When President-elect Barack Obama takes his oath and is sworn into office on Jan. 20, he will place his hand on the same Bible used to swear in Abraham Lincoln in 1861, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced today.
Obama will be the first president, other than Lincoln himself, to use the emancipator’s Bible when being sworn into the White House, the committee said. The Lincoln Bible will be made available by the Library of Congress, where it resides.
“President-elect Obama is deeply honored that the Library of Congress has made the Lincoln Bible available for use during his swearing-in,” Presidential Inaugural Committee Executive Director Emmett Beliveau said today in a press release announcing Obama’s intention.
“The President-elect is committed to holding an Inauguration that celebrates America’s unity, and the use of this historic Bible will provide a powerful connection to our common past and common heritage.”