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(by Geoff Earl and Andy Soltis, NYPost)  NYC and Washington, D.C. — President Obama began his second term with a hard-hitting speech that called for collective action on climate change, gay and voting rights, immigration reform, gun control, equal pay for women and other issues on the Democratic agenda.

“For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts,” he said to applause.

inauguration

President Obama places his hand on a bible held by Michelle Obama as he is ceremonially sworn in for a second term by Chief Justice John Roberts as the 44th President of the United States.

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law,” he added.

“Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity.”

The president also ridiculed those who think strong government “makes us a nation of takers.”

“A decade of war is now ended. An economic recovery has begun,” he said in wintry cold on the Capitol’s west front in Washington DC.

He warned that the nation faces “hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and reduce our deficit.”

“But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future,” he added.

Obama said “we must act” even if our work is imperfect. He said we cannot afford to delay.

In a message that could be aimed at the divided Congress where battles await him in his second term, the President cautioned against mistaking absolutism for principle, substituting spectacle for politics or treating “name-calling as reasoned debate.”

Even so, Obama said that today’s accomplishments will be partial, and it will be up to people four, 40 or even 400 years from now to advance them further.

In the 20-minute address Obama also touched on foreign affairs, promising to work for democracy in Asia and Africa and pursue peace in the Mideast, and various domestic issues.

But before he delivered the speech, aides cautioned that Obama would not be outlining new policy but rather speaking in broad terms about what he wanted to achieve in his second term.

Specifics are expected in State of the Union address on Feb. 12.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) chaired the pre-speech festivities, which included James Taylor singing ‘America the Beautiful.’  “Wow,” Schumer said after Kelly Clarkson sang towards the end of the ceremony.  Schumer kicked off the ceremony with a speech about the 150th anniversary this year of the Capitol’s dome. …

But Obama tried to set the tone for the day on Twitter. “We have a chance to finish what we started. Our work begins today. Let’s go,” he tweeted during a church service he was attending with his family at St. John’s Episcopal Church across from the White House. Then in an unusual gesture, he invited Republican and Democratic leaders, including his main political opponent in Congress, House Speaker John Boehner, for bipartisan coffee at the White House.

It was the second time Obama was sworn in for his second term. Chief Justice John Roberts conducted a private swearing in on Sunday.

Obama’s second inaugural lacked the electric enthusiasm of his first, when 1.8 million people crammed onto the National Mall to witness the swearing-in of the nation’s first black president. Far fewer people attended this year’s inauguration – officials estimated up to 700,000 people… And shortly before the president spoke, U.S. Park Police announced that the public viewing areas on the Mall were full.

Security was tight across Washington, with streets closed off for blocks around the White House and Capitol Hill. Military Humvees and city buses were used to block intersections. Volunteers fanned out near the Mall to help direct the crowds.

David Richardson of Atlanta and his two young children were among the earlygoers who headed to the Mall before sunrise.  “We wanted to see history, I think, and also for the children to witness that anything is possible through hard work,” Richardson said.

Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from The New York Post.

Questions

1. During his 2nd inauguration speech on Monday, Jan. 21, what did President Obama say must be done before “our journey” is complete?

2. a) How long was President Obama’s speech?
b) Which president gave the longest inaugural acceptance speech at almost 2 hours long? (see “Background” below the questions for the answer)

3. Which foreign affairs topics did the President mention during his speech?
b) Why didn’t the president go into details about what he wants to achieve in his second term?

4. The reporters state that President Obama “tried to set the tone for the day on Twitter” by tweeting in the morning during a church service he was attending. What did his tweet say?
b) Are you surprised that the President was tweeting during a church service? Explain your answer.

5. a) What is the difference in the number of people attending the President’s first swearing in ceremony in 2009 and this inauguration?
b) President Obama’s first inauguration set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C. It was held on a Tuesday, which was a school/work day for most people. This second inauguration took place on a national holiday (weekend). Why do you think the number of people in attendance yesterday was so much smaller? Explain your answer.

6. Read the Background and Resources below. Which fact most surprises you about past presidential inaugurations? Explain your answer.


Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers.

