page_title: First inauguration of Barack Obama
section_title: Train ride: Commemorating Lincoln
hierarchical_section_title: First inauguration of Barack Obama / Pre-inaugural events / Train ride: Commemorating Lincoln
caption_attribution_description: English: Barack Obama on the end of the Georgia 300 train car as it rolls through Claymont, Delaware on the way to Washington, D.C..
context_page_description: The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as President and Joe Biden as Vice President. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience.
  "A New Birth of Freedom", a phrase from the Gettysburg Address, served as the inaugural theme to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth year of Abraham Lincoln. In his speeches to the crowds, Obama referred to ideals expressed by Lincoln about renewal, continuity and national unity. Obama mentioned these ideals in his speech to stress the need for shared sacrifice and a new sense of responsibility to answer America's challenges at home and abroad.
context_section_description: On January 17, 2009, Obama hosted a whistle stop train tour in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth year of Abraham Lincoln. Obama reenacted the final part of Lincoln's 1861 train tour from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. to capture the mood of the 1861 Springfield to Washington train tour traveled by Lincoln to his own inauguration. For his train ride to the nation's capital, Obama rode in the Georgia 300, a vintage railroad car used by past presidents and the same one he used for touring Pennsylvania during his presidential primary campaign. On the tour, Obama was accompanied by his wife Michelle, their daughters Malia and Sasha, and a host of friends and guests.
  For the train ride to Washington, Obama invited 41 "everyday Americans" that he met during his presidential campaign to accompany him on the tour and attend other inaugural events, including the swearing-in ceremony, the parade and an inaugural ball. The group of citizens who joined the tour had shared stories with then-candidate Obama about themselves and their families during the presidential campaign, and included Matt Kuntz and Lilly Ledbetter. Kuntz, who lost his own step‑brother to suicide after returning home from the Gulf War, dedicated his efforts to improve mental health screening for Iraq War veterans. Ledbetter, who learned years later that her employer had discriminated against her in pay based on gender, lost her case before the Supreme Court because she did not file her claim within 180 days of the discriminatory act. Nine days after his inauguration, Obama as president signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, allowing claims filed against employers not only within 180 days of the pay discrimination, but also restarting the 180-day period for claims upon receiving any paycheck based on a discriminatory pay action.
  Obama commenced the tour in Philadelphia by holding a town hall meeting at 30th Street Station with a few hundred supporters. At the first stop in Wilmington, Delaware Vice President‑elect Biden and his family joined the tour. Biden, dubbed "Amtrak Joe" for his daily commutes on Amtrak between Wilmington and Washington, built a reputation as a supporter of increased funding for U.S. commuter rail transportation. The train continued to Baltimore, Maryland, its second stop, where Obama spoke to a crowd of about 40,000 people.
  During his speeches to the crowds, he emphasized the theme "A New Birth of Freedom" using phrases associated with Lincoln such as "better angels" and "a new declaration of independence". Obama referred to patriotic forebearers in his speech when he reminded the crowds that "we should never forget that we are the heirs of that first band of patriots, ordinary men and women who refused to give up when it all seemed so improbable; and who somehow believed that they had the power to make the world anew." Thousands of well‑wishers gathered at various points along the train route taking pictures, cheering and waving American flags and homemade signs, with Obama reciting his trademark rejoinder "I love you back" to the enthusiastic crowds. The one-day train tour concluded at Union Station in Washington, D.C.
caption: Obama aboard the Georgia 300 on January 17, 2009
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