WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Barack Obama swore the presidential oath shortly after noon Tuesday, sunlight broke through stray clouds over the U.S. Capitol and shone directly on the nation’s 44th president and an estimated 2 million spectators determined to witness his historic ceremony.

The roar from a crowd that stretched as far as the Lincoln Memorial, nearly two miles away, echoed in waves to the steps of the Capitol each time Obama's image appeared on massive television screens set up along the National Mall. The muffled applause of millions of gloved hands punctuated his speech.

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," Obama said to the crowd, and the nation, moments after he took the oath.

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

For many, the promise of a redefined America provided the strength to brave temperatures in the teens. U.S. Park Police closed the Mall near 14th Street three hours before Obama was to take the oath and redirected still-descending spectators to the grounds of the Washington Monument, more than a mile from the Capitol.

They chanted, "O-BA-MA ... O-BA-MA" in the hours before the first musical note was struck to begin the ceremony.

People coming from all directions had packed the Metro, Washington’s subway system, in the wee hours of the morning and waited — with amazing calm — to see the festivities.

Vel Young, a Lauderdale County Court judge in Mississippi and daughter of state Rep. Charles Young, a former civil rights worker in Meridian, was among those who bundled up and headed out early. She grabbed a spot about 75 yards in front of the stage. It was worth the wait, she said.