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Oath of office of the president of the United States

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Chief Justice John Roberts administering the presidential oath of office to Joe Biden on January 20, 2021.

The oath of office of the president of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the president of the United States takes upon assuming office. The wording of the oath is specified in Article II, Section One, Clause 8, of the United States Constitution, and a new president must take it before exercising or carrying out any official powers or duties.

This clause is one of three oath or affirmation clauses in the Constitution, but it is the only one that actually specifies the words that must be spoken. Article I, Section 3 requires Senators, when sitting to try impeachments, to be "on Oath or Affirmation." Article VI, Clause 3, similarly requires the persons specified therein to "be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution." The presidential oath requires much more than that general oath of allegiance and fidelity. This clause enjoins the new president to swear or affirm: "I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."[1]

Text

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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."[2]

Ceremony

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Lyndon Johnson being sworn in as next president, two hours after President John F. Kennedy's assassination

A newly elected or re-elected president of the United States begins their four-year term of office at noon on the twentieth day of January following the election, and, by tradition, takes the oath of office during an inauguration on that date; prior to 1937 the president's term of office began on March 4.[3] If January 20 falls on a Sunday, the president will be sworn in that day by taking the oath privately, but will then re-take the oath in a public ceremony the next day, on January 21.

Nine vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency upon the death or resignation of the president. In these situations the oath of office was administered to the new president as quickly as possible, as doing so allowed the presidency to continue uninterrupted.[4]

Administration

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Franklin D. Roosevelt being administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes on March 4, 1933, the first of Roosevelt's four presidential inaugurations.

While the Constitution does not mandate that anyone in particular should administer the presidential oath of office, it has been administered by the chief justice beginning with John Adams, except following the death of a sitting president. George Washington was sworn into office during his first inauguration, on April 30, 1789, by Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston.[5][6] William Cranch, chief judge of the U.S. Circuit Court, administered the oath to Millard Fillmore on July 10, 1850, when he became president after the death of Zachary Taylor.[7] Upon being informed of Warren Harding's death, while visiting his family home in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as president by his father, John Calvin Coolidge Sr., a notary public.[8][9] Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes administered the oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson aboard Air Force One after John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963; the only time a woman has administered the oath of office. Overall, the presidential oath has been administered by 15 chief justices (one of whom—William Howard Taft—was also a former president), one associate justice, four federal judges, two New York state judges, and one notary public.

Option of affirmation

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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).[10] Franklin Pierce is the only president known to have used 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."[11] Richard Nixon, who was also a Quaker, swore, rather than affirmed.[12][13]

Forms

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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."[14] In 1929, Time magazine reported that the Chief Justice William H. Taft began the oath uttering, "You, Herbert Hoover, do you solemnly swear ...",[15] Hoover replied with a simple "I do."[16]

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] Franklin Roosevelt, in 1933, stood silent as Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes recited the entire oath, then repeated that oath from beginning to end himself.[17] By the time of Harry Truman's inauguration in 1949, the practice was for the chief justice to utter the oath in phrases, with the president repeating those phrases, until the oath was completed.[18]

Use of Bibles

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Joe Biden takes the oath of office on the Biden family Bible, January 20, 2021

By convention, incoming presidents raise their right hand and place the left on a Bible while taking the oath of office. In 1789, George Washington took the oath of office with an altar Bible borrowed from the St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons lodge in New York, and he kissed the Bible afterward.[19][20] Subsequent presidents up to and including Harry S. Truman, followed suit.[21] Dwight D. Eisenhower said a prayer in the end instead of kissing the Bible in 1953.[22]

Thomas Jefferson and Calvin Coolidge did not use a Bible in their oath-taking ceremonies.[23] Theodore Roosevelt did not use the Bible when taking the oath in 1901,[23][24] nor did John Quincy Adams, who swore on a book of law, with the intention that he was swearing on the constitution.[25] Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in at his first inauguration on a Roman Catholic missal on Air Force One, believing it was a Bible, in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy; he swore in on a Bible at his second inauguration.[23][26] Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump each swore the oath on two Bibles.[24] The large leather-bound Bible used by Joe Biden had been in the Biden family since 1893.[27]

"So help me God"

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Further information: So help me God § United States, and Oath

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[28] as well as by the Second Continental Congress in 1776.[29][30] 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."[31] 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, 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.

