Oath of office of the President of the United States

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President Ronald Reagan being administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger on January 21, 1985.

The oath of office of the President of the United States is an oath or affirmation required by the United States Constitution before the President begins the execution of the office. The wording is specified in Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:— "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Contents

[edit] Administrator of the oath

While the Constitution does not mandate that anyone in particular should administer the oath, the oath is typically administered by the Chief Justice, but sometimes by another federal or state judge (George Washington was first sworn in by Robert Livingston, the chancellor of the State of New York in 1789, while Calvin Coolidge was first sworn in by his father, a Justice of the Peace and a Vermont notary public in 1923). By convention, incoming Presidents raise their right hand and place the left on a Bible or other book while taking the oath of office.

William R. King is the only executive official sworn into office on foreign soil. By special act of Congress, he was allowed to take his oath of the office of the Vice President on March 24, 1853 in Cuba, where he had gone because of his poor health.[1] He died 25 days later.

From 1789 through 2013, the swearing-in has been administered by 15 Chief Justices, one Associate Justice, three federal judges, two New York state judges, and one notary public. To date the only person to swear in a president who was not a judge was John Calvin Coolidge, Sr., Calvin Coolidge's father, a notary whose home the then-Vice President was visiting in 1923 when he learned of the death of President Warren G. Harding.

Sarah T. Hughes is the only woman to administer the oath of office. She was a U.S. District Court judge who swore Lyndon B. Johnson into office on Air Force One after John F. Kennedy's assassination.

[edit] Option of taking an oath or an affirmation

The Constitutional language gives the option to "affirm" instead of "swear". While the reasons for this are not documented, it may relate to certain Christians, including Quakers, who apply this scripture literally: "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation" (James 5:12, KJV).[2] Franklin Pierce was the only president known to use the word "affirm" rather than "swear." Herbert Hoover is often listed to have used "affirm" as well, owing to his being a Quaker, but a newsreel taken of the ceremony indicates that the words used were "solemnly swear."[3] Richard Nixon, who was also a Quaker, also swore, rather than affirm.[4][5]

[edit] Forms of administering the oath

There have been two forms of administering, and taking, the oath of office.

Under the first form, now in disuse, the administrator articulated the constitutional oath in the form of a question, and modifying the wording from the first to the second person, as in, "Do you George Washington solemnly swear . . ." and then requested an affirmation. At that point a response of "I do" or "I swear" completed the oath.[citation needed]

It is believed that this was the common procedure at least until the early 20th century. In 1881, the New York Times article covering the swearing in of Chester A. Arthur, reported that he responded to the question of accepting the oath with the words, "I will, so help me God."[6] In 1929, Time magazine reported that the Chief Justice began the oath uttering, "You, Herbert Hoover, do you solemnly swear...",[7] Hoover replied with a simple "I do".

Under the second, and current form, the administrator articulates the oath in the affirmative, and in the first person, so that the President takes the oath by repeating it verbatim.[citation needed]

Many times the President-elect's name is added after the "I"; for example, "I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, do. . . ." Lyndon B. Johnson did not add his name when swearing his first oath of office after Kennedy's death since he was never asked to say his name; there is evidence that in all other inaugurations since Franklin D. Roosevelt's first, the name of the president was added to the oath.[citation needed]

[edit] Use of Bibles

Theodore Roosevelt did not use a Bible when taking the oath in 1901. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, and Richard Nixon (also a Quaker) swore the oath on two Bibles. John Quincy Adams swore on a book of law, with the intention that he was swearing on the constitution.[8] Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on a Roman Catholic missal on Air Force One. Washington kissed the Bible afterwards,[9] and subsequent presidents followed suit, up to and including Harry Truman,[10] but Dwight D. Eisenhower broke that tradition by saying his own prayer instead of kissing the Bible.[11]

