ABSTRACT
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
With these words each of America’s 43 Presidents has been sworn into office. However, America’s Chief Executive takes over an office that has developed substantially since George Washington took the same oath more than two centuries ago. The Founding Fathers could hardly have conceived that the office, which was intended to avoid the tyrannies connected with hereditary monarchy, would eventually have the formidable array of powers that any modern President inherits.
