S.A. hosts Washington’s inaugural Bible
SAN ANTONIO — The tradition we have come to closely associate with presidential inaugurations was once almost an afterthought — or so the legend goes.
The rite of a presidentelect placing his hand on a Bible to be sworn into office is not codified into law but is one all presidents since Theodore Roosevelt have observed.
On Saturday, the original inaugural Bible used to swear in George Washington in 1789 was in San Antonio for the second time in its 250-year history. The book is being used by the San Antonio Shriners chapter, an organization within the broader Free Mason society emphasizing philanthropy and camaraderie.
The centuries-old bible is being used to swear in the new CEO of the San Antonio Shriners, among others.
When not in use, the Bible is on display at Federal Hall in New York City.
Just as Washington was to be inaugurated at Federal Hall — then the meeting place of Congress — someone realized there was no Bible for him to swear in on.
Jacob Morton, a marshal at Washington’s inauguration, was the grand master of the St. John’s Masonic Lodge in New York not far from where the inauguration was taking place. The story goes that Morton ran to the lodge to retrieve the Bible and upon returning opened the book at random. Washington is said to have finished his oath of office with “so help me, God.”
But while it makes a good story, historians say Washington was almost certainly too detail-oriented to have forgotten a Bible, according to Joel Ginn, a tour guide with the Grand Lodge of New York who accompanied the Bible to San Antonio.
But even if the story is less than accurate, the sepia-colored pages of the book signify the establishment of democratic norms and the peaceful transition of power America has experienced since, Ginn said.
The same Bible has been used at other presidential inaugurations, including those of Warren Harding, Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.
President Barack Obama was sworn in using a Bible owned by Abraham Lincoln. President Donald Trump also used the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration, as well as a personal Bible he received from his mother.