The
Oath
Of
Office


"You do solemnly swear that you will support
the Constitution of the United States
and the Constitution of this Commonwealth
and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky
so long as you continue a citizen thereof,
and that you will faithfully execute, to the best of your ability,
the office of Governor according to law;
and you do further solemnly swear that since the adoption
of the present Constitution, you, being a citizen of this State,
have not fought a duel with deadly weapons
within this State nor out of it, nor have you sent or
accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons,
nor have you acted as a second in carrying a challenge, nor
aided or assisted any person thus offending,
so help you God."

When Paul Patton takes the oath of office to become the next Governor of Kentucky, he will follow customs and traditions that span the entire 203-year history of the Commonwealth. They range from the legal and necessary to the obscure and quaint.

Among other things, Patton will swear that he has not fought a duel or acted as a second in a duel. Kentucky's antiquated oath of office dates from 1850, when so many of the state's leaders were being killed in affairs of honor that lawmakers placed the largely unenforced law into the state constitution, where it remains today.

Kentucky's first inaugural traditions began on June 4, 1792 in Lexington, three days after statehood became official. Isaac Shelby, Revolutionary War hero and member of the Danville constitutional convention, rode to the inaugural on horseback from that city, escorted by brilliantly dressed soldiers on white horses as cheering crowds lined the road. A witness said "the citizens made the valley of the Elkhorn resound with the cracking of their flintlock rifles and with the roar of the old six-pounder (cannon)."

After a welcoming ceremony, Shelby took the oath of office, becoming Kentucky's first governor. He then joined a parade in his honor amid the sounds of drums, fifes and "village bells." True to their frontier reputation, Kentuckians again hailed their new governor with gunfire as the inauguration ended.

One of the most enduring traditions on Inauguration Day has been that of leaving beaten biscuits and white cake in the Governor's Mansion for the incoming Governor. This custom, followed for at least a century, has become part of Frankfort folklore. An earlier account had the outgoing first lady leaving a baked ham, a cake and a platter of beaten biscuits on the dining table for the incoming first lady.

By the 1950s, the tradition had evolved to include the citizens of Frankfort, considered the hosts of the inauguration. The tradition will be continued during the 1995 Inauguration Day festivities, when a delegation of Frankfort residents will call upon the new Governor and First Lady at the Governor's Mansion bearing the traditional country ham, beaten biscuits and white cake. Then at 4 p.m., the citizens of Frankfort and Franklin County will sponsor a public reception for the Governor and Mrs. Patton, Lieutenant Governor Henry, and all the visitors to Frankfort attending the inauguration.