[edit] Oath mishaps

President Barack Obama being administered the oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts for the second time, on January 21, 2009.
  • In 1909, when President William Howard Taft was sworn in, Chief Justice Melville Fuller misquoted the oath, but the error was not publicized at the time. The mistake was similar to the one Taft himself would make twenty years later when swearing in President Hoover. Recalling the incident, Taft wrote, "When I was sworn in as President by Chief Justice Fuller, he made a similar slip," and added, "but in those days when there was no radio, it was observed only in the Senate chamber where I took the oath."[7]
  • In 1929, Taft, later the Chief Justice, garbled the oath when he swore in President Herbert Hoover using the words "preserve, maintain, and defend the Constitution", instead of "preserve, protect, and defend". The error was picked up by schoolgirl Helen Terwilliger on the radio. Taft eventually acknowledged his error, but did not think it was important, and Hoover did not retake the oath. In Taft's view, his departure from the text did not invalidate the oath.[7][12][13]
  • In 1941, Charles Elmore Cropley, the Supreme Court clerk who held the Bible for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third inauguration dropped the Bible after the oath was given. Photos detailing the mishap filled a full page of Life magazine the next week.[citation needed]
  • In 1945, President Harry S. Truman's bare initial caused an unusual slip when he first became president and took the oath. At a meeting in the Cabinet Room, Chief Justice Harlan Stone began reading the oath by saying "I, Harry Shipp Truman...", Truman responded: "I, Harry S. Truman,..."[14]
  • In 1965, Chief Justice Earl Warren prompted Lyndon Johnson to say, "the Office of the Presidency of the United States".[15]
  • In 2009, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, while administering the oath to Barack Obama, incorrectly recited part of the oath. Roberts prompted, "That I will execute the Office of President to the United States faithfully." Obama stopped at "execute," and waited for Roberts to correct himself. Roberts, after a false start, then followed Obama's "execute" with "faithfully", which results in "execute faithfully," which is also incorrect. Obama then repeated Roberts' initial, incorrect prompt, with the word "faithfully" after "United States."[16][17] The oath was re-administered the next day by Roberts at the White House.[18][19]

[edit] Retaking the oath of office
"Barack Obama taking the Oath of Office"
Obama takes the Oath of office of the President of the United States during his inauguration on January 20, 2009. (Duration: 45 seconds)
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
"President Obama Re-Takes Oath"
Obama retakes the Oath of office of the President of the United States at 19:35 EST, January 21, 2009 (00:35 UTC, January 22, 2009) (Duration: 54 seconds).
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Seven presidents have repeated their oath of office, for different reasons:

  • Presidents Chester A. Arthur (1881)[20][21] and Calvin Coolidge (1923)[22] took their first oath in a private venue (their residences), in the middle of the night, immediately after being notified of the death of a predecessor (James A. Garfield and Warren G. Harding, respectively). They later retook the oath after returning to Washington. In the case of Coolidge, there was an additional doubt whether an oath administered by a public notary (Coolidge's father) was valid.[23]
  • Five presidents took a private oath when Inauguration Day fell on a Sunday, and then a second oath in a scheduled public ceremony on the next day (Monday): Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877 (who actually took the private oath on March 3, a Saturday, one day before his term started), Woodrow Wilson in 1917, Dwight Eisenhower in 1957, Ronald Reagan in 1985, and Barack Obama in 2013.[24][25][26][27]
  • On January 21, 2009, Chief Justice Roberts administered the presidential oath a second time to Barack Obama "out of an abundance of caution," according to the White House, because, when the oath was administered to President Obama the first time in the public inauguration ceremony, the word "faithfully" was misplaced. The second oath was administered in a simple, private ceremony in the Map Room of the White House.[19][28][29][30] Obama's oath-retaking differed from all his predecessors' in that the private ceremony happened after the public one.

