This information on the details of swearing in US presidents is courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol. It was compiled by the Office of the Curator.
| PRESIDENT |
DATE |
EDITION |
| George Washington |
1789 |
Genesis 49:13 1 (Masonic Bible); opened at random due to haste |
| George Washington |
1793 |
Not known |
| John Adams |
1797 |
Not known |
| Thomas Jefferson |
1801, 1805 |
Not known |
| James Madison |
1809, 1813 |
Not known |
| James Monroe |
1817, 1821 |
Not known |
| John Q. Adams |
1825 |
Not known |
| Andrew Jackson |
1829, 1833 |
Not known |
| Martin Van Buren |
1837 |
Proverbs 3:17 2 |
| William H. Harrison |
1841 |
Not known |
| John Tyler |
1841 |
Not known |
| James K. Polk |
1845 |
Not known |
| Zachary Taylor |
1849 |
Not known |
| Millard Fillmore |
1850 |
Not known |
| Franklin Pierce |
1853 |
Affirmed instead of swearing the oath; did not kiss Bible |
| James Buchanan |
1857 |
Not known |
| Abraham Lincoln |
1861 |
Opened at random |
| Abraham Lincoln |
1865 |
Matthew 7:1; 18:7; Revelations 16:7 3 |
| Andrew Johnson |
1865 |
Proverbs 21 |
| Ulysses S. Grant |
1869 |
Not known |
| Ulysses S. Grant |
1873 |
Isaiah 11:1-3 4 |
| Rutherford B. Hayes |
1877 |
Privately, no Bible; publicly, Psalm 118:11-13 4 |
| James A. Garfield |
1881 |
Proverbs 21:1 4,5 |
| Chester A. Arthur |
1881 |
Privately, no Bible; Psalm 31:1-3 4,5 |
| Grover Cleveland |
1885 |
Psalm 112:4-10; Bible opened by Chief Justice and by chance it fell to this Psalm 6 |
| Benjamin Harrison |
1889 |
Psalm 121:1-6 4 |
| Grover Cleveland |
1893 |
Psalm 91:12-16 4 |
| William McKinley |
1897 |
II Chron. 1:10; Bible given to him by Methodist church congregation 7 |
| William McKinley |
1901 |
Proverbs 16 4 |
| Theodore Roosevelt |
1901 |
No Bible |
| Theodore Roosevelt |
1905 |
James 1:22-23 4 |
| William Howard Taft |
1909 |
I Kings 3:9-11 4 |
| Woodrow Wilson |
1913 |
Psalm 119 4 |
| Woodrow Wilson |
1917 |
Privately, not known; publicly, Psalm 46 8 |
| Warren G. Harding |
1921 |
Micah 6:8 (Washington Bible) 4 |
| Calvin Coolidge |
1923 |
Not known |
| Calvin Coolidge |
1925 |
John 1 |
| Herbert C. Hoover |
1929 |
Proverbs 29:18 4 |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1933, 1937, 1941, 1945 |
I Corinthians 13 4 |
| Harry S. Truman |
1945 |
Closed Bible held in left hand; right hand on upper cover 9 |
| Harry S. Truman |
1949 |
Matthew 5:3-11 and Exodus 20:3-17 10 |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower |
1953 |
Psalm 127:1 (Washington Bible) and II Chronicles 7:14 (West Point Bible) 11 |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower |
1957 |
Privately, not known; publicly, Psalm 33:12 12 (West Point Bible) |
| John F. Kennedy |
1961 |
Closed Bible 13 |
| Lyndon B. Johnson |
1963 |
Missal 14 |
| Lyndon B. Johnson |
1965 |
Closed family Bible 15 |
| Richard M. Nixon |
1969, 1973 |
Two family Bibles, both open to Isaiah 2:4 16 |
| Gerald R. Ford |
1974 |
Proverbs 3:5-6 17 |
| James E. Carter |
1977 |
Family Bible open to Micah 6:8 18 |
| Ronald W. Reagan |
1981, 1985 |
Mother's Bible open to II Chronicles 7:14 19 (Both privately and publicly in 1985) |
| George H. W. Bush |
1989 |
Washington's Masonic Bible opened at random in the center; family Bible on top opened to Matthew 5 |
| William J. Clinton |
1993 |
King James Bible, given to him by grandmother, open to Galatians 6:8 |
| William J. Clinton |
1997 |
King James Bible, given to him by grandmother, open to Isaiah 58:12< 20 |
| George W. Bush |
2001 |
Closed family Bible 21 |
NOTES
1. Bowen, Clarence W. The History of the Centennial Celebration of the Inauguration of George Washington, N.Y. 1892, p. 72, Illustration.
2. Listed in the files of Legislative Reference Service, Library of Congress, source not given.
3. Wright, John. Historic Bibles in America, N.Y. 1905, p. 46.
4. List compiled by Clerk of the Supreme Court, 1939.
5. One source (The Chicago Daily Tribune, Sept. 23, 1881, p. 5) says that Garfield and Arthur used the same passage, but does not indicate which one.
6. Hutchins, Stilson. The National Capitol, Washington, 1885, p. 276.
7. Harper's Magazine, August 1897.
8. Senate Document 116, 65th Congress, 1st Session, 1917.
9. New York Times, Apr. 13, 1945, p. 1, col. 7.
10. Facts on File, Jan. 16-22, 1949, p. 21.
11. New York Times, Jan. 21, 1953, p. 19.
12. New York Times, Jan. 22, 1957, p. 16.
13. New York Times, Jan. 21, 1961, p. 8, col. 1.
14. Mooney, Booth. The Lyndon Johnson Story, p. 1.
15. Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court via phone July 1968.
16. Washington Post, Jan. 20, 1969, p. A1.
17. New York Times, Aug. 10, 1974, p. A1.
18. Washington Post, Jan. 21, 1977, p. A17.
19. White House Curator's Office.
20. Washington Post, Jan. 21, 1997, p. A14.
21. Inauguration staff. George W. Bush had hoped to use the Masonic Bible that had been used both by George Washington in 1789, and by the President's father, George H. W. Bush, in 1989. This historic Bible had been transported, under guard, from New York to Washington for the inauguration but, due to inclement weather, a family Bible was substituted instead.
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The Oaths Of Office
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