Go back to All
Presidents 2,268 words
A former county judge, Senator and Vice President,
Harry S. Truman had taken the oath of office first on April 12, 1945,
upon the death of President Roosevelt. Mr. Truman's victory in the
1948 election was so unexpected that many newspapers had declared the
Republican candidate, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, the
winner. The President went to the East Portico of the Capitol to take
the oath of office on two Bibles&emdash;the personal one he had used
for the first oath, and a Gutenberg Bible donated by the citizens of
Independence, Missouri. The ceremony was televised as well as
broadcast on the radio.
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Chief Justice, fellow citizens:
I accept with humility the honor which the American
people have conferred upon me. I accept it with a resolve to
do all that I can for the welfare of this Nation and for the
peace of the world. In performing the duties of my office, I need the help
and the prayers of every one of you. I ask for your
encouragement and for your support. The tasks we face are
difficult. We can accomplish them only if we work together.
Each period of our national history has had its special
challenges. Those that confront us now are as momentous as
any in the past. Today marks the beginning not only of a new
administration, but of a period that will be eventful,
perhaps decisive, for us and for the world. It may be our lot to experience, and in a large measure
bring about, a major turning point in the long history of
the human race. The first half of this century has been
marked by unprecedented and brutal attacks on the rights of
man, and by the two most frightful wars in history. The
supreme need of our time is for men to learn to live
together in peace and harmony. The peoples of the earth face the future with grave
uncertainty, composed almost equally of great hopes and
great fears. In this time of doubt, they look to the United
States as never before for good will, strength, and wise
leadership. It is fitting, therefore, that we take this occasion to
proclaim to the world the essential principles of the faith
by which we live, and to declare our aims to all peoples.
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 common good. 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. 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 agreement freely
arrived at by equals. In the pursuit of these aims, the United States and other
like-minded nations find themselves directly opposed by a
regime with 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 is based on the belief that man is so weak and
inadequate that he is unable to govern himself, and
therefore requires the rule of strong masters. 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. Communism subjects the individual to arrest without
lawful cause, punishment without trial, and forced labor as
the chattel of the state. It decrees what information he
shall receive, what art he shall produce, what leaders he
shall follow, and what thoughts he shall think. 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.
Communism maintains that social wrongs can be corrected
only by violence. Democracy has proved that social justice can be achieved
through peaceful change. Communism holds that the world is so widely divided into
opposing classes that war is inevitable. Democracy holds that free nations can settle differences
justly and maintain a lasting peace. These differences between communism and democracy do not
concern the United States alone. People everywhere are
coming to realize that what is involved is material
well-being, human dignity, and the right to believe in and
worship God. I state these differences, not to draw issues of belief
as such, but because the actions resulting from the
Communist philosophy are a threat to the efforts of free
nations to bring about world recovery and lasting peace.
Since the end of hostilities, the United States has
invested its substance and its energy in a great
constructive effort to restore peace, stability, and freedom
to the world. We have sought no territory. We have imposed our will on
none. We have asked for no privileges we would not extend to
others. We have constantly and vigorously supported the United
Nations and related agencies as a means of applying
democratic principles to international relations. We have
consistently advocated and relied upon peaceful settlement
of disputes among nations. We have made every effort to secure agreement on
effective international control of our most powerful weapon,
and we have worked steadily for the limitation and control
of all armaments. We have encouraged, by precept and example, the expansion
of world trade on a sound and fair basis. Almost a year ago, in company with 16 free nations of
Europe, we launched the greatest cooperative economic
program in history. The purpose of that unprecedented effort
is to invigorate and strengthen democracy in Europe, so that
the free people of that continent can resume their rightful
place in the forefront of civilization and can contribute
once more to the security and welfare of the world. Our efforts have brought new hope to all mankind. We have
beaten back despair and defeatism. We have saved a number of
countries from losing their liberty. Hundreds of millions of
people all over the world now agree with us, that we need
not have war--that we can have peace. The initiative is ours. We are moving on with other nations to build an even
stronger structure of international order and justice. We
shall have as our partners countries which, no longer solely
concerned with the problem of national survival, are now
working to improve the standards of living of all their
people. We are ready to undertake new projects to strengthen
a free world. In the coming years, our program for peace and freedom
will emphasize four major courses of action. First, we will continue to give unfaltering support to
the United Nations and related agencies, and we will
continue to search for ways to strengthen their authority
and increase their effectiveness. We believe that the United
Nations will be strengthened by the new nations which are
being formed in lands now advancing toward self-government
under democratic principles. Second, we will continue our programs for world economic
recovery. This means, first of all, that we must keep our full
weight behind the European recovery program. We are
confident of the success of this major venture in world
recovery. We believe that our partners in this effort will
achieve the status of self-supporting nations once again.
