Warren G. Harding
Inaugural Address
Friday, March 4, 1921
Senator Harding from Ohio was the first sitting Senator to be elected President. A former newspaper publisher and Governor of Ohio, the President-elect rode to the Capitol with President Wilson in the first automobile to be used in an inauguration. President Wilson had suffered a stroke in 1919, and his fragile health prevented his attendance at the ceremony on the East Portico of the Capitol. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Edward White, using the Bible from George Washington's first inauguration. The address to the crowd at the Capitol was broadcast on a loudspeaker. A simple parade followed.