Current Event:

President Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as president of the United States. On January 20, he was formally sworn in at a private ceremony in the White House. The next day he took the oath of office outside the U.S. Capitol. Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court administered the oath of office at both ceremonies. (President Obama was sworn in first at the White House because the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires the president to take the oath of office on January 20, which fell on a Sunday in 2013. But the president did not want to stage the full inauguration on a Sunday. In his inaugural address, President Obama declared that the country must confront the needs of its middle class, acknowledged that today’s divisive politics are making action difficult, and equated current political struggles for equality with the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in 2008 and took office in January 2009. He was reelected in 2012. (The White House)

Objective:

Starting with George Washington’s first inauguration on April 30, 1789, the United States has seen 57 inaugural ceremonies. In addition, eight vice presidents have been sworn in following the death or resignation of a president. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C. Twenty-eight years later, Andrew Jackson became the first president to take the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol, the site of most inaugurations since. In 1937, following the passage of the 20th Amendment, Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to be inaugurated on January 20. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore Barack Obama and the presidency.

Words to know:

• Civil rights movement
• Constitution of the United States
• Barack Obama
• Michelle Obama
• President of the United States
• John Roberts
• United States
• United States Capitol
• George Washington
• Washington, D.C.
• White House

Discussion Topics:

1. President Barack Obama has been elected to two terms as president. Ask your students to name other presidents who have been elected to at least two terms. (They might say George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington.)

2. Presidential inaugurations are filled with many traditions. Ask your students to name some inauguration traditions. (They might say the use of a Bible for the swearing in, the president’s inaugural address, the inaugural parade, inaugural balls.)

3. The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that a president may not be elected more than twice. [Mention Roosevelt? Washington declining a third term?] Have your students debate the topic “Presidents should be able to serve an unlimited number of terms.”

4. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the U.S. presidents (Or, ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of President Obama’s life)