“With a crowd of several million spectators expected to gather in Washington for the Obama inauguration, this promises to be the largest, most enthusiastic and most publicly celebrated inaugural since Jackson's 1829 inaugural,” says Temple History Professor Jim Hilty.

According to Hilty, Jackson’s inaugural went against the norm. He says that inaugurations typically are relatively staid events marked by a grand show of public pageantry but characterized beneath the surface by extravagant private parties and gatherings of the political, business and entertainment elites attached to the victorious party. “It is a time, in other words, to pay off political debts while celebrating good fortune,” Hilty explains.

“In Jackson's case, however, the crowds overwhelmed what passed for security in those days and the private festivities were basically crashed by the spirited Jacksonians, many of whom were commoners, or definitely not part of the political and social elites. Obama's inauguration may also be a celebration of the common man, a time when the non-elites can share in the miracle of American government, the smooth and peaceful transition in power from one party to another,” he says.

“As inaugurations go, this one promises more drama, because none since 1933 have occurred in the midst of such profound national crisis. Obama's inaugural speech, therefore, must do more than provide an overview or set a theme for his administration, it must also inspire to action and offer hopes of better days. No small task. Only three inaugural addresses — Lincoln, FDR and JFK — historically resonate. Obama's speech will be instantly held to those standards.”

James W. Hilty specializes in U.S. political history for the period since 1928, with particular focus on the Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy administrations. He is the author of Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector (1997).