The mob all but destroyed the White House Jackson was forced to exit by a back door. When Jackson returned to the White House after the ceremony, he was followed by some 20,000 rowdy well-wishers hellbent on getting refreshments: ice cream, cake and lemonade. The shocking melee at Lincoln’s party had a precedent: the reception held for Andrew Jackson, the “man of the people,” whose 1829 inauguration was attended by thousands. Ever since Madison’s time, new presidents have been feted with more and more elaborate events, most of them featuring a festive meal. The menu has been lost, but tradition has it that ice cream, then a “fancy dish,” was served. It was James Madison who broke with tradition, celebrating his 1809 inauguration with a ball, including a midnight supper for 400. Thomas Jefferson, notably more convivial, dined with 30 others after his inauguration - but, like Adams, at a boardinghouse. After John Adams was inaugurated, he repaired to his boardinghouse, where he too ate a solitary meal. George Washington took the oath of office in New York City (the new nation’s first capital) as Martha had not yet arrived from Mount Vernon, George dined alone. Things started out quietly and on the simple side. The menus served at inaugural events have been a mixed bag - sometimes displaying ostentatiousness, other times political symbolism and still other times just simplicity. Over the last 200 years, food has been an integral part of the celebrations surrounding the transition of power from one American president to another. In a matter of minutes, the sumptuous buffet was a shambles - as were several of the patent exhibits. When the grand supper was announced, after several hours of dancing, the crowd rushed the table and people began grabbing, pushing and stuffing themselves shamelessly. The buffet was set out in a corridor where patent models were displayed. The venue was the Patent Office, which had two spacious halls for dancing and dining. Lincoln’s inaugural committee had planned a lavish midnight buffet for the inaugural ball: terrapin stew, leg of veal, beef à l’anglais, foie gras, pâté, cream candies, fruit ices, tarts, cakes and more.

Despite these connections, let’s hope that Obama’s inaugural meal does not duplicate Lincoln’s first, which turned into a food fight. The inaugural menu is based on what supposedly were some of Lincoln’s favorite foods, and even the inaugural china is a replica of that used in the Lincoln White House. Obama’s inaugural theme, “A New Birth of Freedom,” has, fittingly, been drawn from his fellow Illinoisan’s Gettysburg Address, and he’s supposed to be sworn in using Lincoln’s own Bible. Barack Obama will be sworn into office on Tuesday - just weeks before the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

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