Inauguration of 1861

I live across the Potomac River from Washington. Bridges into the city are already closed before Wednesday’s inauguration. Twenty-five thousand National Guard troops are patrolling the core of the city. Metro stations, the Mall, and streets are closing down.

March 4, 1861. Tense times, but people could at least gather. From the White House Historical Association website.

The inauguration was already going to be subdued because of COVID-19. No plans to go downtown, as we did in 2009 and as we did the day after for the Women’s March in 2017. The January 6 siege of the Capitol ramped the fear up to a whole new level.

From the Arlington Now website, a statement from Gov. Ralph Northam, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly, and Jennifer Wexton:

The 2021 Presidential Inauguration Ceremony will see the strongest Capital-area security response in history. We worked together to push for a response that balances protecting public safety in a manner commensurate with available intelligence about threats without going too far.

President-Elect Lincoln Comes to Washington

By the time Congress officially counted the electoral college votes from the state on February 13, 1861, seven states had seceded. (NOTE: Most Americans barely knew such an event took place until 2021’s debacle.) But “it passed off quietly,” according to Elizabeth Lomax, quoted in Cokie Roberts’s Capital Dames. However, Roberts goes on to say, “secessionist sympathizers proudly sported their blue cockades as they promoted their case, causing cautious congressmen to post guards at the Capitol and conduct searches for explosives.”

Inauguration Day was March 4, as it was until 1937.

Lincoln left Illinois on February 11. His train trip to Washington was designed to include many stops where he could thank supporters, and the schedule was publicized to bring people out to depots or along the tracks. But word of potential attacks began to circulate, most notably in Baltimore. He left the train and came to Washington separately, under a disguise and in the middle of the night. Not exactly the entrance he had anticipated. His opponents also mocked him for doing so.

Inauguration Day 1861

“Troops lined the avenue” during the procession from the White House to the Capitol. Many onlookers booed him. But he and outgoing President James Buchanan did manage to ride in a carriage and enter the Capitol together.

Historian James McPherson described the many drafts and reactions to his inaugural address in his book Battle Cry of Freedom. It had many audiences to satisfy, particularly those wavering about whether to secede or remain in the Union. “Contemporaries read into the inaugural address what they wished or expected to see,” McPherson concluded. You can read it here . Notably, to appease enslaving states, he said, “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” He ended, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

For more information

Capital Dames, Chapter 4

Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 261-264

Inauguration of 1861, White House History Association