Background

10 Interesting Things You Should Know About Inauguration Day: (from about.com)
1.  Shortest Inaugural Address
George Washington gave the shortest inauguration address in history during his second inauguration on March 4, 1793. Washington’s second inaugural address was only 135 words long! The second shortest inaugural address was given by Franklin D. Roosevelt at his fourth inauguration and was only 558 words long.
2.  Inauguration Blamed for President’s Death
Even though there was a snowstorm on William Henry Harrison’s inauguration day (March 4, 1841), Harrison refused to move his ceremony indoors. Wanting to prove that he was still a hardy general who could brave the elements, Harrison took the oath of office as well as delivered the longest inaugural address in history (8,445 words, which took him nearly two hours to read) outside. Harrison also wore no overcoat, scarf, or hat.
Shortly after his inauguration, William Henry Harrison came down with a cold, which quickly transformed into pneumonia. On April 4, 1841, having only served 31 days in office, President William Henry Harrison died. He was the first President to die in office and still holds the record for serving the shortest term.
3.  Sundays
Inaugurations are never held on Sundays. If January 20 falls on a Sunday, the oath is then given privately on Saturday or on Sunday and then the public inauguration day celebrations are held on Monday with the oath repeated. [The Constitution requires presidential terms to begin on Jan. 20.]
4.  Few Constitutional Requirements
It is a bit surprising how little the Constitution prescribes for inauguration day. In addition to the date and time, the Constitution only specifies the exact wording of the oath taken by the President-elect before he begins his duties. The oath states: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” (Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution)
5.  So Help Me God
Although not officially part of the official oath, George Washington is credited with adding this line after he finished the oath during his first inauguration. Most Presidents have also uttered this phrase at the end of their oaths. Theodore Roosevelt, however, decided to end his oath with the phrase, “And thus I swear.”
6.  An Embarrassing Vice President
In the past, the Vice President took his oath of office in the Senate Chamber, but the ceremony now occurs on the same platform as the President’s swearing-in ceremony on the west front terrace of the Capitol. The Vice President takes his oath and gives a short speech, followed by the President. This usually goes very smoothly, except for in 1865.
Vice President Andrew Johnson hadn’t been feeling very well for several weeks before inauguration day. To get him through the important day, Johnson drank a few glasses of whiskey. When he got up to the podium to take his oath, it was obvious to everyone that he was drunk. His speech was incoherent and rambling and he didn’t step down from the podium until someone finally pulled on his coattails.
7.  The Oath Givers
Although it is not stipulated in the Constitution, it has become a tradition to have the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court be the oath giver to the President on inauguration day. This, surprisingly, is one of the few traditions of inauguration day not begun by George Washington, who had the Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston give him his oath (Washington was sworn in at Federal Hall in New York). John Adams was the first President to have a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court swear him in.
Chief Justice John Marshall, having given the oath nine times, holds the record for having given the most presidential oaths on inauguration day. The only President to become an oath giver himself was William H. Taft, who had become a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after he had served as President. The only woman to have ever sworn in a President was U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes, who swore in Lyndon B. Johnson on board Air Force One.
8.  Traveling Together
In 1837, outgoing President Andrew Jackson and President-elect Martin Van Buren rode together to the Capitol on inauguration day in the same carriage. Most of the following Presidents and President-elects have continued this tradition of traveling together to the ceremony. In 1877, the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes began the tradition of the President-elect first meeting the outgoing President at the White House for a short meeting and then traveling from the White House together to the Capitol for the ceremony.
9.  The Bible
The tradition of the President taking his oath of office with his hand on a Bible was first begun by George Washington during his first inauguration. Some Presidents have opened the Bible to a random page (like George Washington in 1789 and Abraham Lincoln in 1861) while most others have opened the Bible to a specific page because of a meaningful verse. Of course, there is always the option to keep the Bible closed like Harry Truman did in 1945 and John F. Kennedy in 1961. Some Presidents even had two Bibles (with either both opened to the same verse or two different verses), while only one President refrained from using a Bible at all (Theodore Roosevelt in 1901).
10.  The Lame Duck Amendment
Back in a time when news was carried by messengers on horses, there needed to be a great length of time between Election Day and inauguration day so that all the votes could be tallied and reported. To allow this time, inauguration day used to be March 4.
By the early twentieth century, this huge amount of time was no longer needed. The inventions of the telegraph, the telephone, automobiles, and airplanes had greatly cut the reporting time needed. Rather than make the lame duck President wait for four whole months to leave office, the date of inauguration day was changed in 1933 to January 20 by the addition of the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Amendment also specified that the exchange of power from the lame duck President to the new President would take place at noon. Franklin D. Roosevelt was both the last President to be inaugurated on March 4 (1933) and the first President to be inaugurated on January 20 (1937).

