Kamala Devi Harris made history at the stroke of noon onWednesday becoming the first vice president of Indian descent and JosephRobinette Biden made a call for unity as he became president of a nation in thethroes of a devastating Covid-19 pandemic and the "raging fire" ofnational division.
The daughter of Shyamala Gopalan became the first IndianAmerican, the first woman, and the first African American vice president,putting her heartbeat away from the presidency.
And to the world, Biden said, "We will engage withthe world again... we will not lead merely by the example of our power, but bythe power of our example."
Symbolically, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, thefirst Latina to serve on the court, gave her the oath of office before Biden.
Her husband Doug Emhoff held two bibles on which sheswore, one of them that belonged to Regina Helton, whom she has called her"second mother", and another to Thurgood Marshall, the first AfricanAmerican Supreme Court justice.
Biden in his speech noted that 108 years ago protestershad stood there to block women from demanding the right to vote, and said,"And today we mark the swearing of the first woman in American historyelected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris."
The transfer of power went off peacefully as they assumedthe presidency and vice presidency as mandated by the Constitution, without thefeared disruptions. Soon after the ceremony, Biden went into the president'soffice in the Capitol to sign a series of orders nominating key members of hiscabinet.
A carefully controlled guest list of a few hundred thatincluded former Presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, former Vice PresidentMike Pence and other luminaries were at hand.
The national anthem was sung by Lady Gaga, a pop singerand the national pledge of alliance was recited by a woman firefighter, whoalso displayed it in sign language.
Senator Amy Klobuchar, who had been one of the rivals ofBiden for the Democratic Party nomination, acted as the emcee for the ceremony.
Biden's speech was put together by a team led by VinayReddy, his director of speechwriting.
"Few people in our nation's history have been morechallenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we're innow," Biden said focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic and the raging disunitymarked by the riot at that very spot.
"We must end this uncivil war that pits red againstblue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if weopen our souls instead of hardening our hearts," he said.
"I promise you, I will fight as hard for those whodid not support me as for those who did," he said.
Recalling Abraham Lincoln's speech when he made theproclamation abolishing slavery, Biden said, "Today, on this January day,my whole soul is in this: bringing America together, uniting our people,uniting our nation."
He also quoted Augustine, "a saint in mychurch", who "wrote that a people was a multitude defined by thecommon objects of their love" and asked, "What are the common objectswe as Americans love, that define us as Americans?
Biden and Harris are to visit the tomb of the UnknownSoldier and after that they will be led in a formal procession to the WhiteHouse.
There Biden will sign a series of executive orders,mostly to reverse Trump's actions. They are expected to include rejoining theParis Climate Agreement.