Second inauguration of Harry S. Truman

1949 Inauguration of Harry S. Truman

Harry Truman delivers his inaugural address after being sworn in for his second (only full) term in office.
Date	January 20, 1949; 67 years ago (1949-01-20)
Location	U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Participants	President of the United States, Harry S. Truman Assuming office Chief Justice of the United States, Fred M. Vinson Administering oath Vice President of the United States, Alben W. Barkley Assuming office Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Stanley Forman Reed Administering oath

The second inauguration of Harry S. Truman as President of the United States was held on January 20, 1949. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second (only full) term of Harry S. Truman as President and the only term of Alben W. Barkley as Vice President. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson administered the Oath of office.

It was the first televised US presidential inauguration and the first with an air parade. Truman also restarted the tradition of an official inaugural ball, which had disappeared since the inauguration of William Howard Taft in 1909. 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.

The inaugural celebration, organized by Melvin D. Hildreth, lasted the full week from January 16–23. The New York Times described it as "the most splendiferous since Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to lift the pall of gloom of 1933 with brave words proclaiming the New Deal". Some confusion was generated when thousands of people received souvenir "invitations" that were in fact not valid tickets to inaugural events.

1.3 million people reportedly stood on Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues in Washington, D.C., to watch the inaugural parade. Six hundred warplanes flew overhead, and army soldiers marched with new weaponry on display. Some of the marching units were racially mixed. During the parade, Truman was saluted by retired General and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower, then President of Columbia University. Truman drew media attention for 'snubbing' southern Governors Strom Thurmond and Herman Talmadge during the parade.