the earth together, let us go forward, firm in our faith, steadfast in our purpose, cautious of the dangers but sustained by our confidence in the will of god and the promise of man. ♪ narrator: inauguration day, washington, 1949. the biggest inaugural in united states history is ready to begin. pennsylvania avenue, soon to be the main artery of president truman's triumphant parade. railroad yards are jammed as more than half a million visitors from all over the union came to washington on this festive inauguration day.

♪ narrator: since early morning, spectators have been at their places along the parade route. hawkers ply their wares, buttons honoring harry s. truman, elected president of the united states. mrs. truman, the vice president-elect and chief executive depart for the inaugural ceremonies. mr. truman, escorted by congressional representatives, goes to take his oath of office, after the greatest political upset in united states history. in capitol plaza, more than 100,000 people are on hand to witness the induction. millions more see the event on television and hear it over worldwide radio. among the distinguished guests are admiral nimmet, marine corps general standard grip. united states secretary general

lee. the black robed supreme court justices descend the depths of the platform headed by the chief executive's wife and daughter. a battery of motion picture and television cameras records the arrival. elvin bosley of kentucky, a member of congress for 36 years, has taken his vice presidential oath of office. >> so help me god. >> harry s. truman is sworn in as the nation's 32nd president by chief justice fred m. vincent. >> raise your right hand. do you, harry s. truman, do solemnly swear.

>> i harry s. truman, do solemnly swear. >> you will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. >> that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. >> and will to the best of your ability. >> and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. >> preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. >> so help you god. >> so help me god. [applause] narrator: to the nation and the world, a solemn, resolute president, declares. >> mr. vice president, mr. chief justice, fellow citizens, i accept, with humility, the honor which the american people have

conferred upon me. i accept this with the resolve to do all that i can for the welfare of this nation and for the peace of the world. the american people stand firm in the faith which has inspired this nation from the beginning. we believe that all men have a right to equal justice under law and equal opportunity to share in the -- we believe that all men have a right to freedom of thought and expression. we believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of god. from this faith, we will not be moved. [applause]

>> the american people desire and are determined to work for a world in which all nations and all peoples are free to govern themselves as they see fit and to achieve a decent and satisfying life. above all else, our people desire and are determined to work for peace on earth, a just and lasting peace, based on genuine agreements freely arrived at by equals. in the pursuit of these aims, the united states and other likeminded nations find themselves directly opposed by a regime of contrary aims and a totally different concept of life. that regime adheres to a false philosophy which purports to offer freedom, security and greater opportunity to mankind.

misled by that philosophy, many peoples have sacrificed their liberties only to learn to their sorrow that deceit and mockery, poverty and tyranny are their reward. that false philosophy is communism. communism suggests to protect the individual to arrest without lawful cause, punishment without trial and forced labor as a chattel of the state. what information he shall receive, what art he should produce, what ladders should -- leaders he shall fall and what thoughts he shall think. democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity as well as the inalienable right

to govern himself with reason and justice. democracy maintains that government is established for the benefit of the individual and is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the individual and his freedom in the exercise of those abilities of his. [applause] the differences between communism and democracy do not concern the united states alone. people everywhere are coming to realize that what is involved is the material wellbeing, human dignity and the right to worship god. to end hostilities, the united states has invested substance

and energy in our great constructive effort to restore peace, facility and freedom to the world. we have imposed our will on none. we have asked for no privileges that we would not extend to others. we have made every effort to secure agreement on effective international control of our most powerful weapons and we have worked thoroughly for the limitation and control of all armaments. we are moving on with other nations to build an even stronger structure of international order and justice. we shall have -- no longer solely concerned with the problem of national survival, are now working to improve the standards of living of all our people. we are ready to undertake new projects to strengthen a free world.

we're coming here, our program for peace and freedom will emphasize four major courses of action. first, we will give support to the united nations and related agency and continue to search for ways to strengthen their authority and increase their effectiveness. second, we will continue our program for a world economic recovery. this means, first of all, that we must keep our full weight behind the european republic program. third, we will strengthen freedom loving nations against the dangers of aggression. fourth, we will combine the program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas.

i believe that we should make available to peace loving people the benefits of our store of technical knowledge in order to help them realize their aspirations for a better life. our aim should be to help the free peoples of the world through their own efforts to produce more food, more clothing, more materials for housing and more mechanical power to lighten their burden. can the markets cannot alone supply the vitalizing force to stir the peoples of the world against oppression, not only against human oppressors but also against ancient enemies -- hunger, misery and despair. as our facility becomes manifest and more nations come to know the benefits of democracy and to participate in growing abundance, i believe that those countries, which now oppose us,

will abandon their delusion and join with the free nations of the world in a just settlement of international differences. we will advance toward a world where man's freedom is secure. to that end, we will devote our strength, our resources, and our firmness of resolve. with god's help, future of mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony and peace. [applause] ♪ narrator: on this chill winter day, president truman leaves capitol hill to take his place to the parade at the white house reviewing stand. with more than a million people

lining the route, marchers join in a 17-mile long procession down pennsylvania avenue. ♪ narrator: the army chief of staff, general omar bradley, in this, the greatest parade in the long history of the national capitol. then come the president and vice president. flanking the chief executive is his guard of honor, the men of battery d, 129 field artillery from the first world war. cabinet members include the secretary of state, dean hutchinson, and the attorney

general of the united states, tom clark. general dwight d. eisenhower arrives in the car of army secretary kenneth royal. behind him marches the future general of west point. the brigade of midshipman of the united states naval academy of annapolis passes in revue. next come the cadets of the united states coast guard academy. ♪ narrator: then the marine corps march down the broad avenue, which today is a parade ground for every branch of the armed

services. b82, the flying box cars, lead one of the greatest air armadas ever to fly over the capitol. more than 700 planes in all. giant b36 bombers pass overhead. the parade includes not only the military but is a panorama of american life. the president's home state of missouri has several displays, one of them, a wagon drawn by missouri mules. other floats depict the products and scenery of the various states. this is kentucky, the vice president's home state. state of texas float moves down the avenue. the district of columbia display features reproductions of the

capitol and the washington monument. from massachusetts comes a float honoring the early american settlers who landed on the shores of that state. the figure of uncle sam strides down the avenue. civic, business, labor and fraternal organizations representing members from all over the country participate in the festivities. many bands and drum and bugle corps.

near the white house, the excitement mounts as the chief executive approaches. the president gets a rousing ovation as he prepares to leave his car and take his place on the reviewing stand. for nearly three hours, the president and vice president stand together, acknowledging their countrymen. a group of california cowboys salute president truman and so does their pet dalmatian, much to the president's amusement. another group presents the chief executive with a special gift. a brand new cowboy hat.

the president is cheered by the citizens of missouri, the town in which he was born. people of each of the 48 states of the union honor harry s. truman. george washington took the oath as the first president nearly 160 years ago. the colorful pangent moves on. inauguration day of 1949 expresses the mood of the nation, a country striving for a peaceful world yet mindful of the military needs to make and keep that peace. in harry truman's own words, it marks the beginning of not only a new administration, but of a period that will be eventful, perhaps decisive, for the united states and for the world.