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

The roar from a sea of people that stretched as far back as the Lincoln Memorial, despite temperatures in the teens, echoed in waves back to the steps of the Capitol each time Obama's image appeared on massive television screens throughout the National Mall.

The crowd chanted, "O-BA-MA ... O-BA-MA" in the few hours before the first music note was struck to signal the ceremony’s beginning.

Occasionally, muffled applause from millions of gloved hands punctuated pauses during Obama’s 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 being sworn in.

"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 in the crowd, most who braved endless lines in the sub-20-degree morning temperatures, it was the promise of hope, and a refined America that provided the enduring strength to brave the conditions. U.S. Park Police closed the National Mall near 14th Street three hours before Obama was to take the oath of office and redirected still-descending crowds to the grounds of the Washington Monument.

The Metro, Washington’s subway system, was packed from all directions in the wee hours of the morning as people waited — amazingly calmly — to see the festivities.

Vel Young, a Lauderdale County Court judge and daughter of state Rep. Charles Young, a former civil rights worker in Meridian, Miss., was among those who bundled up early and waited for hours.

She grabbed a spot about 75 yards in front of the stage on the Capitol's front lawn. She was overwhelmed.

"To look up and see him take the oath, then turn around and see the sea of people, like a rainbow from all walks off life — men, women, boys, girls, black, white, yellow, brown — and from all parts of the world," said Young, "it was unreal. It was amazing."

Young said she wished her father, a man who worked to help register black voters and spent countless hours working for civil rights in the 1960s, could have been with her and her brother, Charles Jr. But he was unable to make the trip.

"I can't wait to tell him about it," she said, dressed in a long, black gown in preparation for the Southern Inaugural Ball.

"Today shows that all his, and others’, hard work paid off,” she said. “I watched an 85-year-old woman today near hypothermia get through it to watch the swearing-in. It shows how much that moment meant to people."

The conditions didn't end after the ceremonies on the front steps of the Capitol concluded. Longer lines and bitter cold welcomed spectators as they exited. Early afternoon, temperatures still hadn't broken 30 and the wind made it feel much colder. Crowds, covered from head to toe in fleece, blankets and Obama stocking caps, cheered at times when the sun hit them.

The massive influx of people was significant enough to shut down many of the city's Metro rail stations. Richard Kelly and his wife, Ceatrice, of Meridian, Miss., had to wait until 5 p.m. to catch a train out of the city; the couple is staying with relatives in Baltimore, Md.

Richard Kelly said they browsed street vendor offerings near the National Mall after the event was over as they waited on the Metro to open. They purchased a few $5 Barack Obama calendars and a handful of two for $1 Obama postcards and pins.

But by 8 p.m. as they prepared for a ball in Baltimore, the couple still wasn’t giving in.

"This was well worth the trip," Kelly said. "We wouldn't have missed it. We left at 5 a.m. this morning to get to the (National) Mall. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. What a moment."

They weren't alone.

Teresa Edwards, 45, of Minneapolis, Minn., sat huddled on a street bench off C Street, southeast of the Capitol, as thousands of people passed her en mass.

Edwards' buried her face in her fleece-covered hands. As the wind blew, a newspaper page landed at her feet and she reached down to pick it up, exposing her tears and swollen eyes.

"I'm just having a moment," Edwards said. "This is such an inspiring time."

A few blocks up the street, Josh Boggan of Atlanta, Ga., and his family chanted, "O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA."

"This is a great time in our nation's history," Boggan said. "It's a day I never dreamed I'd see."

For Young, it will be a day she never forgets, a day she'll keep in her heart for years to come. It will be a moment that motivates her, that reminds her how far the country has come from the days when her father had to fight just to vote.

The work of her father, now a successful businessman and decorated lawmaker, helped pave the way for Obama to become the nation's 44th president. The fight that he and others fought is not in vain, she said.

Obama’s words Tuesday gave tribute to their work and the work of others in the civil rights movement.

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given," Obama said. "It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted ..."

Young called it an uplifting speech.

"It was a speech of hope," she said. "It was so great to see all of these people come together for that moment. I could never experience that anywhere else and probably won't be able to ever again. But it gives me hope. The world is truly changing. It's heading in a positive direction. I'm so glad I was able to be a part of that today."