"A New Birth of Freedom" commemorates the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. It is the official theme for the Inauguration of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
The words, A New Birth of Freedom, echoing across 200 years from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, express Lincoln's hope that the sacrifice of those who died to preserve the United States would lead to "a new birth of freedom" for the nation.
Abraham Lincoln
Born Feb. 12, 1809 in Kentucky to, as he described them, parents of "undistinguished families," Lincoln's was the first president born outside of the original 13 colonies. His family moved often, living in Kentucky, Indiana, and ultimately Illinois. Before becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln ran a small store, served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, and practiced law.
The Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln was invited as the second speaker to give "a few appropriate remarks" at the dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Thurs., Nov. 19, 1863.His speech, now known as The Gettysburg Address and considered to be one of the most quoted speeches in U.S. history, contained only 10 sentences and 272 words. Although two phrases from this short speech, "four score and seven years ago..." and "...government of the people, by the people, and for the people...", are more widely recognized, the lesser recognized "this nation shall have a new birth of freedom" is the cornerstone for the 2009 Inaugural theme.
As part of the visual imagery to convey the Inaugural theme, the JCCIC uses an image of the Hay draft of the speech. This draft is one of only five known written copies of the speech and was likely written shortly after Lincoln returned to Washington from Gettysburg. To see the full image of the draft, visit the Library of Congress's Gettysburg Address website.
The Lincoln Memorial
Since 1981 when the Inaugural swearing-in was moved to the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, each president-elect has faced westward where he has both the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial directly in his line of site, where two of Lincoln's speeches are carved into the walls of his Memorial: his first Inaugural address and the Gettysburg Address. Another part of the visual imagery used to convey the Inaugural theme is an image of the sculpture of Lincoln in his memorial.
Theme Selection
The theme was chosen by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies in consultation with the Senate Historian's Office. Inaugural themes are incorporated into the official Inaugural program, Inaugural Luncheon menu and decor.
Emeryville's Paula Skene Commissioned to Create Official Gongressional Inaugural Gifts
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2 comments:
The nation owes more than thanks to three unlikely modern day patriots: professional poker player, musician, and retired attorney, Leo Donofrio; life long Democrat and former Pennsylvania assistant attorney general, Phil Berg; and Soviet emigree and attorney, Dr. Orly Taitz (she’s also a dentist).
While Mr. Donofrio painstakingly established the airtight case that BHO could not be an Article II “natural born citizen” (at BHO’s birth, dad was British/Kenyan, not American, citizen) Leo’s Stay of the 12/15/08 electoral college vote was denied by SCOTUS as procedurally unripe.
Nevertheless, since no congressman and senator objected on 1/8/09 to Congress’ count and certification of the electoral vote which would have turned resolution of Obama’s eligibility issue over to Congress — rendering moot the Berg and Taitz (Lightfoot) cases — Berg finally does achieve standing on the issue of actual harm, to be addressed at the Friday 1/9/09 SCOTUS Conference on Writ of Certiorari. Obama’s failure to submit evidence of his constitutional qualification for the 1/9/09 conference will mean he cannot thereafter challenge Berg’s request to enjoin the 1/8/09 Congressional electoral count and certification, albeit retroactive, scheduled for SCOTUS conference Friday 1/16/09. Moreover, Chief Justice Roberts has scheduled a full Court conference on the Lightfoot case Friday 1/23/09 in the event there needs to be a Constitutionally mandated action, the Inauguration itself, to enjoin retroactively.
Now that BHO is in checkmate and cannot be POTUS, he can be a patriot as well. He need not subject the nation to the expense and trauma of requiring SCOTUS to overrule his ‘Presidency’. BHO can and should voluntarily step down with Biden becoming Acting POTUS under the 20th Amendment, and under the agreement all potential claims by the Government for itself and on behalf of others against BHO are released.
Please excuse Ted. He's not feeling very well.
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