Harry Truman - HISTORY

On January 20, 1949, beginning his second term, President Harry Truman denounces communism and presents a program for peace in his inaugural address.

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Excerpts from Harry Truman's inaugural address on Thursday, January 30, 1940.

On April 12, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Five days after being sworn in as president of the United States, Harry Truman delivers a speech to the U.S. Armed Forces expressing his gratitude for their service and his intention to see through FDR's strategies.

On October 24, 1949, the cornerstone of the permanent United Nations headquarters was laid in New York City. President Harry Truman delivers a speech emphasizing the need to make the common good a top priority.

On June 29, 1947, as the first president to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Harry Truman pledges his support for upholding the civil rights of all Americans.

On April 16, 1945, Harry Truman makes his first official appearance before Congress as president of the United States, after being sworn in following the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt four days earlier. In his speech, Truman pledges to bring World War II to a victorious end.

In a broadcast delivered from the White House by direct wire to the United Nations charter conference in San Francisco on April 25, 1945, President Harry Truman describes the challenges facing the new organization.