This Friday, Donald Trump will take the presidential Oath of Office in an Inauguration Ceremony. It takes just 35 words to officially make someone president of the United States. It is shown in Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 of the Constitution:
“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.”
The Inauguration used to actually take place on March 4 after the election. In 1933, the Twentieth Amendment changed the date to January 20 to shorten the time between the election and the swearing in of the next President.
Washington’s Oath
President George Washington took his oath on April 30, 1789. The Congress didn’t get the votes counted in time for the March 4th date. Someone went to Mount Vernon to tell Washington, which sparked his week-long procession to New York for his Inauguration. Before 1889, the inaugural parades went to the Capitol. Congress spent a lot of time debating what Washington’s title would be. Some were in favor of “his highness” or “his excellency,” but many thought those sounded too much like a monarch. They finally settled on “the President of the United States.”
Swear Or Affirm
Most incoming presidents use the word “swear” in the oath. However, Quakers believe that they should never swear on anything. President Franklin Pierce used the word “affirm” at his inauguration in 1853; also, he was the first president to choose to put his hand on the Bible instead of kissing it.
The Bible
The Constitution doesn’t require the use of the Bible; however, most presidents use the Bible out of tradition. Most presidents put their left hand on the Bible, then raise their right hand while repeating the Oath. Most of them have used the Bible, but a few did not. Theodore Roosevelt, John Quincy Adams, and Franklin Pierce put their hands on a law book instead.
We’ll see if Trump swears on a Bible or on The Art of the Deal.
Featured image by Anthony Quintano via Flickr, available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
