When President Obama was on a weeklong state visit to France in May 2011, the US Patriot Act was about to expire with Congress still to pass aspects of the legislation. Government staffers were ready to board a plane with the documents to get the President's signature but realized that as debate stretched on, they would be unable to get to France in time. A bill doesn't become law until it has the Presidential signature and the deadline was edging ever closer.
In this case, history was made with the President using an autopen to sign the bill into law. Autopens have existed for some time and are widely used on many government documents: it would be impossible for the President to sign every bit of correspondence that comes across his desk. But legislation was always considered sacrosanct and the actual Presidential hand has always been used to make the law official. That is, until now.
Some Republican legislators have questioned the validity of using the autopen. Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution has been cited that says a bill "...be presented to the president of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it." Whitehouse staff responded with a 2005 memo from the Justice Department that stated, "...the president need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill to sign it."
According to historical document specialists, The Raab Collection, the autopen precedent is not modern. "Abraham Lincoln signed military commissions (appointments of officers during the Civil War) but he left it to a printed signature to release all soldiers who had fulfilled their service - a so-called discharge document," says Nathan Raab of the Raab Collection.
The practice of presidential proxy signing, which applies to both secretary and machine, dates back two centuries. Starting in Washington's presidency, every ship coming into an American port had to have a passport and these were signed by the President. In time, the practice changed and presidential authorization was no longer required. Andrew Jackson, in his second term, became so overwhelmed with signing grants of land in the growing West that he ceased signing them himself. Land grants dated after November 1833 bear the President's name but in another hand.
The autopen debate raises interesting questions. In an electronic age where many people use electronic signatures on legal documents, what is the most appropriate means of authentication? From credit cards to social security cards, is a signature the best way to verify that a person is who they claim to be? It also poses interesting questions for collectors of historical documents.
"Since the machine uses an actual pen, and is an exact copy of the President's signature, authentication is a different process," says Nathan Raab. "There are known autopen patterns and these can reveal autopen copies. Likewise, the autopen creates small tell-tales in some but not all cases. The questions become: who is watching the machine? Who is verifying that the copy seen by the President matches the final signed? Are these people similarly vested with authority by the President? Does the President sign another authentic copy when he returns? Does he review the final copy?"
These questions are yet to be answered.
In this case, history was made with the President using an autopen to sign the bill into law. Autopens have existed for some time and are widely used on many government documents: it would be impossible for the President to sign every bit of correspondence that comes across his desk. But legislation was always considered sacrosanct and the actual Presidential hand has always been used to make the law official. That is, until now.
Some Republican legislators have questioned the validity of using the autopen. Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution has been cited that says a bill "...be presented to the president of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it." Whitehouse staff responded with a 2005 memo from the Justice Department that stated, "...the president need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill to sign it."
According to historical document specialists, The Raab Collection, the autopen precedent is not modern. "Abraham Lincoln signed military commissions (appointments of officers during the Civil War) but he left it to a printed signature to release all soldiers who had fulfilled their service - a so-called discharge document," says Nathan Raab of the Raab Collection.
The practice of presidential proxy signing, which applies to both secretary and machine, dates back two centuries. Starting in Washington's presidency, every ship coming into an American port had to have a passport and these were signed by the President. In time, the practice changed and presidential authorization was no longer required. Andrew Jackson, in his second term, became so overwhelmed with signing grants of land in the growing West that he ceased signing them himself. Land grants dated after November 1833 bear the President's name but in another hand.
The autopen debate raises interesting questions. In an electronic age where many people use electronic signatures on legal documents, what is the most appropriate means of authentication? From credit cards to social security cards, is a signature the best way to verify that a person is who they claim to be? It also poses interesting questions for collectors of historical documents.
"Since the machine uses an actual pen, and is an exact copy of the President's signature, authentication is a different process," says Nathan Raab. "There are known autopen patterns and these can reveal autopen copies. Likewise, the autopen creates small tell-tales in some but not all cases. The questions become: who is watching the machine? Who is verifying that the copy seen by the President matches the final signed? Are these people similarly vested with authority by the President? Does the President sign another authentic copy when he returns? Does he review the final copy?"
These questions are yet to be answered.
About the Author:
The Raab Collection has handled many important historical autographs and has represented the families of many famous Americans including Thomas Jefferson, Dwight Eisenhower, and Gerald Ford. Visit http://www.raabcollection.com