View source for First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson

{{Infobox historical event
 | Event_Name    = 1963 Presidential Inauguration of<br>Lyndon B. Johnson
 | Image_Name    = Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office, November 1963.jpg
 | Image_Alt     = 
 | Image_Caption = |Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office on Air Force One following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Dallas, Texas.
 | Participants  = [[President of the United States]],&nbsp;[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]<br /><center><small>''Assuming office''</small></center>Judge [[Sarah T. Hughes]]<small><center>''Administering oath''</small></center>  | Location      = [[Air Force One]]
 | Date          = {{Start date and years ago|1963|11|22}}
 | URL           = 
 }}
The '''first inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson''' as the [[List of Presidents of the United States|36th]] [[President of the United States]] occurred on November 22, 1963 under extraordinary circumstances. The [[United States presidential inauguration|inauguration]] marked the commencement of the first term (which lasted a year and two months) of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] as President, following the [[John F. Kennedy assassination|assassination of President John F. Kennedy]].

==Assassination of John F. Kennedy==
At the time, Johnson was the [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] to [[President of the United States|President]] [[John F. Kennedy]], the winner of the [[United States presidential election, 1960|1960 presidential election]].   

At 12:30 pm [[Central Standard Time Zone|Central Standard Time]] on November 22, [[John F. Kennedy assassination|Kennedy was assassinated]] in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]] while riding with his wife, [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|Jacqueline]], in the presidential motorcade.  Johnson was riding in a car behind the president with his wife, [[Lady Bird Johnson]], and Texas Senator [[Ralph Yarborough]].  Immediately after shots were fired, Johnson was thrown down and sat on by Secret Service agent [[Rufus Youngblood]],<ref name=Time>{{cite news |title=The Transfer of Power |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,875362-1,00.html |publisher=TIME |date=1963-11-29 |accessdate=2009-01-24}}</ref> and the President's and Vice President's cars sped to [[Parkland Memorial Hospital]].<ref name=Warren>{{cite book |title=Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy |url=http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/ |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |place=Washington, D.C. |year=1964 |chapter=Chapter 2: The Assassination}}</ref>

There were initial reports that Johnson might have also been shot, slightly wounded in the arm or that he had suffered another [[heart attack]] (he had suffered one eight years earlier that nearly killed him). Mrs. Johnson confirmed to reporters that he was fine and did not suffer any injury or illness other than being shaken at what he'd seen.

In the hospital, Johnson was surrounded by [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] agents, who encouraged him to return to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in case he too was targeted for assassination.  Johnson wished to wait until he knew of Kennedy's condition; at 1:20 pm he was told Kennedy was dead and left the hospital almost twenty minutes later.<ref name=Warren/>

==Love Field, Dallas==
[[File:LBJ oath with captions.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office on Air Force One following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Dallas, Texas.  Identified persons include:
(#1) [[Malcolm Kilduff]] (Press Secretary),
(#2) [[Jack Valenti]] (media adviser),
(#3) Judge [[Sarah T. Hughes]],
(#4) Congressman [[Albert Richard Thomas]],
(#5) [[Lady Bird Johnson]],
(#6) Chief [[Jesse Curry]] (Dallas police chief),
(#7) [[Lyndon B. Johnson]],
(#8) [[Evelyn Lincoln]] (personal secretary to John F. Kennedy),
(#9) Congressman [[Homer Thornberry]],
(#10) [[Roy Kellerman]] (USSS agent),
(#11) [[Lem Johns]] (USSS agent),
(#12) [[Jacqueline Kennedy]],
(#13) Pamela Turnure (press secretary to Jacqueline Kennedy),
(#14) Congressman [[Jack Brooks (politician)|Jack Brooks]],
(#15) [[Bill Moyers]] (Peace Corps deputy director). Photo by [[Cecil W. Stoughton]].]]

At this point arrangements were made to provide Secret Service protection of the two Johnson daughters ([[Lynda Bird Johnson Robb]] and [[Luci Baines Johnson]]), and it was decided that the new president would leave on the presidential aircraft because it had better communications equipment. Johnson was driven by an unmarked police car to [[Dallas Love Field|Love Field]], and kept below the car's window level throughout the journey.<ref name=Warren/>

The President waited for Jacqueline Kennedy, who in turn would not leave Dallas without her husband's body, to arrive aboard [[Air Force One]].  Kennedy's casket was finally brought to the aircraft, but takeoff was delayed until Johnson took the oath of office.<ref name=Warren/>  

There was concern that since the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] had taken the body of Kennedy from [[Parkland Hospital]] against the wishes of the Dallas medical examiner, [[Earl Rose (coroner)|Earl Rose]], who had insisted an autopsy was required, the [[Dallas Police Department]] would seek to prevent Air Force One taking off.<ref name=Gillon/>  Assassination of the President was not yet a federal crime.

President Johnson chose local Judge [[Sarah T. Hughes]], a long standing friend, to swear him in.  He had previously sought her appointment to a federal judgeship, which [[Robert Kennedy]] initially rejected on advice from the Justice Department on account of her age (then 65 years old).  When the Justice Department reversed its decision a few weeks later and appointed Hughes, Johnson was outraged at having not been consulted.<ref name=Gillon/>

=== Inauguration aboard Air Force One===
For the inauguration twenty-seven people squeezed into the sixteen-foot square stateroom of Air Force One for the proceedings. Adding to the discomfort was the lack of air conditioning as the aircraft had been disconnected from the external power supply, in order to take off promptly.<ref name=Time/><ref name=Gillon>{{cite book |title=The Kennedy Assassination - 24 Hours Later| first=Steven |last=Gillon |publisher=Basic Books|place=New York City |year=2009 |chapter="I Do Solemly Swear}}</ref>  As the inauguration proceeded the four jet engines of Air Force One were being powered up.

