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"Fellow citizens: I am again called upon
by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its Chief
Magistrate. When the occasion proper for it shall arrive, I shall
endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this distinguished
honor, and of the confidence which has been reposed in me by
the people of united America.
Previous to the execution of any official act of the
President the Constitution requires an oath of office. This oath
I am now about to take, and in your presence: That if it shall
be found during my administration of the Government I have in
any instance violated willingly or knowingly the injunctions
thereof, I may (beside incurring constitutional punishment) be
subject to the upbraiding of all who are now witnesses of the
present solemn ceremony. |
George Washington's Second Inaugural
Address