All incumbent Presidents elected to subsequent terms have re-taken the oath at the beginning of their next term, although it is unclear whether it is necessary for an incumbent President to take the oath again.[citation needed]

[edit] "So help me God"

Further information: So help me God#United States and Oath

It is uncertain how many Presidents used a Bible or added the words "So help me God" at the end of the oath, or in their acceptance of the oath, as neither is required by law; unlike many other federal oaths which do include the phrase "So help me God."[31] There is currently debate as to whether or not George Washington, the first president, added the phrase to his acceptance of the oath. All contemporary sources fail to mention Washington as adding a religious codicil to his acceptance.[32]

The historical debate over who first used "So help me God," is marred by ignoring the two forms of giving the oath. The first, now in disuse, is when the administrator articulates the constitutional oath in the form of a question, as in, "Do you George Washington solemnly swear...", requesting an affirmation. At that point a response of "I do" or "I swear" completes the oath. Without verbatim transcripts, the scant existing evidence shows this was the common procedure at least until the early 20th century. In 1865 the Sacramento Daily Union covered the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln finished his oath with "So help me God," and he kissed the bible.[33] In 1881, the New York Times article covering the swearing in of Chester A. Arthur, reported that he responded to the question of accepting the oath with the words, "I will, so help me God".[6] In 1929, Time magazine reported that the Chief Justice began the oath uttering, "You, Herbert Hoover, do you solemnly swear..."[7] Hoover replied with a simple "I do".

A Federal law suit filed in the District of Columbia by Michael Newdow on December 30, 2008 contended the second, current form of administration, where both the Chief Justice and the President articulate the oath, appending "So help me God", to be a breach of the Constitutional instructions. The suit distinguishes between the words spoken by the administrator, which must conform to the exact 35 words of the Constitution, and the President, who has a right to add a personal prayer, such as "So help me God."[34]

Chief Justice Roberts' reply was that his "prompting" for these four extra-constitutional words were to be recited "after" the oath of office, and not as a part of the oath as claimed in the suit.[35]

The first Congress explicitly prescribed the phrase "So help me God" in oaths under the Judiciary Act of 1789 for all U.S. judges and officers other than the President. It was prescribed even earlier under the various first state constitutions[36] as well as by the Second Continental Congress in 1776.[37][38] Although the phrase is mandatory in these oaths, the said Act also allows for the option that the phrase be omitted by the officer, in which case it would be called an affirmation instead of an oath: "Which words, so help me God, shall be omitted in all cases where an affirmation is admitted instead of an oath."[39] In contrast, the oath of the President is the only oath specified in the Constitution. It does not include the closing phrase "So help me God", and it also allows for the optional form of an affirmation which is not considered an oath. In practice, however, most Presidents, at least during the last century, have opted to take the oath (rather than an affirmation), to use a Bible to do so, and also to close the oath with the customary phrase.

The earliest known source indicating Washington added "So help me God" to his acceptance, not to the oath, is attributed to Washington Irving, aged six at the time of the inauguration, and first appears 65 years after the event.[40]

The only contemporary account that repeats the oath in full, a report from the French consul, Comte de Moustier, states only the constitutional oath,[41] without reference to Washington's adding "So Help Me God" to his acceptance.

Evidence is lacking to support the claim that Presidents between Washington and Abraham Lincoln used the phrase "So help me God." A contemporaneous newspaper account of Lincoln's 1865 inauguration states that Lincoln appended the phrase "So help me God" to the oath.[42] This newspaper report is followed by another account, provided later in the same year after Lincoln's death (April 15, 1865), that Lincoln said "So help me God" during his oath.[43] The evidence pertaining to the 1865 inauguration is much stronger than that pertaining to Lincoln's 1861 use of the phrase. Several sources claim that Lincoln said "So help me God" at his 1861 inauguration, yet these sources were not contemporaneous to the event.[44][45] During the speech, Lincoln stated that his oath was "registered in Heaven",[46] something some have taken as indicating he likely uttered the phrase "So help me God." Conversely, there was a claim made by A.M. Milligan (a Presbyterian minister who advocated for an official Christian U.S. government) that letters were sent to Abraham Lincoln asking him to swear to God during his inaugurations, and Lincoln allegedly wrote back saying that God's name was not in the Constitution, and he could not depart from the letter of that instrument.[47][48]

