File talk:US Presidents Map of Oaths and Exits.png

Changes needed

It has come to my attention that the map needs to be changed. One main reason for this is because of the situation with the transition from Nixon to Ford. While both were in Washington DC on the same day of this transition, the question is regarding where they were at the moment of transition. The Constitution is clear that taking the oath of president is required "Before he enter on the Execution of His Office". This means that even after Nixon's resignation was accepted, Ford had not yet become president. So the proper place for the 'X' in Nixon's exit is the location where he was when Ford took the oath. And this would also apply to the four others who chose not to attend the swearing in of their successors. I will work on a fix to the map.--ChrisnHouston (talk) 23:03, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

Ok, corrections to the map have been made tonight and posted. A silhouette of Air Force One has been added twice, as it was involved in two transitions: LBJ took the oath onboard at Love Field and then flew back to DC, and Nixon was onboard flying from DC to his home in California and reports stated that "Nixon was over mid-America - central Missouri - at 12:03 p.m. EDT when President Ford raised his hand for the oath."

As for the exact location where John Adams was at the moment of Jefferson taking the oath, the best info I found was that Adams had left DC during the night before the inauguration, perhaps not long after midnight, and was heading for his home. A red dot has been placed in Maryland along the main road of that path, and the distance traveled away from DC is an estimate.

John Quincy Adams, Andrew Johnson and Woodrow Wilson are the reason for the asterisk (*) placed before the "all other presidents" statement. All three may have been in the city limits of DC, which would eliminate the need for this asterisk. Woodrow Wilson rode with Harding to the Capitol for his inauguration, so it is almost certain that he was there in the same city. As for John Quincy Adams, the best info I've gathered so far stated that, "Adams left the White House on the evening of March 3." This did not specify that he actually left the city. Another reference says, "Outgoing President Adams did not join in the ceremony..." and this has a tone that appears to say that Adams was not far away.

There may very well be a good single reference that provides specifics for all of these cases. One possibility could be Democracy's Big Day (pages 11-17 are deleted from that preview). If anyone has good references that state that any of these outgoing presidents had actually left the city of Washington DC, then we will need to look at making another correction to the map.--ChrisnHouston (talk) 03:47, 19 December 2013 (UTC)

FDR didn't die in DC. He died in Georgia. See the FDR library's bio here. It says: 1945 On April 12, FDR passes away at Warm Springs, Georgia. Hoshie (talk) 22:28, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for pointing out that major error! The image and the description are now fixed.

I hope that is the last error in this. But if any others come to light, we'll take care of that as well. Some of the info this is based on is obscure, so this might be the best we can do for the time being.--ChrisnHouston (talk) 02:54, 16 June 2014 (UTC)