There have been inaugurals in times of national crisis, in times of war and in times of bitter dissension. But much about the 59th Inauguration was nonetheless unique: The small number of attendees seated far apart in masks; the absence of the incumbent president two weeks following an insurrection he encouraged; the first woman elected as vice president. And yet much was still familiar: The new president recited the oath of office as it appears in the Constitution, as has been done every four years since 1789.
Here are some images of a day that both shattered precedent and reinforced it.
