What Went Down During Joe Biden’s Inauguration

A quick search suggests that no inaugural address has made reference to the Emancipation Proclamation before. The Emancipation Proclamation is a fascinating reference because it was a use of presidential war power, in a fairly narrow and technical sense, to attain a much larger goal — to make the Civil War, unquestionably, a war to end slavery. It was criticized at the time for applying to enslaved people in the Confederacy but not to those in states that had remained loyal to the Union. It speaks to different aspects of presidential power, and how presidents can follow the Constitution closely, not overstepping the bounds of their power, and still make incredible change.

And … Joe Biden is officially president now!

Biden is echoing some of his campaign messages that acknowledged, in detail, moments of “crisis and challenge” in American history, but claimed that the country had overcome them.