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Martin van Buren


Inaugural address, Saturday, March 4, 1837 - Context

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The ailing President Jackson and his Vice President Van Buren rode together to the Capitol from the White House in a carriage made of timbers from the U.S.S. 'Constitution'. Chief Justice Roger Taney administered the oath of office on the East Portico of the Capitol. For the first and only time, the election for Vice President had been decided by the Senate, as provided by the Constitution, when the electoral college could not select a winner. The new Vice President, Richard M. Johnson, took his oath in the Senate Chamber.