But The Chicago Tribune reminds us that this isn’t the only controversial inauguration in U.S. history.
There’s a lot of fuss about Trump’s inauguration — will any A-listers perform? Will the protesters drown out the attendees?
In 1829, President John Quincy Adams boycotted Andrew Jackson’s inauguration, the culmination of an election that rivals the Trump/Clinton campaign season in its nastiness.
In 1824, Jackson had received more votes, but not an Electoral College major, thus sending the election to the House of Representatives. Adams was chosen over Jackson, leaving Jackson thirsting for revenge.
Adams supporters called Jackson’s mother a prostitute. Jackson’s supporters returned fire with an accusation that has echoes of last year’s bizarre campaign. Why? It involved Russia. Jackson supporters said Adams, while ambassador to Russia, had doubled as a pimp, claiming that he had American girls provide certain sexual services to the Russian czar.
It almost makes the 2017 inauguration look tame by comparison.