On Wednesday, Mr Obama described the unprecedented move as an effort to rid the US political debate of a distraction, saying he had watched, puzzled and bemused, as the birther conspiracy had built and developed over the past years.
"We do not have time for this kind of silliness," Mr Obama said. "We've got better stuff to do. I have better stuff to do. We've got big problems to solve, and I'm confident we can solve them, but we're going to have to focus on them - not on this."
The release of Mr Obama's long form birth certificate, which had been stored in a vault in Hawaii since his birth in August 1961, comes after years of speculation among conspiracy-minded conservatives.
Under the US constitution, only a "natural born citizen" - a clause widely interpreted to mean born in the US or in some cases to US citizens abroad - is eligible to be president.
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Barack Obama: "We've had every official in Hawaii...confirm that yes in fact I was born in Hawaii"
The birther conspiracy held that Mr Obama was born in Kenya or in Indonesia, where he lived as a child, or that the birth certificate revealed other unwholesome information about the president.
During the 2008 presidential campaign Mr Obama released a computer print-out of the birth certificate information that is recognised as an official record of his birth, and Hawaiian public health officials vouched for its authenticity.
But the move did little to quell the birthers, even as most mainstream Republicans have sought to quash the movement, calling it a distraction from substantive policy disagreements.
On Wednesday, the White House released copies of the original birth certificate, with a stamp verifying its authenticity.
Birthers unsatisfied
It shows Barack Hussein Obama II was born 4 August 1961 at Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, to Barack Hussein Obama, a 25-year-old student, and Stanley Ann Dunham, 18, and includes the signature of the attending physician.
It remains unclear whether the release of the birth certificate will satisfy the most hard-core birthers.
Joseph Farah, chief executive of birther-oriented website WorldNetDaily.com, said on the site the document "raises as many questions as it answers".
"It is important to remember there are still dozens of other questions concerning this question of eligibility that need to be resolved to assure what has become a very sceptical public concerning Barack Obama's parentage, his adoption, his citizenship status throughout his life and why he continues to cultivate a culture of secrecy around his life," he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13212230