Oath of office of the president of the United States facts for kids

The oath of office of the president of the United States is a very important promise that the president of the United States makes when they start their job. The exact words for this promise are written in the United States Constitution. A new president must say these words before they can officially begin their duties.

The Constitution has a few parts that mention oaths, but this is the only one that tells the president exactly what to say. The oath is a promise to do their best to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." This means they promise to keep the country's most important laws safe.

Text of the Oath

The words of the oath are written in Article II, Section One of the Constitution:

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."

The Inauguration Ceremony

Federal judge Sarah T. Hughes gives the presidential oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963. This happened after President John F. Kennedy could no longer serve.

A new or re-elected president starts their four-year term on January 20th after the election. They take the oath of office during a big public event called the inauguration. Before 1937, this happened on March 4th.

If January 20 is a Sunday, the president takes the oath in a small, private ceremony. Then, they take it again in a public ceremony on Monday, January 21.

Sometimes, a vice president has to become president if the current president can no longer do the job. When this happens, the new president takes the oath as soon as possible. This ensures that the country always has a leader in charge.

Who Gives the Oath?

Franklin D. Roosevelt takes the oath of office from Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes on March 4, 1933.

The Constitution doesn't say who must give the oath to the president. However, it is usually the chief justice.

But there have been some interesting exceptions:

• The first president, George Washington, was sworn in by a New York judge named Robert Livingston.
• When President Warren Harding passed away, Calvin Coolidge was visiting his family in Vermont. His own father, who was a notary public, gave him the oath of office right there in his family's home!
• Judge Sarah T. Hughes is the only woman who has ever given the oath. She did this for Lyndon B. Johnson on the presidential airplane, Air Force One.

In total, the oath has been given by 15 chief justices, one associate justice, and a few other judges and officials.

Swear or Affirm?

The Constitution gives the president a choice to either "swear" or "affirm." This is because some religious groups, like the Quakers, believe it is wrong to swear oaths.

So far, Franklin Pierce is the only president known for sure to have used the word "affirm" instead of "swear." Even though Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were both Quakers, they chose to "swear."

How the Oath is Taken

There have been two ways of taking the oath.

• In the past: The person giving the oath would ask it as a question. For example, "Do you, George Washington, solemnly swear...?" The president would then answer, "I swear."
• Today: The person giving the oath says it in short phrases. The president then repeats each phrase. This is the method we see in modern inaugurations.

Using a Bible

Joe Biden takes the oath of office on his family's Bible on January 20, 2021.

Most new presidents raise their right hand and place their left hand on a Bible when taking the oath. This is a tradition, not a rule.

George Washington started this tradition in 1789. He used a Bible from a Masonic lodge and kissed it after taking the oath. Many presidents after him also kissed the Bible.

Some presidents have used two Bibles. Joe Biden used a large Bible that had been in his family since 1893.

A few presidents did not use a Bible. John Quincy Adams read the oath of office from a volume of laws. When Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath on Air Force One, he used a Catholic prayer book called a missal because it was the only book available that looked like a Bible.

The Famous Last Words: "So help me God"

George H. W. Bush takes the oath of office from Chief Justice William Rehnquist on January 20, 1989.

The phrase "So help me God" is not actually part of the official oath in the Constitution. However, it has become a popular tradition for presidents to add these words at the end.

There is some debate about whether George Washington was the first president to add the phrase. We don't have a perfect record of what he said. The first clear newspaper reports of a president saying "So help me God" are from the inaugurations of Abraham Lincoln and Chester A. Arthur.

Today, almost every president says "So help me God" after finishing the official oath. It has become a well-known part of the ceremony.

When Things Go Wrong: Oath Mishaps

Barack Obama takes the oath of office for a second time from Chief Justice John Roberts on January 21, 2009, to make sure it was done correctly.

Even in such an important ceremony, mistakes can happen! Here are a few examples:

• In 1929, Chief Justice William Howard Taft (who had been president himself) mixed up the words when giving the oath to President Herbert Hoover. He said "preserve, maintain, and defend" instead of "preserve, protect, and defend."
• When Harry S. Truman took the oath in 1945, the Chief Justice thought his middle initial "S" stood for a name, "Shipp." He started to say, "Do you, Harry Shipp Truman..." but Truman corrected him, saying "I, Harry S. Truman..."
• In 2009, Chief Justice John Roberts and President Barack Obama stumbled over the words. To make sure the oath was taken perfectly, they did it again the next day at the White House.

List of Oath Ceremonies

Since 1789, there have been 59 public inauguration ceremonies for a new four-year presidential term. There have also been nine other ceremonies for presidents who took office after a president passed away or left office.

With the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden, the presidential oath has been taken 76 different times by 45 people. Why the different numbers? Because presidents take the oath for each term they serve. Also, some presidents have taken the oath twice for one term: once in private and once in public.

See also

• Presidential Succession Act
• Oath of office of the vice president of the United States
• United States presidential transition