Obama: Lincoln Bible For Inauguration

President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office using the same Bible upon which President Lincoln was sworn in at his first inauguration. Obama will be the first President sworn in using the Lincoln Bible since its initial use in 1861.

"President-elect Obama is deeply honored that the Library of Congress has made the Lincoln Bible available for use during his swearing-in," said Presidential Inaugural Committee Executive Director Emmett Beliveau. "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."

The Bible was originally purchased by William Thomas Carroll, Clerk of the Supreme Court, for use during Lincoln's swearing-in ceremony on March 4, 1861. The Lincoln family Bible, which is also in the Library of Congress's collection, was unavailable for the ceremony because it was packed away with the First Family's belongings, still en route from Springfield, IL, to their new home at the White House.

The Bible itself is bound in burgundy velvet with a gold-washed white metal rim around the three outside edges of both covers. All its edges are heavily gilded. In the center of the top cover is a shield of gold wash over white metal with the words "Holy Bible" chased into it. The book is 15 cm long, 10 cm wide, and 4.5 cm deep when closed. The 1,280-page Bible was published in 1853 by the Oxford University Press.

Annotated in the back of the volume, along with the Seal of the Supreme Court, is the following: "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 Honble. 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 ..."

Comments

[mag68]

06:30 PM on 01/20/2009

Too funny, He is fashioning his presidency after Lincoln, A GAY MAN. After he courted and received gay dollars and votes, he has quickly turned his back on that community, which just makes the whole Lincoln thing so hypocritical and pathetic. Prepare for President Hypocrite.

[Beninn]

10:55 AM on 12/24/2008

Who cares?

On November 5th, I never would have thought I would have said that after Americans elected the first black president.

But given the choices and decisions made by Obama and his transition administration in the weeks since the election, there is nothing to celebrate or rejoice in. It's Bush 44, "After the Crash", complete with the same policies, same players in power (just shuffled around), and callous disregard for the real people of the country, particularly "those that brung 'him".

[Dina44]

10:32 PM on 12/24/2008

Well, 82 % of Americans think Obama is doing a great job. You must be that negative 8% .

[sugarmoes]

08:51 AM on 12/24/2008

and conjobs everywhere cry their little eyes out that it's not the qu'ran.

[BlackJAC]

10:05 AM on 12/24/2008

Considering that Keith Ellison used Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Koran for his own nonbinding simply-for-his-own-ego swearing-in ceremony?

[veteran1964]

10:12 AM on 12/24/2008

There goes the Republican talking points about him and his MUSLIM Koran

[LMPE]

01:59 AM on 12/24/2008

If I'm ever sworn into any position, I want to use a book about the making of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez movie "Grindhouse".

[BlackJAC]

10:03 AM on 12/24/2008

Why would you want anything related to that waste of celluloid?

[RightwingisFascism]

01:55 AM on 12/24/2008

I can't wait till this sick world finally gives up the religious crutch. It ruins lives for what? The people buying this hockus pockus are more hate filled and angry then the people who don't. Give up the bible!
no gods! no Masters!

[hempster]

11:30 AM on 12/24/2008

A simple "Amen"

[DallasFrankie]

01:22 AM on 12/24/2008

Is that the same Bible Lincoln had by his bedside when he was sleeping with Joshua Speed? How fitting to have Warren say the invocation.

[adamsmith3]

01:56 AM on 12/24/2008

Ugh, people still pushing the Lincoln gay thing eh. Listen to Dorris Kearnes Goodwin on this one....his sleeping habits were typical for his time and income. Quit looking at history through a modern-day lens.

[TiaL27]

01:01 AM on 12/24/2008

I can't believe people on this site are complaining about the Bible Pres Obama is using to get sworn in...SMH

[athenasword]

12:48 AM on 12/24/2008

I think it is a incredible bit of symbolism that honors the history that is being made here. Very fitting.

