Obama to be Sworn in on Historic Lincoln Bible
Abraham Lincoln's Legacy Part of Barack Obama' Inauguration
Jan 6, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on the very same Bible that President Abraham Lincoln used when he was sworn in at 16th President nearly a century and a half ago.
The Lincoln Bible, which is in the collection of the Library of Congress, is rarely exhibited, but it was recently taken out. The Lincoln Bible is part of the rare book and special collections at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. It is meaningful that the first African American President will be sworn in the same Bible used by the great emancipator of slaves during the Civil War.
Lincoln Legacy and Barack Obama
This is a milestone election, as Barack Obama is the first African American to be elected to the office of President of the United States. President Lincoln is known for his mission to abolish slavery in the mid-19th century. One wonders whether Abraham Lincoln could have envisioned a day that an African American could be elected to high office, and imagines that he probably could have.
The President Elect relates to the Lincoln legacy for many reasons, one of which is that he is the second son of Illinois to be elected President of the United States. Obama borrowed a line from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address in the election night speech, with the famous line “And the government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this earth.”
Abraham Lincoln
The inauguration will be held just a few weeks after the beginning of the bicentennial year of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Lincoln was born 200 years ago, in 1809.
According to the Library of Congress, Obama will be the first president to be sworn in on this Bible since President Lincoln used it almost 150 years ago.
Abraham Lincoln was sworn in on March 4, 1861, at a historically significant time, when the survival of the United states was endangered by the threat of succession by the southern states.
According to the Library of Congress website, the president-elect arrived in Washington D.C. secretly, amid fears of assassination.
Lincoln Bible at Library of Congress
The Lincoln Family Bible, which is also part of the Library of Congress collection, was packed with belongings that were traveling en route from Springfield Illinois to Washington D.C.
The Bible used for Lincoln’s swearing in, and which will be used for Barack Obama’s swearing in, was originally purchased by William Thomas Carroll, Clerk of the Supreme Court. This historic Bible is bound in burgundy velvet with a gold-washed white metal rim around the outside edges. All edges a heavily gilt. The 1,280 page Bible as published by the Oxford University Press in 1853.
In the back of the Bible is a note, along with a Supreme Court Seal, "I, William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the said court do hereby certify that the preceding copy of the Holy Bible is that upon which the Honorable. R. B. Taney, Chief Justice of the said Court, administered to His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, the oath of office as President of the United States
The Lincoln Inaugural Bible will go on display at the Library of Congress from February 12 to May 9, 2009, as part of an exhibition titled “With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition.”
Lincoln Memorial Kicks Off Inauguration Events
Historic Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington DC
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