Ceremony
The inaugural ceremony took place on January 20, 1949. Truman took the oath of office administered by Chief Justice of the United States Fred Vinson. Truman then delivered an address and departed with the parade.
According to one analysis, the delayed arrival of members of Congress created a break in succession of Truman's terms as President. The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1933, states that a President's term ends at noon on January 20 after the election. Members of Congress arrived 10 minutes late and took another 10 minutes to take their seats. Vice President Alben W. Barkley was inaugurated at 12:23 and technically served as President for six minutes, until Truman was inaugurated at 12:29.
In the inaugural address, sometimes called the Four Point speech, Truman discussed economic growth and opposition to Communism across the globe. This moment is often identified as the beginning of development policy in relation to Third World.
Millions of people watched the inauguration, broadcast as a single live program that aired on every network. (Millions more listened on radio). Many schoolchildren watched from their classrooms. 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. According to some calculations, the 1949 inauguration had more witnesses than all previous Presidential inaugurations combined.
Read more about this topic: Second Inauguration Of Harry S. Truman
Famous quotes containing the word ceremony:
“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“We want beans, not goals.”
—Mexican steelworkers’ banner at opening ceremony of 1986 World Cup soccer championship.
““Dirty fellow!” exclaimed the Captain, seizing both her wrists, “hark you, Mrs. Frog, you’d best hold your tongue; for I must make bold to tell you, if you don’t, that I shall make no ceremony of tripping you out of the window, and there you may lie in the mud till some of your Monseers come to help you out of it.””
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)