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Presidents 569 words
The fourth inauguration was conducted without fanfare.
Because of the expense and impropriety of festivity during the height
of war, the oath of office was taken on the South Portico of the
White House. It was administered by Chief Justice Harlan Stone. No
formal celebrations followed the address. Instead of renominating
Vice President Henry Wallace in the election of 1944, the Democratic
convention chose the Senator from Missouri, rry S. Truman.
"Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, my friends: You will understand and, I believe, agree with my wish
that the form of this inauguration be simple and its words
brief. We Americans of today, together with our allies, are
passing through a period of supreme test. It is a test of
our courage -- of our resolve -- of our wisdom -- of our
essential democracy. If we meet that test -- successfully and honorably -- we
shall perform a service of historic importance which men and
women and children will honor throughout all time. As I stand here today, having taken the solemn oath of
office in the presence of my fellow countrymen -- in the
presence of our God -- I know that it is America's purpose
that we shall not fail. In the days and the years that are to come, we shall work
for a just and honorable peace, a durable peace, as today we
work and fight for total victory in war. We can and we will achieve such a peace. We shall strive for perfection. We shall not achieve it
immediately-but we still shall strive. We may make mistakes
-- but they must never be mistakes which result from
faintness of 'heart or abandonment of moral principle. I remember that my old schoolmaster, Dr. Peabody, said-in
days that seemed to us then to be secure and untroubled,
"Things in life will not always run smoothly. Sometimes we
will be rising toward the heights -- then all will seem to
reverse itself and start downward. The great fact to
remember is that the trend of civilization itself is forever
upward; that a line drawn through the middle of the peaks
and the valleys of the centuries always has an upward
trend." Our Constitution of 1787 was not a perfect instrument; it
is not perfect yet. But it provided a firm base upon which
all manner of men, of all races and colors and creeds, could
build our solid structure of democracy. Today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned
lessons-at a fearful cost -- and we shall profit by
them. We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that
our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other
Nations, far away. We have learned that we must live as men
and not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger. We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of
the human community. We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that,
"The only way to have a friend is to be one." We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with
suspicion and mistrust -- or with fear. We can gain it only
if we proceed with the understanding and the confidence and
the courage which flow from conviction. The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He
has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which
to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. He has given
to our country a faith which has become the hope of all
peoples in an anguished world. So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way
clearly to see the way that leads to a better life for
ourselves and for all our fellow men -- and to the
achievement of His will to peace on earth."
Jan. 20, 1945