40TH INAUGURAL CEREMONIES
PRESIDENT
FRANKLIN D.
ROOSEVELT
January 20, 1945
VICE PRESIDENT
HARRY S.
TRUMAN
January 20, 1945
INAUGURAL COMMITTEE
Sen. Harry F. Byrd (D-VA), Chair
Sen. Kenneth D. McKellar (D-TN)
Sen. Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI)
Rep. Sam T. Rayburn (D-TX)
Rep. Robert L. Doughton (D-NC)
Rep. Joseph W. Martin (R-MA)
ABOUT THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONIES
Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn-in for his fourth term as the 32nd President of the United States, and Harry S. Truman was sworn-in as the 34th Vice President of the United States.
Location:
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Weather:
Light snow ended around 9 a.m. that morning. Cloudy skies. Estimated noon temperature of 35°F.
Bible Used:
Same family Bible used for his 1933, 1937, and 1941 Inaugurations, open to I Corinthians 13.
FACTS, FIRSTS, AND PRECEDENTS
First and only president sworn-in for a fourth term; had simple Inaugural Ceremony at the White House; At the height of WWII, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth Inauguration was simple and austere with no fanfare or formal celebration following the event. There was no parade because of gas rationing and a lumber shortage.
TIMELINE
INVOCATION
The Right Reverend Angus Dun,
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Washington
VICE PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE
Administered to Harry S. Truman
by outgoing Vice President Henry A. Wallace.
PRESIDENTIAL OATH OF OFFICE
Administered to Franklin D. Roosevelt
by the Honorable Harlan F. Stone,
Chief Justice of the United States.
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
“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.”
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
BENEDICTION
The Right Reverend Monsignor John A. Ryan,
Director of the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference.