Date | January 20, 1977 |
---|---|
Location |
United States Capitol, Washington, D.C. |
Participants |
President of the United States, Jimmy Carter Warren E. Burger Walter F. Mondale Tip O'Neill |
The Inauguration of Jimmy Carter as the 39th President of the United States was held on Thursday, January 20, 1977, on the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C.. The inauguration marked the commencement of the only four-year term of Jimmy Carter as President and of Walter Mondale as Vice President. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the presidential oath of office to Carter, and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill administered the vice presidential oath of office Mondale. This was the last inauguration held on the East Portico of the Capitol building to date.
Carter took the Oath with a Family Bible, opened to Micah 6:8 and also the same Bible used by George Washington at his 1789 inauguration. The Bible that originally belonged to Washington was at the time in the possession of St. John's Mason Lodge No. 1. The weather was cold, but sunny, with a wind chill factor in the teens. The estimated noon time temperature was at about 28 degrees, but the cold did not stop many excited spectators from catching a glimpse of the new president being sworn into office. Carter ended the Oath with the famous words, "so help me God"