When President-elect Barack Obama was sworn in Jan. 20 as the 44th president of the United States, he took the oath of office with his hand placed on the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used at his 1861 inauguration.

The use of this particular Bible by the first black man to be elected president of the U.S. is considered significant because it was used to swear in an American leader --- born 200 years ago Feb. 12 --- credited with ending slavery in the country more than a century ago.

The Obama transition team Dec. 23 announced its intention to use the Lincoln Bible, which also has a Catholic connection, since the man who administered the oath of office to the nation's 16th president was the first Catholic chief justice of the United States.

Obama encouraged comparisons between himself and Lincoln during the presidential campaign, which he kicked off in early 2007 on the steps of the Old Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, where Lincoln delivered his legendary "House Divided" speech in 1858 about the dangers of continuing to maintain a nation that was "half slave, half free."

The worn, pinkish, velvet-covered Bible used during the 1861 inauguration of Lincoln isn't necessarily considered a significant book, except for the fact that it was used to swear in the man who is credited with preserving the nation during one of its bleakest periods in history, said Mark Dimunation, chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, where the Bible is currently stored.

An interesting sidelight about Lincoln's first inauguration brought to mind by the Bible is that Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, a Marylander, was required to administer the oath of office to a man with whom he would continue to cross swords for the next three years. Taney was a bitter political rival of Lincoln's and the author of the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision in 1857 that would indirectly lead to the Civil War.

"President-elect Obama is deeply honored that the Library of Congress has made the Lincoln Bible available for use during his swearing-in," said Emmett Beliveau, executive director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, in a written statement released by the Obama transition team.

"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," he said.

The 1,280-page Bible was purchased by William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court, for Lincoln's March 4, 1861, inauguration, because the Lincoln family Bible was still en route from Springfield, packed away with the first family's belongings, the transition team's statement said.

The back of the Bible is adorned with the seal of the Supreme Court and a statement that reads "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 Library of Congress actually has thousands of Bibles in more than 150 languages, about 1,500 of which are considered significant editions for their rare or historic value, Dimunation told CNS last summer. Most of the rare Bibles were gifts to the library, but others have been purchased and varied in price depending on their significance, he said.

"You can't really put a price tag on these books, from a curator's point of view," Dimunation said. "We are a major resource for the study of the Bible. We never talk about the money. It gives people the wrong sense of these books, with texts that remain a valid expression for all sorts of interests."

The Library of Congress planned to place the 1861 inaugural Lincoln Bible on display from Feb. 12 to May 9 as part of its exposition, "With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition."

Last-minute availability put Masons' Bible into history
As Ryan Johnson explains it, George Washington's inauguration ceremony was painstakingly planned down to the tiniest detail about seating arrangements --- with just one exception.

As the first president of the United States arrived at New York's City Hall by horse-drawn carriage and prepared to step onto the open balcony that April 30 in 1789, it belatedly occurred to organizers that there ought to be a Bible on which Washington could take the oath of office.

One of the men at hand, parade marshal Jacob Morton, also happened to be master of the St. John's Lodge No. 1 of the Masons and offered to provide one from the lodge, located nearby at the corner of Water and Wall streets. The organization's 1767 King James Version was rushed to the hall and opened to Genesis, at the end of Chapter 49 and the beginning of Chapter 50, where Washington placed his hand for the ceremony.

As he completed the oath written for the occasion, Washington added the unscripted words, "I swear, so help me God," and bowed to kiss the Bible. Thus was born a tradition followed by almost every one of the 42 presidents inaugurated since then, including some who have used the very same Bible.

The volume is still owned by the St. John's Lodge, which Johnson serves as chairman of the George Washington Inaugural Bible Committee.

Prior to the nation's independence, no publisher in the colonies had been allowed to print Bibles, because the authorization of the King of England was needed. Like the Masons' Bible, those used in the fledgling republic tended to come from Europe and at great expense.

Johnson said it was likely unintentional, but the use of the Masons' Bible for Washington's ceremony also may have dodged an ecumenical problem.

"No church's Bible would have been acceptable to people of the various denominations," he explained. By using one owned by a fraternal organization instead of a Bible from one of New York's 22 different churches, a potential disagreement over the president favoring one denomination over another was avoided, Johnson said.

In the two centuries since then, the Washington Bible has been used at a variety of national events, including other inaugurations, the dedication of the Washington Monument and the laying of the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol building.

Four presidents in the 20th century used the Washington Bible for their inaugurations: Warren G. Harding in 1921, Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953; Jimmy Carter in 1977 and George H.W. Bush in 1989.

President George W. Bush had hoped to use it for his first inauguration in 2001, but the damp weather that day put a crimp in the plans. Given the Bible's age and historic value, the Masons weren't willing to let it be exposed to the cold drizzle that long, so Bush used a family Bible.

---CNS