'I did it!' Obama takes oath surrounded by family at White House

President Barack Obama was officially sworn in Sunday for his second term as president of the United States, ahead of Monday's public events.

Embracing his children after the oath, his younger daughter Sasha was heard to whisper "good job, Daddy!"

 During Barack Obama's second inauguration on Monday, singer Beyonce sang the national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", in front of a crowd of approximately 800,000 people in Washington DC.

Star Spangled-Banner is the national anthem of the United States.
It was written by Francis Scott Key, lawyer and poet, in 1814
Key saw the bombardment of the Fort McHenry at Baltimore by British
war ships at Chesapeake bay in the 1812 war.
He was so happy to see the US flag still on the fort at dawn that
he began to write a poem to celebrate it.

The song was declared national anthem on March 3rd, 1931 by the Congress.

The beginnings

The United States became an independent country during its War of Independence (1775-1783) against England.

George Washington played a leading military and political role.

On July 4th 1776, a year after the beginning of this war, the American Declaration of Independence announced that the colony was separating from Britain.

The Frenchman Lafayette participated in this war to help the Americans.

After the war George Washington chaired the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution, and was then elected the first President of the United States, serving two terms.

The Declaration of Independence - extract

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the Governed."

The Capitol Building in Washington houses Congress, which consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

 The House of Representatives is situated in Washington D.C in the Capitol.

There are 435 representatives : each state has a different number of representatives, according to its population. For example, tiny Delaware has only one representative, whereas large California has 45.They are elected for 2 years.

The Senate is situated in Washington D.C in the Capitol.

It represents each State. There are 2 senators for each State.

In total, there are 100 senators. They are elected for 6 years.

The Senate votes federal laws.

THE SUPREME COURT in Washington is the most important law court in the United States, and is superior to all other courts of law.

- What the Supreme Court can do :

• Deliberate on civil, criminal and administrative matters.
• Clarify laws and make sure they are constitutional.
• Force individual states to conform to federal law.
• Debate on private cases, if these are of national importance.

CLICK ON NEXT PAGE TO CONTINUE!