Other than the president of the U.S., many politicians (including Jefferson Davis, sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America in 1861) used the phrase "So help me God" when taking their oaths.[49] Likewise, all federal judges and executive officers were required as early as 1789 by statute to include the phrase unless they affirmed, in which case the phrase must be omitted.[50]

Given that nearly every President-elect since President Franklin D. Roosevelt has recited the codicil, it is likely that the majority of presidents-elect have uttered the phrase[51] (as well as some vice presidents, while taking their oaths). However, as President Theodore Roosevelt chose to conclude his oath with the phrase "And thus I swear," it seems that this current of tradition was not overwhelmingly strong even as recently as the turn of the twentieth century. Only Franklin Pierce has chosen to affirm rather than swear.[52] It is often asserted that Herbert Hoover also affirmed, because he was a Quaker, but newspaper reports before his inauguration state his intention to swear rather than affirm.[53]

[edit] List of oath takings

The oath of office of the President of the United States has been taken on 73 occasions by 43 people.

Date President Type Location Administered by[a] Notes
April 30, 1789 George Washington Public Balcony of Federal Hall
New York, New York		 Robert Livingston
Chancellor of New York
March 4, 1793 George Washington Public Senate Chamber, Congress Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		 William Cushing
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
March 4, 1797 John Adams Public House Chamber, Congress Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		 Oliver Ellsworth
March 4, 1801 Thomas Jefferson Public Senate Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1805 Thomas Jefferson Public Senate Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1809 James Madison Public House Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1813 James Madison Public House Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1817 James Monroe Public In front of Old Brick Capitol
(1st & A Sts., N.E.)
 John Marshall
March 5, 1821 James Monroe Public House Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1825 John Quincy Adams Public House Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1829 Andrew Jackson Public East Portico, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1833 Andrew Jackson Public House Chamber, United States Capitol John Marshall
March 4, 1837 Martin Van Buren Public East Portico, United States Capitol Roger B. Taney
March 4, 1841 William H. Harrison Public East Portico, United States Capitol Roger B. Taney
April 6, 1841 John Tyler Private Brown's Hotel
6th St. & Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C.		 William Cranch
Chief Judge, U.S. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
March 4, 1845 James K. Polk Public East Portico, United States Capitol Roger B. Taney
March 5, 1849 Zachary Taylor Public East Portico, United States Capitol Roger B. Taney
July 10, 1850 Millard Fillmore Public House Chamber, United States Capitol William Cranch
Chief Judge, U.S. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
March 4, 1853 Franklin Pierce Public East Portico, United States Capitol Roger B. Taney
March 4, 1857 James Buchanan Public East Portico, United States Capitol Roger B. Taney
March 4, 1861 Abraham Lincoln Public East Portico, United States Capitol Roger B. Taney
March 4, 1865 Abraham Lincoln Public East Portico, United States Capitol Salmon P. Chase
April 15, 1865 Andrew Johnson Private Kirkwood Hotel, 12th St. & Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. Salmon P. Chase
March 4, 1869 Ulysses S. Grant Public East Portico, United States Capitol Salmon P. Chase
March 4, 1873 Ulysses S. Grant Public East Portico, United States Capitol Salmon P. Chase
March 3, 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes Private Red Room, White House Morrison R. Waite
March 5, 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes Public East Portico, United States Capitol Morrison R. Waite
March 4, 1881 James A. Garfield Public East Portico, United States Capitol Morrison R. Waite
September 20, 1881 Chester A. Arthur Private Arthur Residence
123 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York		 John R. Brady
Judge, New York Supreme Court
September 22, 1881 Chester A. Arthur Public Office of the Vice President, United States Capitol Morrison R. Waite
March 4, 1885 Grover Cleveland Public East Portico, United States Capitol Morrison R. Waite
