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AmericasEvent

Thomas Jefferson inaugurated third President of the United States

When
1801
Where
Capitol
Episodes
1

Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as the third President of the United States on March 4, 1801, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. This event marked the start of his first term and Aaron Burr's vice presidency, following a contentious election. The ceremony was conducted by Chief Justice John Marshall, reflecting the transition of power after a significant political struggle.

Episodes

  1. March 4, 1801 · CapitolInauguration of Thomas Jefferson

    Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as the third President of the United States on March 4, 1801, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Background and detail

Background. Jefferson, previously vice president under John Adams, ran against Adams in the 1800 election. The election was highly acrimonious, described as a revolution in principles. After thirty-six ballots, the House elected Jefferson president and Burr vice president on February 17, 1801, setting the stage for the inauguration.

Ceremony. The inauguration took place on Wednesday, March 4, 1801, at the new Capitol in Washington, D.C. Chief Justice John Marshall swore Jefferson in as president. This event commenced Jefferson's first four-year term and the only four-year term of Aaron Burr as vice president.

People involved

Sources

  1. First inauguration of Thomas Jefferson Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-21
  2. Thomas Jefferson Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.