In addition, we must carry out our plans for reducing the
barriers to world trade and increasing its volume. Economic
recovery and peace itself depend on increased world trade.
Third, we will strengthen freedom-loving nations against
the dangers of aggression. We are now working out with a number of countries a joint
agreement designed to strengthen the security of the North
Atlantic area. Such an agreement would take the form of a
collective defense arrangement within the terms of the
United Nations Charter. We have already established such a defense pact for the
Western Hemisphere by the treaty of Rio de Janeiro. The primary purpose of these agreements is to provide
unmistakable proof of the joint determination of the free
countries to resist armed attack from any quarter. Every
country participating in these arrangements must contribute
all it can to the common defense. If we can make it sufficiently clear, in advance, that
any armed attack affecting our national security would be
met with overwhelming force, the armed attack might never
occur. I hope soon to send to the Senate a treaty respecting the
North Atlantic security plan. In addition, we will provide military advice and
equipment to free nations which will cooperate with us in
the maintenance of peace and security. Fourth, we must embark on a bold new program for making
the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial
progress available for the improvement and growth of
underdeveloped areas. More than half the people of the world are living in
conditions approaching misery. Their food is inadequate.
They are victims of disease. Their economic life is
primitive and stagnant. Their poverty is a handicap and a
threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. For the first time in history, humanity posesses the
knowledge and skill to relieve suffering of these people.
The United States is pre-eminent among nations in the
development of industrial and scientific techniques. The
material resources which we can afford to use for assistance
of other peoples are limited. But our imponderable resources
in technical knowledge are constantly growing and are
inexhaustible. I believe that we should make available to peace-loving
peoples the benefits of our store of technical knowledge in
order to help them realize their aspirations for a better
life. And, in cooperation with other nations, we should
foster capital investment in areas needing development. 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 burdens. We invite other countries to pool their technological
resources in this undertaking. Their contributions will be
warmly welcomed. This should be a cooperative enterprise in
which all nations work together through the United Nations
and its specialized agencies whenever practicable. It must
be a worldwide effort for the achievement of peace, plenty,
and freedom. With the cooperation of business, private capital,
agriculture, and labor in this country, this program can
greatly increase the industrial activity in other nations
and can raise substantially their standards of living. Such new economic developments must be devised and
controlled to the benefit of the peoples of the areas in
which they are established. Guarantees to the investor must
be balanced by guarantees in the interest of the people
whose resources and whose labor go into these developments.
The old imperialism--exploitation for foreign profit--has
no place in our plans. What we envisage is a program of
development based on the concepts of democratic
fair-dealing. All countries, including our own, will greatly benefit
from a constructive program for the better use of the
world's human and natural resources. Experience shows that
our commerce with other countries expands as they progress
industrially and economically. Greater production is the key to prosperity and peace.
And the key to greater production is a wider and more
vigorous application of modern scientific and technical
knowledge. Only by helping the least fortunate of its members to
help themselves can the human family achieve the decent,
satisfying life that is the right of all people. Democracy alone can supply the vitalizing force to stir
the peoples of the world into triumphant action, not only
against their human oppressors, but also against their
ancient enemies--hunger, misery, and despair. On the basis of these four major courses of action we
hope to help create the conditions that will lead eventually
to personal freedom and happiness for all mankind. If we are to be successful in carrying out these
policies, it is clear that we must have continued prosperity
in this country and we must keep ourselves strong. Slowly but surely we are weaving a world fabric of
international security and growing prosperity. We are aided by all who wish to live in freedom from
fear--even by those who live today in fear under their own
governments. We are aided by all who want relief from lies and
propaganda--those who desire truth and sincerity. We are aided by all who desire self-government and a
voice in deciding their own affairs. We are aided by all who long for economic security--for
the security and abundance that men in free societies can
enjoy. We are aided by all who desire freedom of speech, freedom
of religion, and freedom to live their own lives for useful
ends. Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after
righteousness. In due time, as our stability becomes manifest, as more
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 delusions
and join with the free nations of the world in a just
settlement of international differences. Events have brought our American democracy to new
influence and new responsibilities. They will test our
courage, our devotion to duty, and our concept of liberty.
But I say to all men, what we have achieved in liberty,
we will surpass in greater liberty. Steadfast in our faith in the Almighty, 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, the future of
mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony, and
peace."
Jan. 20, 1949