7. Following the inauguration of Andrew Jackson tens of thousands stormed the White House in festive revelry
Inaugurated on March 4, 1829, the first time the ceremony was held on the East Portico of the United States Capitol, the installation of the immensely popular Andrew Jackson as President of the United States drew an audience on a scale never seen before. By 10 am, the area in front of the Capitol was filled by an estimated twenty-one thousand, with Jackson forced to enter via the basement to avoid the crushing crowds. As Jackson departed the capital to ride up Pennsylvania Avenue, the exuberant masses broke the barriers holding them back and surged forward to accompany him to the White House.
Unprotected like in modern times, crowds soon swarmed over the White House lawns and people were climbing in via windows to enter the presidential residence. Descending into drunken anarchy, with giant bowls of liquor and punch placed on the front lawn of the White House in a misguided effort to distract the guests and entice them outside, Jackson, who was still in mourning for the death of his wife, discretely escaped the premises through a window and rode for Alexandria, Virginia to attend a more exclusive and less raucous celebration. Causing thousands of dollars worth of damages, the White House was reduced to a mess of broken china and furniture by sunrise the following day.