauguration may seem like a simple observation of protocol, but what did the inaugural planner do in 1789 at George Washington's swearing in when there was no protocol? Host Lisa Simeone speaks with historian C.L. Arbelbide about how some of the rituals of the inauguration came to be.

Copyright 2001 NPR

Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.