when did presidents start swearing on the bible
1789
title: United States presidential inauguration text: is mentioned in the Constitution. By convention, incoming presidents raise their right hand and place the left on a Bible or other book while taking the oath of office. While most have, Theodore Roosevelt did not use a Bible when taking the oath in 1901; neither did John Quincy Adams in 1825. In 1853, Franklin Pierce affirmed the oath of office rather than swear it. More recently, a Catholic missal was used for Lyndon Johnson's 1963 swearing in ceremony. Bibles of historical significance have sometimes been used at inaugurations. George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Dwight D. Eisenhower used title: Oath of office of the President of the United States text: use a Bible when taking the oath in 1901. Both John Quincy Adams and Franklin Pierce swore on a book of law, with the intention that they were swearing on the constitution. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on a Roman Catholic missal on Air Force One. Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump each swore the oath on two Bibles. 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 title: Oath of office of the President of the United States text: with the president-elect repeating those phrases, until the oath was completed. By convention, incoming presidents raise their right hand and place the left on a Bible or other book 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. Subsequent presidents up to and including Harry Truman, followed suit. Dwight Eisenhower broke that tradition in 1953 when he said a prayer instead of kissing the Bible. Theodore Roosevelt did not title: President of the United States text: of office, found in . This is the only component in the inauguration ceremony mandated by the Constitution: Presidents have traditionally placed one hand upon a Bible while taking the oath, and have added "So help me God" to the end of the oath. Although the oath may be administered by any person authorized by law to administer oaths, presidents are traditionally sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States. When the first president, George Washington, announced in his "Farewell Address" that he was not running for a third term, he established a "two-terms then out" precedent. Precedent title: Inauguration of Donald Trump text: Justice of the United States John Roberts, the presidential oath was taken by Trump as his first task after becoming president at noon, in keeping with and the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, with the vice presidential oath taken by Pence and administered by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas immediately preceding it. Trump was sworn in with his left hand on a pair of Bibles, his personal copy and the Lincoln Bible. The inauguration was accompanied by protests worldwide. The inauguration marked the formal culmination of the presidential transition of Donald Trump that began when he won the U.S. presidential