March 4, 1889 Benjamin Harrison Public East Portico, United States Capitol Melville W. Fuller
March 4, 1893 Grover Cleveland Public East Portico, United States Capitol Melville W. Fuller
March 4, 1897 William McKinley Public Front of Original Senate Wing, United States Capitol Melville W. Fuller
March 4, 1901 William McKinley Public East Portico, United States Capitol Melville W. Fuller
September 14, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt Private Ansley Wilcox House
Buffalo, New York		 John R. Hazel
Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of New York
March 4, 1905 Theodore Roosevelt Public East Portico, United States Capitol Melville W. Fuller
March 4, 1909 William Howard Taft Public Senate Chamber, United States Capitol Melville W. Fuller
March 4, 1913 Woodrow Wilson Public East Portico, United States Capitol Edward D. White
March 4, 1917 Woodrow Wilson Private President's Room, United States Capitol Edward D. White
March 5, 1917 Woodrow Wilson Public East Portico, United States Capitol Edward D. White
March 4, 1921 Warren G. Harding Public East Portico, United States Capitol Edward D. White
August 3, 1923 Calvin Coolidge Private His father's residence
Plymouth, Vermont		 John C. Coolidge
Notary Public (his father)
August 21, 1923 Calvin Coolidge Private Willard Hotel,
Washington, D.C.		 Adolph A. Hoehling, Jr.
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia [54]
March 4, 1925 Calvin Coolidge Public East Portico, United States Capitol William H. Taft
March 4, 1929 Herbert Hoover Public East Portico, United States Capitol William H. Taft
March 4, 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt Public East Portico, United States Capitol Charles E. Hughes
January 20, 1937 Franklin D. Roosevelt Public East Portico, United States Capitol Charles E. Hughes
January 20, 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt Public East Portico, United States Capitol Charles E. Hughes
January 20, 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt Public South Portico, White House Harlan F. Stone
April 12, 1945 Harry S. Truman Private Cabinet Room, White House Harlan F. Stone
January 20, 1949 Harry S. Truman Public East Portico, United States Capitol Frederick M. Vinson First oath to be televised[51]
January 20, 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower Public East Portico, United States Capitol Frederick M. Vinson
January 20, 1957 Dwight D. Eisenhower Private East Room, White House Earl Warren
January 21, 1957 Dwight D. Eisenhower Public East Portico, United States Capitol Earl Warren
January 20, 1961 John F. Kennedy Public East Portico, United States Capitol Earl Warren
November 22, 1963 Lyndon B. Johnson Private Conference room on SAM 26000 (Air Force One)[55]
Love Field, Dallas, Texas		 Sarah T. Hughes
Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas		 Photographed and audio recorded
January 20, 1965 Lyndon B. Johnson Public East Portico, United States Capitol Earl Warren
January 20, 1969 Richard Nixon Public East Portico, United States Capitol Earl Warren
January 20, 1973 Richard Nixon Public East Portico, United States Capitol Warren E. Burger
August 9, 1974 Gerald Ford Private East Room, White House Warren E. Burger
January 20, 1977 Jimmy Carter Public East Portico, United States Capitol Warren E. Burger
January 20, 1981 Ronald Reagan Public West Front, United States Capitol Warren E. Burger
January 20, 1985 Ronald Reagan Private North Entrance Hall, White House Warren E. Burger Televised
January 21, 1985 Ronald Reagan Public Rotunda, United States Capitol Warren E. Burger Held inside due to severe cold
January 20, 1989 George H. W. Bush Public West Front, United States Capitol William Rehnquist
January 20, 1993 Bill Clinton Public West Front, United States Capitol William Rehnquist
January 20, 1997 Bill Clinton Public West Front, U.S. Capitol William Rehnquist
January 20, 2001 George W. Bush Public West Front, United States Capitol William Rehnquist
January 20, 2005 George W. Bush Public West Front, United States Capitol William Rehnquist
January 20, 2009 Barack Obama Public West Front, United States Capitol John G. Roberts
January 21, 2009 Barack Obama Private Map Room, White House John G. Roberts Photographed and audio recorded[56]
January 20, 2013 Barack Obama Private Blue Room,[57] White House John G. Roberts Televised[58] and live-streamed[59]
January 21, 2013 Barack Obama Public West Front, United States Capitol John G. Roberts Televised and live-streamed[60]
ZZZDate ZZZPresident ZZZType ZZZLocation ZZZAdministered by[a] ZZZNotes
  1. ^ a b Unless otherwise indicated, individual named is the Chief Justice of the United States.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875
