George Washington was sworn in as the first US President
On this day · 30 April 1789
On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the first presidential oath of office on a balcony at Federal Hall in New York City.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington stood on the second-floor balcony of Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street in New York City — then the nation’s capital — and took the oath of office as the first President of the United States.
He had been chosen unanimously by the Electoral College, winning all 69 electoral votes. The oath was administered by Robert R. Livingston, the Chancellor of New York, before a crowd packed into the street below so that ordinary citizens could witness the moment. Washington then withdrew into the Senate Chamber to deliver his inaugural address.
The balcony was chosen so the greatest number of people could see a republic begin.
The ceremony marked the start of the executive branch under the 1787 Constitution. Almost everything Washington did set a precedent, from the cabinet to the two-term tradition, because there was simply no one before him to imitate. The capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790 and to Washington, D.C., a decade later.
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