ABSTRACT
The "oath" taken by US government officials has its origins in the English legal tradition that forms the foundation of American jurisprudence. Since the early Anglo-Saxon period, English kings had taken specific oaths as a part of their coronations. All federal officials must take an "oath of office," which typically includes a person's sworn allegiance to uphold the Constitution. The Constitution specifies an oath of office only for the president, but Article VI states that other officials, including members of Congress, "shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this constitution." The president's term of office was changed in 1933 by the Twentieth Amendment, which provides that the term begins at noon January 20 of the year following the election. In Bush v. Gore, 531 US 98, the US Supreme Court used the oath of office as a legal standard of fiduciary principles.