  2. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99539230
  3. ^ Bendat, Jim (2012). Democracy's Big Day: The Inauguration of Our President, 1789-2013. iUniverse. pp. xi, 28, 36. ISBN 978-1-935278-47-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=1Js6TR0cNF4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.
  4. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ7oO2G4Brg
  5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgFI5Q0kC8A
  6. ^ a b "The New Administration; President Arthur Formally Inaugurated". The New York Times. September 23, 1881. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=980DE1D9103CEE3ABC4B51DFBF66838A699FDE.
  7. ^ a b c d Time Magazine, Mar. 25, 1929]. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  8. ^ Kennon, Donald (2005). "Presidential Inaugurations Past and Present". http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/chronology/jqadams1825.cfm. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
  9. ^ Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies website: "Inauguration of President George Washington, 1789". Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  10. ^ McCullough, David (1992). Truman. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 347, p. 729. ISBN 0-671-86920-5. http://books.google.com/?id=1yziNhlcQ2wC&dq=harry+truman+kissed+bible&q=kissed. Harry Truman is a notable example, as he bent and kissed the Bible upon taking the oath for the first time, on April 12, 1945, as well as at his second inauguration.
  11. ^ "Inaugural fun facts - WTOL.com - Toledo's News Leader |". WTOL.com. http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=9591104. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  12. ^ Agence France-Presse (2009-01-21). "Chief justice leads Obama to stumble presidential oath | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features". ABS-CBN News. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/world/01/21/09/chief-justice-leads-obama-stumble-presidential-oath. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  13. ^ "No Problems With Today's Oath at the Supreme Court - The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times". Legaltimes.typepad.com. 2009-01-21. http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/01/no-problems-with-todays-oath-at-the-supreme-court.html. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  14. ^ McCullough, p. 347
  15. ^ "Lyndon B. Johnson Oath of Office, January 20, 1965". http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=g3HEglMipos&feature=related. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  16. ^ Williams, Pete (January 20, 2009). "About That Oath Flub". MSNBC. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/20/1751351.aspx. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  17. ^ "Barack Obama Oath of Office (Wikimedia Commons transcript)". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barack_Obama_Oath_of_Office.ogg. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
  18. ^ "Obama retakes oath of office after Roberts' mistake". CNN. January 21, 2013. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/index.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  19. ^ a b Obama is sworn in for second time, BBC News. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  20. ^ Chester A. Arthur House
  21. ^ Inauguration of Chester Arthur
  22. ^ Calvin Coolidge
  23. ^ Fuess, Claude M., Calvin Coolidge: The Man from Vermont (1940), pgs. 310-315, ISBN 0-8371-9320-6.
  24. ^ Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
  25. ^ New York Times
  26. ^ The Presidential Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
  27. ^ Ronald Reagan: Second Inaugural Address
  28. ^ CNN: Audio of Obama's do-over.
  29. ^ "Obama retakes oath of office after Roberts' mistake". CNN. January 21, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/index.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  30. ^ "Obama Takes His Oath of Office Again". Washington Post. January 21, 2009. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/01/21/obama_takes_his_oath_of_office.html?hpid=topnews. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  31. ^ "United States Code: Title 28,453. Oaths of justices and judges | LII / Legal Information Institute". Law.cornell.edu. 2010-01-21. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/28/usc_sec_28_00000453----000-.html. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  32. ^ Peter R. Henriques, “So Help Me God”: A George Washington Myth that Should Be Discarded, hnn.us (1-12-2009).