George H. W. Bush being administered the oath of office by Chief Justice William Rehnquist on January 20, 1989.

There is currently debate as to whether or not George Washington, the first president, added the phrase to his acceptance of the oath.[32] 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.[33] The only contemporary account that repeats the oath in full, a report from the French consul, Comte de Moustier, states only the constitutional oath,[34] without reference to Washington's adding "So help me God" to his acceptance.

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.[35] The Daily Union account is embellished in several ways, and other newspaper accounts published nearer to the ceremony do not mention the phrase (but they do not quote the oath in any form).[36] 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."[14] In 1929, Time magazine reported that the chief justice began the oath uttering, "You, Herbert Hoover, do you solemnly swear ..."[15] Hoover replied with a simple "I do."

A contemporaneous newspaper account of Lincoln's 1865 inauguration states that Lincoln appended the phrase "So help me God" to the oath.[35] 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.[37] 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.[38][39] During the speech, Lincoln stated that his oath was "registered in Heaven,"[40] 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.[41][full citation needed][42]

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.[43] Given that nearly every president-elect since President Franklin D. Roosevelt has recited the additional phrase, it is likely that the majority of presidents-elect have uttered it.[44]

Mishaps

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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, as Chief Justice, he swore 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."[15]
  • In 1929, Chief Justice Taft, himself formerly a president of the United States, 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 Constitution." 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.[15][45][46]
  • 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, apparently mistaken about the meaning of Truman's middle initial (which is not an abbreviation but rather the whole middle name in itself), began reading the oath by saying "I, Harry Shipp Truman, ..." Truman responded: "I, Harry S Truman, ..."[47]
  • In both his 1953 and 1957 inaugurations, Dwight D. Eisenhower read the line "the office of President of the United States" as "the office of the President of the United States," even as chief justices Fred Vinson (in 1953) and Earl Warren (in 1957) said the line correctly.
  • In 1965, Chief Justice Earl Warren prompted Lyndon B. Johnson to say, "the Office of the Presidency of the United States."[48]
  • In 1973, President Richard Nixon added the word "and" between "preserve" and "protect," resulting in "preserve and protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Nixon had recited the line correctly during his first inauguration.
  • In 2009, Chief Justice John 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."[49][50] The oath was re-administered the next day by Roberts at the White House.[51][52] This incident provided for the title and much of the content of Jeffrey Toobin's 2012 book, The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court.

List of ceremonies

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Further information on the inauguration ceremony and its history: United States presidential inauguration

Since the office of President of the United States came into existence in 1789 there have been 59 public swearing-in ceremonies to mark the commencement of a new four-year presidential term, plus an additional nine marking the start of a partial presidential term following the intra-term death or resignation of an incumbent president. With the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden, the presidential oath has been taken 76 different times by 45 persons. This numerical discrepancy results chiefly from two factors: a president must take the oath at the beginning of each term of office, and, because Inauguration Day has sometimes fallen on a Sunday, five presidents have taken the oath privately before the public inauguration ceremony. In addition, three have repeated the oath as a precaution against potential later constitutional challenges.[53]

