tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post675804954813629710..comments2016-09-30T15:06:47.903-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: How the Governor’s Council Was Elected in 1780J. L. Bellnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-45108694285508558302011-05-11T15:12:26.377-05:002011-05-11T15:12:26.377-05:00The Continental Congress, U.S. Congress, and state...The Continental Congress, U.S. Congress, and state governments specified various oaths over the Revolutionary period. Some conclude with “So help me God.” Others don’t. There doesn’t seem to be any consistent pattern.<br /><br />Washington probably had little idea of the Massachusetts constitution, but he surely knew the “So help me God” phrase. He also knew that not all government oaths required it, and as chair of the Constitutional Convention he knew well what was in that document.<br /><br />The evidence from 1789 strongly suggests that Washington did not add “So help me God” to the oath included in the U.S. Constitution. There are detailed descriptions of the event that don’t use those words, and no contemporaneous accounts that do. That fits with Washington’s care about following the Constitution.J. L. Bellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-4428853908576147902011-05-11T13:21:35.171-05:002011-05-11T13:21:35.171-05:00I&#39;ve seen at least two historians credit Georg...I&#39;ve seen at least two historians credit George Washington for adding the phrase &quot;so help me god&quot; to the Presidential oath after he was sworn in on April 30,1789. However, Adams&#39; 1780 Constitution contains the exact same phrase. Is there any evidence that Washington was aware of the 9 year old Mass. Declaration of Rights when he was sworn? Was that common language used in other state constitutions at the time?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com