This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/inauguration-definition-meaning.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Inauguration. Noun. A Word We Use Every Four Years. Inauguration. Noun. A Word We Use Every Four Years.
(about 4 hours later)
For years at a time, the word is seldom used. And then, every fourth January, we’re suddenly expected to say it, to spell it, to know where to place the u’s and a’s.For years at a time, the word is seldom used. And then, every fourth January, we’re suddenly expected to say it, to spell it, to know where to place the u’s and a’s.
The Constitution does not use the word “inaugurate” or “inauguration.” But Alexander Hamilton, one of the key promoters and interpreters of the then-new Constitution, used the word in a letter to George Washington as early as 1789, the year in which the first president was inaugurated.The Constitution does not use the word “inaugurate” or “inauguration.” But Alexander Hamilton, one of the key promoters and interpreters of the then-new Constitution, used the word in a letter to George Washington as early as 1789, the year in which the first president was inaugurated.
According to the historian Gilson Willets, Washington had asked Hamilton for advice on how a president should conduct his social interactions with the public while maintaining the dignity of the office.According to the historian Gilson Willets, Washington had asked Hamilton for advice on how a president should conduct his social interactions with the public while maintaining the dignity of the office.
Hamilton, ever the overachiever, wrote out a list of suggestions. Among them was the idea to “give formal entertainments only twice or four times a year, the anniversaries of important events in the Revolution.”Hamilton, ever the overachiever, wrote out a list of suggestions. Among them was the idea to “give formal entertainments only twice or four times a year, the anniversaries of important events in the Revolution.”
If the president preferred to only entertain twice, Hamilton said, those celebrations should be held on “the day of the Declaration of Independence,” and on “the day of the Inauguration of the President, which completed the organization of the Constitution.”If the president preferred to only entertain twice, Hamilton said, those celebrations should be held on “the day of the Declaration of Independence,” and on “the day of the Inauguration of the President, which completed the organization of the Constitution.”
Notably, then, Hamilton saw even the first inauguration as a deeply meaningful ceremony, one that transformed the Constitution from a blueprint to a living, breathing government. And now, more than 200 years later, government officials on the state and local level, including governors, hold inauguration ceremonies when they take office.Notably, then, Hamilton saw even the first inauguration as a deeply meaningful ceremony, one that transformed the Constitution from a blueprint to a living, breathing government. And now, more than 200 years later, government officials on the state and local level, including governors, hold inauguration ceremonies when they take office.
In English, the word “inauguration” has been in regular use since at least the 16th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, in much the way it is used today. It derives from the Latin, inaugurationem, meaning “consecration” and for hundreds of years was used to commemorate the ascension of new leaders.In English, the word “inauguration” has been in regular use since at least the 16th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, in much the way it is used today. It derives from the Latin, inaugurationem, meaning “consecration” and for hundreds of years was used to commemorate the ascension of new leaders.
The first president to use the word in his inaugural address was John Quincy Adams. In 1825, he used it to refer to a speech delivered by his predecessor, James Monroe, four years earlier, in a wordy, somewhat perfunctory vow to improve the lot of the American people: “To the topic of internal improvement, emphatically urged by him at his inauguration, I recur with peculiar satisfaction,” he said. The first president to use the word in his inaugural address was John Quincy Adams. In 1825, he used it to refer to a speech delivered by his predecessor, James Monroe, four years earlier, in a wordy vow to improve the lot of the American people through public works: “To the topic of internal improvement, emphatically urged by him at his inauguration, I recur with peculiar satisfaction,” he said.