1969 Pat Nixon holding Bible as Richard Nixon is sworn in as president / Johnson watching

"The peace we seek--the peace we seek to win--is not victory over any other people, but the peace that comes "with healing in its wings"; with compassion for those who have suffered; with understanding for those who have opposed us; with the opportunity for all the peoples of this earth to choose their own destiny. Only a few short weeks ago we shared the glory of man's first sight of the world as God sees it, as a single sphere reflecting light in the darkness. [...] We have endured a long night of the American spirit. But as our eyes catch the dimness of the first rays of dawn, let us not curse the remaining dark. Let us gather the light. Our destiny offers not the cup of despair, but the chalice of opportunity. So let us seize it not in fear, but in gladness-and "riders on the earth together," let us go forward, firm in our faith, steadfast in our purpose, cautious of the dangers, but sustained by our confidence in the will of God and the promise of man."

Senator EVERETT DIRKSEN (RIL) speaking to crowd at Inauguration ceremony for Richard Nixon, introducing Vice President elect Spiro Agnew / Rear view of crowd, Capitol Building dome in BG / Sen Everett Dirksen administering Oath of Office to SPIRO AGNEW, President elect RICHARD NIXON watching on, shaking his hand at outset. Nixon Inauguration on January 20, 1969 in Washington, DC (Footage by Getty Images)

Richard M. Nixon delivers the inaugural address at his first presidential inauguration

Pat Nixon holds bible as Chief Justice Earl Warren swears Richard Nixon into office

US Navy sailors marching outside US Capitol Building on Inauguration Day / guests arriving, having tickets checked by police officers and US Marines / cars arriving at ceremony / Inaugural Platform (gallery) / East Front of US Capitol / House Sergeant at Arms carrying mace onto gallery / House of Representatives descending stairs to gallery / Senate descending stairs onto gallery noticeable here are Sen RICHARD RUSSELL (DGA), Sen EDWARD KENNEDY (DMA, Ted Kennedy), and Sen / HUGH SCOTT (RPA) / Governor of California RONALD REAGAN smiling, descending steps onto gallery / Governor of New York NELSON ROCKEFELLER in FG / US Supreme Court descending steps Chief Justice EARL WARREN, Associate Justice THURGOOD MARSHALL, WILLIAM DOUGLAS, WILLIAM BRENNAN / Apollo 8 astronaut FRANK BORMAN in attendance / guests descending stairs, taking seats in inaugural gallery.

Senator Everett Dirksen greets President Lyndon Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey as they find their seats before inauguration

US President RICHARD NIXON delivering Inaugural Address Nixon Inauguration on January 20, 1969 in Washington, DC (Footage by Getty Images)

First Lady LADY BIRD JOHNSON exiting White House with PAT NIXON, Speaker of the House JOHN MCCORMACK, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson / US President LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON (Lyndon Johnson, LBJ) exiting White House with President-elect RICHARD NIXON (Richard Nixon, Richard Milhous Nixon), Sen EVERETT DIRKSEN (RIL), Vice President HUBERT HUMPHREY and VP elect SPIRO AGNEW / East Front of US Capitol Building as viewed from break in springtime trees / Presidential motorcade (black limousines with Secret Service) taking right onto boulevard / Sen Dirksen and President Johnson outside car / Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson smiling, talking with reporters including CBS News correspondent MIKE WALLACE, then entering Capitol / Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, Tricia Nixon (Tricia Cox), Douglas Rogers (son of Secretary of State William Rogers), Julie Eisenhower Nixon, and David Eisenhower taking seats in inaugural gallery / Lady Bird Johnson and MURIEL HUMPHREY BROWN descending steps, smiling / former First Lady MAMIE EISENHOWER and JUDY AGNEW descending steps / Pat Nixon descending steps with Louella Carver Dirksen, taking seat in gallery.

"[...]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."

A tribute from Joe Biden and a mini-recital by British music legend Elton John mark the inauguration in New York City of a historic site celebrating the 1969 Stonewall riots, one of the founding acts of the gay rights movement (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

US President RICHARD NIXON delivering Inaugural Address Nixon Inauguration on January 20, 1969 in Washington, DC (Footage by Getty Images)