Date Type Event[a] Location Oath administered by
April 30, 1789
(Thursday)		 Public First inauguration of George Washington Balcony,
Federal Hall
New York, New York		 Robert Livingston
Chancellor of New York
March 4, 1793
(Monday)		 Public Second inauguration of George Washington Senate Chamber,
Congress Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		 William Cushing
Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
March 4, 1797
(Saturday)		 Public Inauguration of John Adams House Chamber,
Congress Hall		 Oliver Ellsworth
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1801
(Wednesday)		 Public First inauguration of Thomas Jefferson Senate Chamber,
U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.		 John Marshall
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1805
(Monday)		 Public Second inauguration of Thomas Jefferson Senate Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 4, 1809
(Saturday)		 Public First inauguration of James Madison House Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 4, 1813
(Thursday)		 Public Second inauguration of James Madison House Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 4, 1817
(Tuesday)		 Public First inauguration of James Monroe Front steps,
Old Brick Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 5, 1821[b]
(Monday)		 Public Second inauguration of James Monroe House Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 4, 1825
(Friday)		 Public Inauguration of John Quincy Adams House Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 4, 1829
(Wednesday)		 Public First inauguration of Andrew Jackson East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 4, 1833
(Monday)		 Public Second inauguration of Andrew Jackson House Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 John Marshall
Chief Justice
March 4, 1837
(Saturday)		 Public Inauguration of Martin Van Buren East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1841
(Thursday)		 Public Inauguration of William Henry Harrison East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice
April 6, 1841[c]
(Tuesday)		 Private Inauguration of John Tyler Brown's Indian Queen Hotel,
Washington, D.C.		 William Cranch
Chief Judge, U.S. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
March 4, 1845
(Tuesday)		 Public Inauguration of James K. Polk East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice
March 5, 1849[b]
(Monday)		 Public Inauguration of Zachary Taylor East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice
July 10, 1850[d]
(Wednesday)		 Public Inauguration of Millard Fillmore House Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 William Cranch
Circuit Court Judge
March 4, 1853
(Friday)		 Public Inauguration of Franklin Pierce East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice
March 4, 1857
(Wednesday)		 Public Inauguration of James Buchanan East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice
March 4, 1861
(Monday)		 Public First inauguration of Abraham Lincoln East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Roger B. Taney
Chief Justice
March 4, 1865
(Saturday)		 Public Second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Salmon P. Chase
Chief Justice of the United States
April 15, 1865
(Saturday)		 Private Inauguration of Andrew Johnson Kirkwood House Hotel,
Washington, D.C.		 Salmon P. Chase
Chief Justice
March 4, 1869
(Thursday)		 Public First inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Salmon P. Chase
Chief Justice
March 4, 1873
(Tuesday)		 Public Second inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Salmon P. Chase
Chief Justice
March 3, 1877[54][b]
(Saturday)		 Private Inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes Red Room,
White House		 Morrison Waite
Chief Justice of the United States
March 5, 1877[b]
(Monday)		 Public East Portico,
U.S. Capitol
March 4, 1881
(Friday)		 Public Inauguration of James A. Garfield East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Morrison Waite
Chief Justice
September 20, 1881[55][e]
(Tuesday)		 Private Inauguration of Chester A. Arthur Chester A. Arthur Home,
New York, New York		 John R. Brady
Justice of the New York Supreme Court
September 22, 1881[e]
(Thursday)		 Public The Vice President's Room,
U.S. Capitol		 Morrison Waite
Chief Justice
March 4, 1885
(Wednesday)		 Public First inauguration of Grover Cleveland East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Morrison Waite
Chief Justice
March 4, 1889
(Monday)		 Public Inauguration of Benjamin Harrison East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Melville Fuller
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1893
(Saturday)		 Public Second inauguration of Grover Cleveland East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Melville Fuller
Chief Justice
March 4, 1897
(Thursday)		 Public First inauguration of William McKinley Front of original Senate Wing
U.S. Capitol		 Melville Fuller
Chief Justice
March 4, 1901
(Monday)		 Public Second inauguration of William McKinley East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Melville Fuller
Chief Justice
September 14, 1901
(Saturday)		 Private First inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt Ansley Wilcox Home,
Buffalo, New York		 John R. Hazel
Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
March 4, 1905
(Saturday)		 Public Second inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Melville Fuller
Chief Justice
March 4, 1909
