The longstanding tradition of taking the presidential oath with one hand on a Bible stretches back to George Washington and was observed by Mr. Trump in 2017. But doing so is not a requirement.

22, 1732 George Washington is born in a modest house at ... among the gentry and emulated their ways. He also copied by hand the Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.

A bottle of Egyptian blue hand mixed by George Washington Carver (c. 1864-1943) was loaned by the Iowa State archives.

Why do presidents place a hand on the Bible? The answer is simple: tradition. That’s what the first President of the United States, George Washington, did in 1789, according to the White House ...