Joe Biden has vowed to look to America’s past to shape the future he will offer as president, but the 46^th commander-in-chief faces a unique set of challenges in the Oval Office.

The former vice president has invoked the spirit of the New Deal that Franklin Roosevelt created to lead America out of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

But the shape of a much more recent presidency is unmistakeable in the team Mr Biden has picked to begin his administration.

There are a host of familiar names from his eight years in office alongside Barack Obama, sending a message - they hope - of steady, experienced hands on the tiller steering America through choppy waters.

He and Kamala Harris face a gaping division in the country, a modern-day economic crisis, and a global pandemic which has hit America especially hard – and it is now time to turn the promises into action.

We can expect a flurry of executive orders to right the most egregious wrongs, as Mr Biden sees it, of the Trump administration. A presidency that, at times, seemed like a systematic unpicking of the Obama era could now face its own dismantling.

The securing of control of the US Senate, in concert with the majority already held in the House of Representatives, is hugely significant in winning confirmation for his cabinet members and passing the legislation they have teased.

It is a big, expensive agenda to get America moving again.

Joe Biden has promised 100 million doses of vaccine administered in his first 100 days in office.

The pandemic is certain to dominate the start of his presidency and, having spent months hammering Donald Trump’s response, he needs to deliver.

Expect tens of thousands of track-and-trace staff, pushing states to impose mask and lockdown mandates, mass testing and free access to the vaccine for all Americans, regardless of their healthcare status.

The most urgent action might be more stimulus for COVID-hit Americans, but Mr Biden has promised to pump billions into American business in what would represent perhaps the biggest federal intervention in years.

He has expressed his support for a national minimum wage of $15 an hour, and offering loans to small and medium sized firms hit by the pandemic.

Analysts say Mr Biden's "Made in America" plan will create 18 million new jobs. He has also promised to reverse some of the tax cuts put in place by Mr Trump, shifting the burden back towards America's wealthiest.

Wall Street has shown signs of being less nervous of a Biden presidency in recent months.

Mr Biden has faced his fair share of criticism for his record on issues relating to the Black community.

But his proposal to push for racial equality in the US was a major pillar of his "Build Back Better" campaign agenda.

It will focus on economic measures, boosting small business opportunities in America's minority communities, and investing in home ownership and education programmes in economically disadvantaged areas.

Mr Biden distanced himself from calls for police departments to be defunded in the wake of incidents of excessive force, but has promised reforms to address the treatment of the Black community.

Mr Biden sees his environmental policies as an economic goldmine for the country, too. He is planning to invest a staggering $2trn in clean energy technology like solar and wind.

His administration is promising ambitious emissions targets – net zero carbon emissions by 2050 - and putting the US back into the Paris climate accord.

After controversy on the campaign trail, how he approaches industries like oil, natural gas and fracking will be closely watched.

But Mr Biden says that when he thinks of green policies, he thinks of jobs.

The issue that proved most divisive in the Trump era will offer a real contrast in the Biden one.

The new president has promised to get rid of the restrictions on immigration that Mr Trump put in place and, yes, stop building that wall on the border with Mexico.

Mr Biden has said he will expand resources for migrants already in the country legally and will provide a roadmap to citizenship to those who are in the country illegally.

It will mean relief for those brought to the country as children, the so-called "Dreamers".

Having watched Donald Trump dismantle much of what he built during eight years alongside Barack Obama, Mr Biden is certain to try to put some of those pieces back together.

Most notable of all, he has promised to strengthen and expand the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Around 115 million Americans, those over 65 or on low income, receive their healthcare from the government through the Medicare and Medicaid programmes and Mr Biden wants to allow people to enrol at 60.

He would also create a so-called "public option" for others without healthcare to join.

Mr Biden's approach to the world is the polar opposite to that of Mr Trump.

We can expect the new president to reach out to America's traditional allies in Europe and beyond and repair some of the bridges that, if not burned, are a little scorched.

The letter-writing between the White House and North Korea's leader will also probably come to an end and there has been much discussion about how a Biden administration would approach a trade deal with post-Brexit Britain.

The Biden foreign policy may well resemble that of his eight years alongside Mr Obama, but the domestic concerns forced by COVID-19 will keep his administration's focus on the home front.

Mr Biden, long-famed as a moderate pragmatist, will need to walk a tightrope to keep the centre of his party happy while appeasing the progressive wing that is increasingly influential.

The background noise from Republicans questioning the legitimacy of his presidency will be a constant. Don't think we have heard the last mention of "impeachment" with Mr Trump out of office - many on the right will be desperate to avenge what they see as his unfair treatment.

And if it is true that the 78-year-old only plans to serve one term, the historic elevation of Kamala Harris will be even more significant as America charts a course towards the mid-terms next year and the presidential election of 2024.

Joe Biden has always had a reputation, from his decades in the Senate, as a man who could do deals with Republicans. That will be tested as never before.

Because, as much as he feels he had unfinished business, he will have to unite America in some significant ways if he is to deliver.

Credits

Reporting: Greg Milam, US correspondent

Design: Pippa Oakley, graphic designer