(Thursday)		 Public Inauguration of William Howard Taft Senate Chamber,
U.S. Capitol		 Melville Fuller
Chief Justice
March 4, 1913
(Tuesday)		 Public First inauguration of Woodrow Wilson East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Edward D. White
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1917[56]
(Sunday)		 Private Second inauguration of Woodrow Wilson The President's Room,
U.S. Capitol		 Edward D. White
Chief Justice
March 5, 1917[b]
(Monday)		 Public East Portico,
U.S. Capitol
March 4, 1921
(Friday)		 Public Inauguration of Warren G. Harding East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Edward D. White
Chief Justice
August 3, 1923[57][f]
(Friday)		 Private First inauguration of Calvin Coolidge Coolidge Homestead,
Plymouth Notch, Vermont		 John Calvin Coolidge
Vermont justice of the peace
August 21, 1923[57][f]
(Tuesday)		 Private Willard Hotel
Washington, D.C.		 Adolph A. Hoehling Jr.
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
March 4, 1925
(Wednesday)		 Public Second inauguration of Calvin Coolidge East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 William H. Taft
Chief Justice of the United States
March 4, 1929
(Monday)		 Public Inauguration of Herbert Hoover East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 William H. Taft
Chief Justice
March 4, 1933
(Saturday)		 Public First inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Charles E. Hughes
Chief Justice of the United States
January 20, 1937
(Wednesday)		 Public Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Charles E. Hughes
Chief Justice
January 20, 1941
(Monday)		 Public Third inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Charles E. Hughes
Chief Justice
January 20, 1945
(Saturday)		 Public Fourth inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt South Portico,
White House		 Harlan F. Stone
Chief Justice of the United States
April 12, 1945
(Thursday)		 Private First inauguration of Harry S. Truman Cabinet Room,
White House		 Harlan F. Stone
Chief Justice
January 20, 1949
(Thursday)		 Public Second inauguration of Harry S. Truman East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Fred M. Vinson
Chief Justice of the United States
January 20, 1953
(Tuesday)		 Public First inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Fred M. Vinson
Chief Justice
January 20, 1957
(Sunday)		 Private Second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower East Room,
White House		 Earl Warren
Chief Justice of the United States
January 21, 1957[g]
(Monday)		 Public East Portico,
U.S. Capitol
January 20, 1961
(Friday)		 Public Inauguration of John F. Kennedy East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Earl Warren
Chief Justice
November 22, 1963
(Friday)		 Private First inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson Air Force One,
Dallas Love Field,
Dallas, Texas		 Sarah T. Hughes
Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
January 20, 1965
(Wednesday)		 Public Second inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Earl Warren
Chief Justice
January 20, 1969
(Monday)		 Public First inauguration of Richard Nixon East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Earl Warren
Chief Justice
January 20, 1973
(Saturday)		 Public Second inauguration of Richard Nixon East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Warren Burger
Chief Justice of the United States
August 9, 1974
(Friday)		 Public Inauguration of Gerald Ford East Room,
White House		 Warren Burger
Chief Justice
January 20, 1977
(Thursday)		 Public Inauguration of Jimmy Carter East Portico,
U.S. Capitol		 Warren Burger
Chief Justice
January 20, 1981
(Tuesday)		 Public First inauguration of Ronald Reagan West Front,
U.S. Capitol		 Warren Burger
Chief Justice
January 20, 1985
(Sunday)		 Private Second inauguration of Ronald Reagan Entrance Hall,
White House		 Warren Burger
Chief Justice
January 21, 1985[g]
(Monday)		 Public Rotunda,
U.S. Capitol
January 20, 1989
(Friday)		 Public Inauguration of George H. W. Bush West Front,
U.S. Capitol		 William Rehnquist
Chief Justice of the United States
January 20, 1993
(Wednesday)		 Public First inauguration of Bill Clinton West Front,
U.S. Capitol		 William Rehnquist
Chief Justice
January 20, 1997
(Monday)		 Public Second inauguration of Bill Clinton West Front,
U.S. Capitol		 William Rehnquist
Chief Justice
January 20, 2001
(Saturday)		 Public First inauguration of George W. Bush West Front,
U.S. Capitol		 William Rehnquist
Chief Justice
January 20, 2005
(Thursday)		 Public Second inauguration of George W. Bush West Front,
U.S. Capitol		 William Rehnquist
Chief Justice
January 20, 2009
(Tuesday)		 Public First inauguration of Barack Obama West Front,
U.S. Capitol		 John Roberts
Chief Justice of the United States
January 21, 2009[58][h]
(Wednesday)		 Private Map Room,
White House
January 20, 2013[59]
(Sunday)		 Private Second inauguration of Barack Obama Blue Room,
White House		 John Roberts
Chief Justice
January 21, 2013[g]
(Monday)		 Public West Front,
U.S. Capitol
January 20, 2017
(Friday)		 Public First inauguration of Donald Trump West Front,
U.S. Capitol
 John Roberts
Chief Justice
January 20, 2021
(Wednesday)		 Public Inauguration of Joe Biden West Front,
U.S. Capitol
 John Roberts
Chief Justice
January 20, 2025
(Monday)		 Public Second inauguration of Donald Trump West Front,
U.S. Capitol
 John Roberts
Chief Justice
ZZZDate ZZZType ZZZEvent ZZZLocation ZZZOath administered by

