{"id":3061,"date":"2009-01-02T16:28:33","date_gmt":"2009-01-02T21:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=3061"},"modified":"2009-01-03T00:13:10","modified_gmt":"2009-01-03T05:13:10","slug":"obama-and-lincoln%e2%80%99s-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2009\/01\/obama-and-lincoln%e2%80%99s-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama and Lincoln\u2019s Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Although every presidential inauguration is historically significant, some are more so than others. (Think about Coolidge’s 1925 inaugural — if you can.) President-elect Barack Obama’s upcoming inauguration is important for all the obvious reasons, yet it is intriguing to watch how skillfully he is using history to further underscore its significance while building legitimacy. Putting aside all the tripe about his “team of rivals,” Obama’s announced intent to use Lincoln’s Bible for the oath of office bespeaks how attuned he is to the use of symbols in our political (and legal) culture, particularly Lincoln’s legacy. Lincoln, too, skillfully used American history and religion to explain and to justify his actions.<\/p>\n

Lincoln’s Bible resonates at different levels. First, it is deliciously ironic that a Democrat will make the first use of the first Republican president’s Bible since Lincoln himself in 1861. Second, the decision generated considerable press, which in turn subtly emphasizes Obama’s willingness to publicly embrace religion as part of our political discourse. Third, it poignantly ties Obama’s inauguration to the Civil War, the emancipation of the slaves, the country’s continuing struggles over race, and, of course, Lincoln himself. By using Lincoln’s Bible, Obama portrays himself as Lincoln’s heir. Lincoln’s Bible will become Obama’s Bible as well.<\/p>\n

As an historian, I applaud Obama’s willingness to consciously craft historical memory and, most of all, his rich appreciation for symbols in American politics. <\/p>\n

Obama also understands the resonance of words in our political culture. His best speeches are carefully worded and eloquently delivered. His use of Lincoln’s Bible undoubtedly challenges him to reach Lincoln’s threshold as a speaker and writer. The pressure will be enormous: If you’re using Lincoln’s Bible, you had better be up to the task. And this will be difficult. Lincoln’s plaintive plea for national unity — those “mystic chords of memory” — in the first inaugural drew upon the memory of the American Revolution, and his powerful justification for waging the bloodiest of American wars — “With malice toward none, with charity for all” — in the second inaugural explicitly invoked Biblical authority. Both rank among the greatest addresses in American history.<\/p>\n

What distinguishes Obama and Lincoln though is not eloquence or talent, but events. Today we face economic and financial distress, the threat of world-wide terror strikes, and difficult social problems, yet thankfully these pale when compared to civil war and slavery. One suspects that Obama’s message will be one of optimism and hope that draws upon the lessons of history, particularly Lincoln’s confidence and trust in the American people, their democratic government, and their diverse faiths. There is no need to exaggerate the current financial “crises”; the nation has endured far worse. Obama’s challenge will be to place his election and current events in proper context. The clarion call for “change” will likely hark back to fundamental principles and values found in American history and religion. In the years ahead, it will be interesting to observe how the Obama administration uses and shapes the strength of America’s collective memories in implementing its policies. After all, it is these “mystic chords of memory” that define our nationhood. Finally, Obama’s inauguration will make a singularly telling point that must not be overlooked: Lincoln’s oath was administered by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the author of the lead opinion in Dred Scott<\/em>. This fact may best explain Obama’s use of Lincoln’s Bible and its symbolic power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although every presidential inauguration is historically significant, some are more so than others. (Think about Coolidge’s 1925 inaugural — if you can.) President-elect Barack Obama’s upcoming inauguration is important for all the obvious reasons, yet it is intriguing to watch how skillfully he is using history to further underscore its significance while building legitimacy. Putting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-history","category-political-processes-rhetoric","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3061\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}