The second inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States was the 57th inauguration, marking the commencement of his second and final term, with Joe Biden as vice president. This is the most recent presidential inauguration where the incumbent president was sworn in for a consecutive second term after winning reelection. A private swearing-in ceremony took place on Sunday, January 20, 2013, in the Blue Room of the White House, followed by a public inauguration ceremony on Monday, January 21, 2013, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
The inauguration theme, "Faith in America's Future," commemorated the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the completion of the Capitol dome in 1863. This theme emphasized the perseverance and unity of the United States, reflecting the "Forward" theme employed during the closing months of Obama's reelection campaign. Inaugural events in Washington, D.C., from January 19 to 21, 2013, featured concerts, a national day of community service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the swearing-in ceremony, a luncheon and parade, inaugural balls, and an interfaith inaugural prayer service. Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts administered the presidential oath to Obama during the swearing-in ceremonies on January 20 and 21, 2013. This is the most recent inauguration in which a vice president would go on to become president (Biden, eight years later, in 2021). Biden is also the most recent Vice President to be sworn in for a second term.
In his second inauguration address, Obama proclaimed that "while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth". He called for laws to combat climate change, enactment of immigration reform and gun control. Obama stated that more progress was needed on human rights and civil rights (including racial minority rights, women's rights, and LGBT rights). He vowed to promote democracy abroad and stated that the United States must "be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice" around the world. Additionally, the president vowed to keep existing alliances strong, emphasized the economic recovery and the end of wars, and stated that "no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation". During the speech, Obama linked the Seneca Falls Convention, Selma to Montgomery marches and Stonewall riots.
Approximately one million people attended the inauguration, and millions more watched from around the world.
Planning
The inauguration was planned primarily by two committees: the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee. The committee began construction of the inaugural platform on September 20, 2012.
Joint Congressional committee
The swearing-in ceremony and the inaugural luncheon for President Obama and Vice President Biden were planned by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, a committee composed of United States Senators Charles Schumer of New York, committee chair, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Harry Reid of Nevada, and United States Representatives John Boehner of Ohio, Eric Cantor of Virginia and Nancy Pelosi of California. The committee is overseen by the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
Military support to the 57th inauguration was coordinated by Joint Task Force National Capital Region, providing musical military units, marching bands, color guards, ushers, firing details, and salute batteries.
On January 7, 2013, Louie Giglio was selected to deliver the benediction at the ceremony. Giglio at first accepted, but then withdrew in response to a controversy over a mid-1990s sermon "in which he called on Christians to fight the 'aggressive agenda' of the gay-rights movement". The substitution of Rev. Luis Leon, pastor of Saint John's Church near the White House, was announced on January 15.
Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, delivered the invocation.
On January 8, 2013, Richard Blanco was named the inaugural poet for Barack Obama's second inauguration, the fifth person to play that role. He was the first immigrant, first Latino, first gay person, and at the time, the youngest to be inaugural poet.
Presidential Inaugural Committee
The 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee organized several other inauguration-related events at the direction of the President and Vice President of the United States, such as the concerts, parade, balls and prayer service. The co-chairs of the committee were former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, along with Ambassador Matthew Barzun, Eva Longoria, Jane Stetson and Frank White. Other positions were held by Jim Messina, who oversaw the Inaugural parade, Stephanie Cutter, Jen O'Malley Dillon, Julianna Smoot, Rufus Gifford and Patrick Gaspard.
Pre-inaugural events
Kids' Inaugural: "Our Children. Our Future."
On the evening of January 19, 2013, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden hosted the "Kids' Inaugural: Our Children. Our Future." event at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Katy Perry, Usher, and members of the cast of Glee honored military families in concert. Other celebrity participants included Mindless Behavior, Far East Movement, and Nick Cannon, who served as emcee for the event. In keeping with the service theme of the day, Michelle Obama issued a call for children to become engaged in public service by volunteering in homeless shelters, visiting seniors, or writing letters to U.S. troops.
Inaugural events
Official swearing-in ceremonies
Since 1937, the four-year term of the president and vice president have ended and begun at noon on January 20, as prescribed by the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Because January 20, 2013, fell on a Sunday, both Obama and Biden were officially sworn in privately, and then again the following day in a public ceremony. This was the fifth time, since the start of Rutherford B. Hayes's term in office, in 1877, that the oath of office was officially administered in a Sunday private ceremony. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to the President on January 20 in the Blue Room at the White House. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor administered the oath to the Vice President on the same date at Number One Observatory Circle, the official residence of the vice president. While reciting his oath, Biden's hand rested upon a Bible that had been in his family since 1893 and which he had used in every swearing-in ceremony since entering the U.S. Senate in 1973. Obama used a Bible owned by the family of First Lady Michelle Obama when he took his oath of office.