[Stud99]

10:09 PM on 12/23/2008

Is anyone ever going to whisper in Obama's ear that he's not Lincoln and he's looking incredibly arrogant by always trying to get himself compared to Lincoln.

[StillIRise]

11:53 PM on 12/23/2008

Maybe someone needs to whisper in your ear that Obama knows he's not Lincoln, but that he understands the historical relationship between his election and Lincoln's presidency, as do most other informed Americans who have a grasp of our nation's history.

Obama is not comparing himself to Lincoln. He is referencing the context in which Lincoln is remembered (i.e. the emancipation of slavery and the union of our nation) with his own rise to be the first black American President who seeks to also unite our country. In doing so, he is honoring both the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and the legacy of America.

Are we still using the word "arrogant" to suggest that this black man doesn't know his place, that he has crossed the line when he embraces the great white President of the former Republican Party? What exactly is arrogant about showing one's profound admiration for a man that most Americans also admire? I believe that Bush said that the person he most admired was Jesus, and then deluded himself into believing that he was the Chosen One, engaging in personal conversations with God to govern our country ... and we all see where his delusions led us! How arrogant was THAT?

[athenasword]

12:49 AM on 12/24/2008

Just use the word "uppity" and get it over with. You and your kind are small, petty and outdated

[Stud99]

10:06 PM on 12/23/2008

I thought you liberals would be upset about this use of the bible. You know, separation of church and state and all.

[athenasword]

12:46 AM on 12/24/2008

This from you foks who were so sure it would be a kora_n he would put his hand on?

[sufi66]

04:49 AM on 12/24/2008

I wish no "religious" book is used. We should have no religion in the public sphere; it poisons too many things.

[Takae]

09:49 PM on 12/23/2008

Ugh. I now wish it was McCain who won the election because, judging by all these sniping and criticizing from many here and in other threads the past few days, it seems the US still isn't ready to accept someone like Obama, let alone give the man a chance and time to prove himself after he becomes the president.

[RobinSeattle]

09:22 PM on 12/23/2008

God, I love history.

The ironic fact here is that Lincoln was no friend of the black man:
http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:gkhNaKPxpmoJ:www.classic-literature.co.uk/american-authors/19th-century/abraham-lincoln/the-writings-of-abraham-lincoln-04/+Abraham+Lincoln+negroes&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=25&gl=us

So now that they are using his Bible to swear Obama in really does show that our country has come full circle, as Obama will be putting his hand over Lincoln's ghost and ushering in what I hope will be a new era of racial progress in America.

[sufi66]

04:53 AM on 12/24/2008

One doesn't have to be a "friend" to help someone. That Lincoln, like most of us,
was a product of his time is no surprise. That he rose above was what was expected is the point.

[RobinSeattle]

04:30 PM on 12/24/2008

That isn't accurate.

The only reason that Lincoln freed the slaves was to undermine the southern economy. That is realpolitik, not an idealistic concern for the black man or other minorities.

[nuglet304]

08:45 PM on 12/23/2008

lincoln: "that old thing?"

[suemag]

08:28 PM on 12/23/2008

I'm confused about "The Lincoln family Bible, which is also in the Library of Congress's collection, was unavailable for the ceremony because it was packed away with the First Family's belongings, still en route from Springfield, IL, to their new home at the White House."
Which first family? Does Obama own this bible? Very confusing!!!

[Takae]

09:28 PM on 12/23/2008

Yeah, it's badly phrased. Lincoln's own family bible was unavailable for the ceremony because it was bundled with Lincoln's soon-to-be-First-Family's belongings that were relocating to the White House, hence Clark's purchase of a new copy for Lincoln.

[ritz]

08:14 PM on 12/23/2008

You know, it's amazing how quickly any comment log can devolve into pointless drivel. About 5 or 6 meaningful posts, and then a bunch of 2 year olds take over.

Well, I guess it keeps people off the streets.

[jOke]

11:27 PM on 12/23/2008

lol

[StillIRise]

11:56 PM on 12/23/2008

LOL.