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First inauguration of Richard Nixon

First Presidential Inauguration of Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon 1969 inauguration.png
Date January 20, 1969; 48 years ago (1969-01-20)
Location Washington, D.C.
U.S. Capitol
Participants President Richard Nixon
Vice President Spiro Agnew

The first inauguration of Richard Nixon as the 37th President of the United States was held on January 20, 1969, at the east portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first term of Richard Nixon as President and of Spiro Agnew as Vice President. Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the presidential oath of office to Nixon, and Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen administered the vice presidential oath to Agnew.

At the inauguration, Nixon gave the following speech:

Senator Dirksen, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, President Johnson, Vice President Humphrey, my fellow Americans--and my fellow citizens of the world community:

I ask you to share with me today the majesty of this moment. In the orderly transfer of power, we celebrate the unity that keeps us free.

Each moment in history is a fleeting time, precious and unique. But some stand out as moments of beginning, in which courses are set that shape decades or centuries.

This can be such a moment.

Forces now are converging that make possible, for the first time, the hope that many of man's deepest aspirations can at last be realized. The spiraling pace of change allows us to contemplate, within our own lifetime, advances that once would have taken centuries.

In throwing wide the horizons of space, we have discovered new horizons on earth.

For the first time, because the people of the world want peace, and the leaders of the world are afraid of war, the times are on the side of peace.

Eight years from now America will celebrate its 200th anniversary as a nation. Within the lifetime of most people now living, mankind will celebrate that great new year which comes only once in a thousand years--the beginning of the third millennium.


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