African American Presidential History, Barack Obama and Joe Biden Second Inauguration Invitation, 2013

Barack Obama

Ephemera

Obama, Barack. Presidential inauguration invitation, 2013, documents the ceremonial opening of Barack Obama’s second term as the 44th President of the United States and Joe Biden’s second term as Vice President. Obama’s reelection extended the presidency of the first African American elected to the nation’s highest office, giving material from his second inauguration continuing significance within African American political history as well as the study of modern presidential ceremony. Because January 20, 2013 fell on a Sunday, Obama and Biden took the constitutionally required oaths that day, while the principal public inaugural ceremonies were conducted the following day, January 21, at the West Front of the United States Capitol.

Engraved invitation for the second inauguration of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Washington, D.C., 2013. Approximately 5½ x 8½ inches. Printed on stiff paper with engraved lettering and a gold-stamped inaugural emblem incorporating the United States Capitol. The invitation was produced in connection with the 57th Inaugural Ceremonies, held publicly on January 21, 2013, at the Capitol’s West Front. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies identifies the occasion as the second-term swearing-in of Obama and Biden, while the archived White House record confirms that Obama delivered his second inaugural address at the Capitol that day. The combination of formal engraving, presidential names, and Capitol imagery places the piece within the carefully constructed ceremonial material culture surrounding the peaceful transfer or continuation of executive authority.

The invitation accompanied an inauguration that carried particular historical resonance because Obama had broken the presidency’s racial barrier with his first election in 2008 and now entered a second term following reelection. The public ceremony on January 21 also supplied the setting for an inaugural address in which Obama articulated themes of equality, collective citizenship, and democratic obligation, making surviving ephemera from the ceremonies useful documentation of the public presentation of his second administration. Unused, with no stated defects; near fine condition. A well-preserved ceremonial artifact connecting African American political history with the material culture of Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration.

Item #16841

Price: $100.00