The inaugural address made at several points references to famous speeches of America 's former leaders . Barack Obama referenced Martin Luther King 's I Have a Dream speech by noting that " we can not walk alone . " Obama also made several references to past presidential inaugurations . He referenced the country 's civil war experience and its slavery history with allusions to phrases used by Abraham Lincoln : " Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword , we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free . " This was an allusion to " until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword " from Abraham Lincoln 's second inauguration address . The inaugural address of John F. Kennedy was also referenced . Obama 's " this generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience " and later description of " brave men and women in uniform , tempered by the flames of battle " was an allusion to Kennedy 's line of a " new generation of Americans — born in this century , tempered by war , disciplined by a hard and bitter peace . " Obama 's assertion that America is willing to negotiate with its adversaries " not because we are naïve about the dangers we face , but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear " was reminiscent of Kennedy 's words that " civility is not a sign of weakness ... Let us never negotiate out of fear . But let us never fear to negotiate . " Barack Obama described the American state of affairs with references to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the 2007 – 2009 recession in the United States as follows : " This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience . A decade of war is now ending . An economic recovery has begun . America 's possibilities are limitless . " Obama then added a collective call to action : " My fellow Americans , we are made for this moment , and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together . " Noting that " Decisions are upon us , and we can not afford delay " Obama stressed the need of shielding the weak , the poor and those lacking health care and demanded equality for all races and gay rights , and security from gun crime for children . In the '' Washington Post '' , Chris Cillizza stated in this context that Obama 's overall inaugural message was " That we are all in this together and that we will ultimately be judged by how we treat the lowest among us . " Cillizza pointed to five sentences of Obama 's speech which contained not only Obama 's agenda for his second term but also " outlined what he wanted his second term to be — and to mean " : Richard Blanco read a poem he wrote for the occasion , '' One Today '' . One critic called it " a rare break from the staid custom of ceremony that the rest of the afternoon brought " and another described it as " art meant to orient , to reconfirm collective identity in a time of recent tragedy . ... an optimistic , careful piece meant to encourage , a balm . " At the conclusion of his inaugural address , Obama walked back into the Capitol building , then turned for a moment to look out at the National Mall , filled with hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Americans . He said to those close to him : " I want to take a look one more time . I 'm not going to see this again . " Shortly afterward , he signed the Capitol 's guest book
security from gun crime for children
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
Second inauguration of Barack Obama