  33. ^ Sacramento Daily Union, April 10, 1865; page 8, column 6
  34. ^ "Case 1:08-cv-02248-RBW Document 1" (PDF). www.restorethepledge.com. 2008-12-30. p. 25. http://www.restorethepledge.com/live/litigation/inaugural/docs/2008-12-30%20Original%20Complaint.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  35. ^ "Case 1:08-cv-02248-RBW Document 13-9" (PDF). www.restorethepledge.com. 2009-01-08. p. 25. http://www.restorethepledge.com/live/litigation/inaugural/docs/2009-01-08%20CJ's%20Counselor's%20Declaration.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-04. "Before the commencement of this lawsuit, the Chief Justice instructed me to ascertain from President-Elect Obama's representatives the President-Elect's wishes concerning the administration of the oath of office at the inauguration~including his wishes concerning the inclusion of the phrase "So help me God" after the conclusion of the constitutional oath"
  36. ^ http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/con1777.htm
  37. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/intelligence/intelltech.html
  38. ^ http://www.history.army.mil/html/faq/oaths.html
  39. ^ Judiciary Act of 1789, Sec. 7. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
  40. ^ Griswold, Rufus W (1855) [1854]. The Republican court, or, American society in the days of Washington. New York: D. Appleton and Company. pp. 141–142. http://books.google.com/?id=xhsLT1NgTbwC.
  41. ^ Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, Vol. 15, pages 404-405
  42. ^ Sacramento Daily Union, April 10, 1865; page 8, column 6.
  43. ^ Memorial record of the nation's ... - Google Books. Books.google.com. 1865. http://books.google.com/books?id=ArRmzsMraH8C&printsec=titlepage#PPA6,M1. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  44. ^ Recollections of President Lincoln ... - Google Books. Books.google.com. 2006-08-10. http://books.google.com/books?id=d6QfOnbV1zUC&printsec=titlepage#PPA91,M1. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  45. ^ Anecdotal Lincoln - Google Books. Books.google.com. 2007-10-11. http://books.google.com/books?id=xidCAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage#PPA136,M1. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  46. ^ The Avalon Project : First Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln
  47. ^ Foster, James Mitchell (1894) [1894]. Christ the King. Boston: James H. Earle. p. 277. http://books.google.com/?id=7gc3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA277&lpg=PA277. In fact, Milligan did write to Lincoln, but his request was not that Lincoln add "so help me God" to the Oath, but rather that the name of Jesus Christ be added to the U.S. Constitution [1]
  48. ^ Foster, James Mitchell (1890). Reformation Principles Stated and Applied. Chicago and New York: F.H Revell. pp. 234–5. http://www.openlibrary.org/details/reformationprinc00fostrich.
  49. ^ Official State Bible of Alabama
  50. ^ A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875
  51. ^ a b "Inauguration of the President: Facts & Firsts". U.S. Senate. http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  52. ^ "President Franklin Pierce, 1853". Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080131060458/http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/chronology/fpierce1853.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  53. ^ "Hoover Plans to Swear on Bible, Taking Oath". Washington Post: p. 5. February 27, 1929.
  54. ^ The National Archives, Prologue Magazine Vol. 32 No. 4 (Winter 2000). Article "Abrupt Transition", by C.L. Arbelbide. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  55. ^ SAM 26000, this airplane's proper designation, is now at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Officially, "Air Force One" is an air traffic control call sign for any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the President, though it has informally been extended to the aircraft maintained for that purpose (including SAM 26000).
  56. ^ The oath was retaken on January 21, 2009 due to a flaw in its recitation during the previous day's inaugural ceremonies. See: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/index.html
  57. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/obama-private-oath-brief-family-195938699--election.html
  58. ^ http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/01/white-house-provides-more-details-on-private-swearingin-154255.html
  59. ^ http://www.2013pic.org/weekend
  60. ^ http://www.2013pic.org/weekend

[edit] External links
*Non-scheduled (extraordinary) inaugurations
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