The Inauguration of 1949
On January 20, 1949, President Harry S. Truman was inaugurated for the second time, but for the first time following his election to the Presidency. Alben W. Barkley, the former Kentucky Senator, was inaugurated as Vice President for the first time. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson administered the Oath of office. Truman used two Bibles: the first was the same Bible he used in 1945 when he was sworn in upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt, open to Matthew 5 (Beatitudes). The second was a Gutenberg facsimile given to him by the Independence, Missouri Chamber of Commerce, opened to Exodus 20 (the Ten Commandments).
The inaugural ceremony was part of an "inaugural week celebration" which lasted from January 16th to the 23rd, and which was organized by Melvin D. Hildreth, lasted the full week from January 16–23. The New York Times called the event as "the most splendiferous since Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to lift the pall of gloom of 1933 with brave words proclaiming the New Deal".
An estimated 1.3 million people stood along Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues in Washington, D.C., to watch the inaugural parade, which as seven miles long, according to the Truman Library. Six hundred warplanes flew overhead, and army soldiers marched with new weaponry on display. Some of the marching units were racially mixed, a new concept at the time. During the parade, Truman was saluted by retired General and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower, then President of Columbia University. The media reported that Truman had snubbed southern Governors Strom Thurmond and Herman Talmadge during the parade.
Thousands of members of the Civil Rights Congress arrived in Washington to protest the inauguration. The group protested Smith Act trials of communist leaders, as well as unfair death penalty sentences for African Americans. They also called for a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission and the abolition of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
In his inaugural address, sometimes called the Four Point speech, Truman discussed economic growth and opposition to Communism across the globe. Millions of people watched the inauguration, the first to be broadcast on television. It aired on every television network and millions more listened on radio. Many schoolchildren watched from their classrooms and Truman authorized a holiday for federal employees so that they could also watch. The ceremony, and Truman's speech, were also broadcast abroad through the Voice of America, and translated into other languages including Russian and German.
Truman also restarted the tradition of an official inaugural ball, which had disappeared since the inauguration of Warren G. Harding. Lena Horne, Dorothy Maynor and Lionel Hampton performed at the inaugural gala—the first African Americans to appear at this type of performance.
The day before the inaugural ceremony, Truman signed a law doubling President's salary to $100,000 a year—the first such increase since Ulysses S. Grant's salary doubled to $50,000 in 1873.
Following is an 18 minute C-Span Video containing vintage footage of this inauguration day:
The inaugural ceremony was part of an "inaugural week celebration" which lasted from January 16th to the 23rd, and which was organized by Melvin D. Hildreth, lasted the full week from January 16–23. The New York Times called the event as "the most splendiferous since Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to lift the pall of gloom of 1933 with brave words proclaiming the New Deal".
An estimated 1.3 million people stood along Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues in Washington, D.C., to watch the inaugural parade, which as seven miles long, according to the Truman Library. Six hundred warplanes flew overhead, and army soldiers marched with new weaponry on display. Some of the marching units were racially mixed, a new concept at the time. During the parade, Truman was saluted by retired General and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower, then President of Columbia University. The media reported that Truman had snubbed southern Governors Strom Thurmond and Herman Talmadge during the parade.
Thousands of members of the Civil Rights Congress arrived in Washington to protest the inauguration. The group protested Smith Act trials of communist leaders, as well as unfair death penalty sentences for African Americans. They also called for a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission and the abolition of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
In his inaugural address, sometimes called the Four Point speech, Truman discussed economic growth and opposition to Communism across the globe. Millions of people watched the inauguration, the first to be broadcast on television. It aired on every television network and millions more listened on radio. Many schoolchildren watched from their classrooms and Truman authorized a holiday for federal employees so that they could also watch. The ceremony, and Truman's speech, were also broadcast abroad through the Voice of America, and translated into other languages including Russian and German.
Truman also restarted the tradition of an official inaugural ball, which had disappeared since the inauguration of Warren G. Harding. Lena Horne, Dorothy Maynor and Lionel Hampton performed at the inaugural gala—the first African Americans to appear at this type of performance.
The day before the inaugural ceremony, Truman signed a law doubling President's salary to $100,000 a year—the first such increase since Ulysses S. Grant's salary doubled to $50,000 in 1873.
Following is an 18 minute C-Span Video containing vintage footage of this inauguration day: