Video: 'Ronald Reagan 1985 Inauguration Part 1'

(Sunday, January 20, 1985, 11:57 a.m. EST) — Ronald Wilson Reagan quietly took the constitutional oath today to begin his second term as the 40th President of the United States.

Reagan, 73, beaming with the confidence born of four years’ experience and a re-election landslide, took the oath at a simple one- minute ceremony in the White House at three minutes to noon on the Jan. 20 inauguration date specified by law.

As January 20 fell on a Sunday, the swearing in took place privately in the Grand Foyer of the White House, although it was televised (the traditional inaugural events would be held the following day, Monday, although some were cancelled due to cold weather).

Reagan and Bush, Republicans, had handily defeated the Democratic ticket of Walter Mondale-Geraldine Ferraro in the November 1984 general election.