This was only the third time in history that a vice president was sworn in outside of the Capitol grounds, after William King's in Matanzas, Cuba in 1853, and Harry Truman at the White House in 1945.
The weather conditions for the outdoor ceremony on January 21 at 12 noon at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, located 3.1 miles from the Capitol, were: 40 °F (4 °C), wind 10 mph, and mostly cloudy.
Public inauguration: "Faith in America's Future"
The public inaugural ceremony took place at the West Front of the United States Capitol on January 21, 2013. The ceremony opened with the playing of pre‑recorded music and a live performance of the Fifth-grade chorus from Public School 22, followed by "The President's Own" United States Marine Band. Senator Charles Schumer, chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, acted as the day's Master of Ceremonies. Courtney Williams, Senior Chief Musician and concert moderator for the U.S. Navy Concert Band, served as the platform announcer.
Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil-rights leader Medgar Evers, delivered the invocation, followed by a performance of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Vice President Biden took his oath from Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. After completing his oath of office as the vice president, Biden received in his honor the first playing of four ruffles and flourishes and the march "Hail, Columbia" by members of the armed forces. This was followed by a performance of "America the Beautiful" by James Taylor.
After the performance of "America the Beautiful", Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to President Obama. After he had completed the oath of office as the president, Obama received in his honor the 21-gun salute and the first playing of four ruffles and flourishes and the march "Hail to the Chief" by members of the armed forces. Following the salute, Obama delivered his inaugural address to the crowds as the president of the United States at 11:53 AM Eastern Time, which was 2,137 words long and took 18.5 minutes to deliver. This was followed by a performance by vocalist Kelly Clarkson, who sang "My Country, 'Tis of Thee". Poet Richard Blanco then delivered the inaugural poem, followed by Rev. Luis Leon, who delivered the benediction. Vocalist Beyoncé concluded the ceremony with a performance of the United States national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".
Oath of office
During the public inaugural ceremony at the United States Capitol on January 21, Associate Justice Sotomayor administered the oath to Vice President Joe Biden, and then Chief Justice Roberts administered the Presidential oath to President Barack Obama minutes after Vice President Biden received his oath. At the public inaugural ceremony, Vice President Biden was sworn in using the Biden family Bible, while President Obama was sworn in using two Bibles owned by Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. President Obama became the 17th U.S. president to be re-elected for a second term of office.
Inaugural address
After Barack Obama had recited the oath of office, he delivered his inaugural address. The inaugural address was 2,137 words long and President Obama took 18.5 minutes to deliver it between 11:53 a.m. and 12:12 p.m. In a speech "heavy on broad rhetoric and light on policy specifics" as noted by the Washington Post Obama's second inaugural speech was regarded as laying out a broad liberal or progressive agenda, supporting gay rights and climate change reform. Obama, who "largely eschewed foreign policy except to recommend engagement over war, and instead focused on addressing poverty and injustice at home", delved in broad strokes into the United States past and its future as he called on ordinary Americans to "shape the debates of our time." Rejecting the belief that in America "freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few" and arguing that "preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action" Obama said "now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle or substitute spectacle for politics or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act."
Barack Obama used the opening words of the U.S. Constitution's preamble, "We, the people", to suggest how to reconcile America's founding truths and the current discord and dysfunction of its embittered political system. He also referenced America's Declaration of Independence stating that our inalienable rights, such as Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, may be self-evident, but never have been self-executing. Obama again invoked the Declaration of Independence by telling his audience: "What makes us exceptional, what makes us America, is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
Obama went on, saying "all of us are created equal" and that the shared equality of the American people guided the United States "through Seneca Falls and Selma and Stonewall"—linking the Seneca Falls Convention, Selma to Montgomery marches and Stonewall riots as key moments in women's rights activism, the civil rights movement, and the LGBT rights movement in the United States together.
Additional words indicated a commitment to LGBT rights: "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." These words made Obama the first president to use the word gay as a reference to sexual orientation in an inaugural address. Some analysts interpreted his statement as a reaffirmation of President Obama's previously stated support for same-sex marriage. Others noted that all nine justices of the Supreme Court were seated nearby when Obama linked gay and lesbian rights to two other groups whom the court treats with special consideration: women and racial minorities.
President Obama also spoke firmly about climate change, immigration reform, and gun control, and argued that they represented important issues for this generation to solve. Noting that "none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms" Obama stated that his administration "will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations." He also argued that America must lead in this area: "The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries — we must claim its promise." "That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God."