Resources

Watch the 2013 Inauguration events at: c-span.org/2013 or
whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/01/21/second-inauguration-barack-obama

  • Presidential Inauguration Quiz:

    1. In which city did the first inauguration take place?
    a) Philadelphia
    b) Richmond, Va.
    c) New York City

    2. Which president gave the longest Inaugural Address?
    a) Bill Clinton
    b) George Washington
    c) William Henry Harrison

    3. Who was the only president to take the oath of office from a woman?
    a) Lyndon B. Johnson
    b) George H. W. Bush
    c) Ronald Reagan

    4. African-American soldiers first marched in whose inauguration parade?
    a) Ulysses S. Grant’s
    b) Theodore Roosevelt’s
    c) Abraham Lincoln’s

    5. Which chief justice administered the most presidential oaths?
    a) John Jay
    b) Earl Warren
    c) John Marshall

    6. Inauguration Day was officially changed from March 4 to Jan. 20 thanks to the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1933. Why?
    a) Congress did not want the inauguration to fall during Lent.
    b) It often rained on March 4.
    c) The transition period between the election and the inauguration of the president-elect was deemed too long.

    7. Which president tossed the Super Bowl coin the same day as his swearing-in?
    a) Richard Nixon
    b) Gerald Ford
    c) Ronald Reagan

    8. Which president administered the oath of office to two of his successors?
    a) William Howard Taft
    b) George Washington
    c) John Quincy Adams

    9. Who was sworn in on a Bible written in a modern foreign language?
    a) Thomas Jefferson
    b) Franklin D. Roosevelt
    c) John F. Kennedy

    10. Which president was given the oath of office by his own father?
    a) John Quincy Adams
    b) Calvin Coolidge
    c) George W. Bush

    (Quiz posted at Parade Magazine on Jan. 20, 2013, by Kenneth C. Davis, author of “Don’t Know Much About the American Presidents” and “Don’t Know Much About History.”)
    Scroll down to bottom of page for answers.

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    Answers

    ANSWERS TO PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION QUIZ FOUND UNDER “RESOURCES”:

    1. c) New York City was the temporary capital of the United States when Washington took the oath on April 30, 1789.

    2. c) Harrison’s speech in 1841 was more than 8,000 words long and took nearly two hours to deliver on a cold, windy day. He fell ill with pneumonia and died one month later. (The shortest Inaugural Address – just 135 words long – was Washington’s second.)

    3. a) After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Johnson was sworn in aboard Air Force One by Sarah T. Hughes, a U.S. district judge.

    4. c) At Lincoln’s second inauguration, in 1865, four companies of African-American troops and lodges of African-American Masons and African-American Odd Fellows joined the procession to the Capitol.

    5. b) Marshall administered the oath nine times, from Thomas Jefferson’s first inauguration, in 1801, to Andrew Jackson’s second, in 1833.

    6. c) The old March 4 inaugural date had been selected when travel and communications were much slower, and the “lame duck” period for the outgoing president rarely caused problems. But the long transition became an issue in 1932 during the Great Depression, because it meant that the next president would be unable to act until four months after his election. The 20th Amendment, first proposed in March of that year, changed the date but didn’t go into effect in time for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first term. In 1937, he became the first president inaugurated under the new rule.

    7. c) On Jan. 20, 1985, Reagan took the oath privately in the Entrance Hall at the White House, and later went to the Map Room to flip the coin on live television via satellite. (The 49ers won the toss, and the game.)

    8. a) William Howard Taft Taft was appointed chief justice in 1921 – eight years after his presidency – and administered the oath of office to both Coolidge (in 1925) and Hoover (in 1929).

    9. b) Roosevelt used an old family Bible written in Dutch at all four of his inaugurations.

    10. b) Coolidge was sworn in by his father, a justice of the peace, at the Coolidge family homestead in rural Vermont on Aug. 3, 1923, after he was informed that President Harding had passed away.