The [[Warren Commission]]'s report detailed the inauguration:<ref name=Warren/>
{{quote|From the Presidential airplane, the new President telephoned Attorney General [[Robert F. Kennedy]], who advised that Mr. Johnson take the Presidential oath of office before the plane left Dallas. Federal Judge [[Sarah T. Hughes]] hastened to the plane to administer the oath. Members of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential parties filled the central compartment of the plane to witness the swearing in. At 2:38 p.m. CST, Lyndon Baines Johnson took the oath of office as the 36th President of the United States. <small>[http://redbud.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/kennedy/Oath%20of%20Office/001t1rsd.mp3 audio]</small> Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Johnson stood at the side of the new President as he took the oath of office. Nine minutes later, the Presidential airplane departed for Washington, D.C.}}
The swearing-in ceremony administered by Judge Hughes in an Air Force One conference room represented the first time that a woman administered the [[Oath of office of the President of the United States|presidential oath of office]] as well as the only time it was conducted on an airplane.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inauguration of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963 |url=http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/chronology/lbjohnson1963.cfm |publisher=Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies |accessdate=2009-01-20}}</ref> Instead of the usual [[Bible]], Johnson was sworn in upon a [[missal]] found on a side table in Kennedy's Air Force One bedroom.<ref>{{cite news |first=Joanna |last=Lin |title=Bible has a storied role in inaugurations |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-inaug-religion18-2009jan18,0,5754606.story |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=2009-01-18 |accessdate=2009-01-20}}</ref> After the oath had been taken, Johnson kissed his wife on the forehead. Mrs. Johnson then took Jackie Kennedy's hand and told her, "The whole nation mourns your husband."<ref name=Time/>
{{Double image|right|Missal used in lbj inauguration 1963 cover crop.jpg|200|Missal used in lbj inauguration 1963.jpg|200|<center>Missal used in the inauguration</center>}}
At almost exactly the same time as the ceremony, [[CBS]] anchor [[Walter Cronkite]] read aloud on the air wire copy from the [[Associated Press]] officially confirming Kennedy's death, subsequently adding that Johnson would be sworn in as president.  According to the [[Museum of Broadcast Communications]]'s ''Encyclopedia of Television'', during their frantic afternoon coverage of the unfolding events, American broadcasters made a "determined effort" to refer to him as "President Johnson".<ref>{{cite web |first=Thomas |last=Doherty |title=Assassination and Funeral of President John F. Kennedy |url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/K/htmlK/kennedyjf/kennedyjf.htm |work=The Encyclopedia of Television |publisher=The Museum of Broadcast Communications |accessdate=2009-03-25}}</ref>

The famous photograph of the inauguration was taken by [[Cecil Stoughton]], John F. Kennedy's official photographer.  On Stoughton's suggestion Johnson was flanked by his wife and Jacqueline Kennedy, facing slightly away from the camera so that blood stains on her [[Pink Chanel suit of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy|pink Chanel suit]] would not be visible.  The photograph was taken using a [[Hasselblad]] camera.<ref>[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/7/1988_7_142.shtml]</ref> The inauguration was sound recorded by White House press secretary [[Malcolm Kilduff]] using Air Force One's dictaphone.

==Aftermath==
[[File:LBJ JFK remarks.gif|thumb|right|300px|Hand-marked statement]]
During the flight back to [[Andrews Air Force Base]], Johnson made several phone calls on the radio telephone, including to [[Rose Kennedy]] (JFK's mother) and [[Nellie Connally]] (wife of [[John Connally]]).<ref name=Time/>  In addition, he made the decision to request all cabinet members to stay in their posts and asked to meet both parties' leaders in [[United States Congress|Congress]] soon.<ref name=Time/>

Johnson also asked [[Jack Valenti]], [[Bill Moyers]], and [[Liz Carpenter]] to write a brief statement for him to read on the day's events, which he then edited slightly himself.  At 6:10 pm, after landing at Andrews amid a crowd of Congressional leaders, he walked to an already prepared set of microphones and began his first public statement as president:<ref name=Time/><ref>{{cite web |title=Remarks Upon Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25976 |publisher=The American Presidency Project |accessdate=2009-01-24}}</ref> 
{{quote|This is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help--and God's. <small>[http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/Johnson/kennedy/Remarks%20at%20Andrews/001t2rsd-11.wav audio]</small>}}
Afterwards Johnson was said to have regretted delivering the remarks, believing he sounded harsh and strident.<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert |last=Schlesinger |title=An Excerpt from White House Ghosts |url=http://www.whitehouseghostsbook.com/excerpt.html |accessdate=2009-01-24}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Lyndon B. Johnson 1963 presidential inauguration}}
*[http://redbud.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/kennedy/Oath%20of%20Office/oathphotos.htm More photos of the taking of the oath]
*[http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/kennedy/LBJ%27s%20Diary/112263.htm Johnson's Daily Diary for November 22, 1963]
*[http://redbud.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/kennedy/index.htm More material relating to succession]  from the [[Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum]]

{{Lyndon B. Johnson}}
{{John F. Kennedy assassination}}
{{US inaugurations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson}}
[[Category:United States presidential inaugurations]]
[[Category:1963 in American politics]]
[[Category:Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson|Inauguration 1963]]
[[Category:Assassination of John F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:1963 in Texas]]