Notes

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  1. ^ Inaugurations sort alphabetically by president's last name.
  2. ^ a b c d e Term began Sunday, March 4.
  3. ^ Term began when President Harrison died on April 4.
  4. ^ Term began when President Taylor died on July 9.
  5. ^ a b Term began when President Garfield died on September 19.
  6. ^ a b Term began when President Harding died on August 2.
  7. ^ a b c Term began Sunday, January 20.
  8. ^ Term began Tuesday, January 20, despite the "mishap" of the public oath being repeated correctly in private the next day.
Map showing locations where the oath of office was first taken, marked with a green 'O' (or a green dot for scheduled occurrences). Locations where presidencies ended unexpectedly are marked with a red 'X' (a red dot denoted scheduled transitions). The nine sets of names shown in black denote the location where presidencies have ended intra-term due to the incumbent's death (four presidents have died of natural causes and four were assassinated—names underlined in grey) or resignation (one, noted by a superscript 'R'). The inset at the bottom of the map is Oath or Affirmation Clause (Article II, Section One, Clause 8) of the U.S. Constitution.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kesavan, Vasan. "Essays on Article II: Oath of Office". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  2. ^ "The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, Centennial Edition, Interim Edition: Analysis of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 26, 2013" (PDF). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 2013. p. 13.
  3. ^ Larson, Edward J.; Shesol, Jeff. "Twentieth Amendment". Interactive Constitution. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: National Constitution Center. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  4. ^ Arbelbide, C. L. (Winter 2000). "Abrupt Transition". Prologue. Vol. 32, no. 4. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  5. ^ "Presidential Election of 1789". George Washington's Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  6. ^ "George Washington's Inaugural Address". The National Archives. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "President Millard Fillmore, 1850". Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  8. ^ Glenn D. Kittler, Hail to the Chief!: The Inauguration Days of our Presidents, 1965, page 167.
  9. ^ Porter H. Dale, "The Calvin Coolidge Inauguration Revisited: An Eyewitness Account by Congressman Porter H. Dale", Vermont History, 1994, Volume 62, pp. 214–222.
  10. ^ "Oath Of Office: To Swear Or To Affirm". NPR.org. January 18, 2009.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Swallow, Wendy (July 1, 2016). "Quaker Presidents and the Oath of Office". renofriends.org. Reno Friends Quaker Meeting. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  13. ^ YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22.
  14. ^ a b "The New Administration; President Arthur Formally Inaugurated". The New York Times. September 23, 1881.
  15. ^ a b c d Time Magazine, Mar. 25, 1929]. Retrieved 2009-01-23. [dead link‍]
  16. ^ Herbert Hoover Takes the Oath of Office. February 6, 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Franklin D. Roosevelt – Oath of office March 4th, 1933. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ Harry S. Truman – Oath of office January 20th, 1949. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ http://www.stjohns1.org/portal/gwib "St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons".
  20. ^ Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies website: "Inauguration of President George Washington, 1789" Archived 2009-01-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  21. ^ McCullough, David (1992). Truman. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 347, 729. ISBN 0-671-86920-5. 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.
  22. ^ "Inaugural fun facts". Toledo, OH: WTOL.com. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  23. ^ a b c Catholic Church Missal Not Bible Used By Johnson For Oath At Dallas, Andrew J. Glass, Washington Post , February 26 1967.
  24. ^ a b "Bibles Used in Inaugural Ceremonies". Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  25. ^ Kennon, Donald (2005). "Presidential Inaugurations Past and Present". Archived from the original on 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  26. ^ Glass, Andrew J. (February 26, 1967). "Catholic Church Missal, Not Bible, Used by Johnson for Oath at Dallas" (PDF). The Washington Post. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
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