The first inauguration of a president in Washington was not attended by the outgoing chief executive. President John Adams, who disliked the new city of Washington, and who was not comfortable attending the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson, left town for his home in Massachusetts and skipped the inauguration ceremony.

The tradition later developed that the outgoing president would attend his successor's inauguration.

This magazine illustration depicts Abraham Lincoln riding in a carriage alongside President James Buchanan on the way to his first inauguration in 1861.

Buchanan, the president as the country moved toward Civil War, disliked the job intensely, and said to Lincoln, "If you are as happy entering the presidency as I am leaving it, then you are a very happy man."