Over three million people will be in attendance Tuesday afternoon to witness history.

Gathered in front of the steps of the capital building, a massive crowd will witness Barack Obama place his left hand on the Lincoln Bible, raise his right hand and be sworn into the presidency by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

At noon Obama will repeat words from the Second Article of the U.S. constitution.

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the Presidency of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The process is short, but its impact is great. The ceremony symbolizes the beginning of an era, and for the United States, marks the beginning of an era of change.

The bible has been used as a medium of retaining the oath of all presidents sworn in. The Lincoln Bible that Obama will be using has only been used to swear in one other president, Abraham Lincoln in 1861.

Bibles have been used to consecrate oaths for hundreds of years, dating back to coronations of British monarchs in the 11th century. The U.S. currently uses it to swear trial witnesses testimony to truth, a practice dating back to 300 B.C.

Once the ceremony is completed, Obama will officially be considered to be the 44th President of the United States.