Video: 'Truman's First Address, 1945'
(Monday, April 16, 1945, entered House Chamber at 1:02 p.m. EWT; during World War II) –In his first address to Congress as president, Harry S. Truman pledged Monday to carry forward the vision and resolve of his late predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging national unity and promising an unrelenting fight against tyranny.
“With great humility I call upon all Americans to help me keep our nation united in defense of those ideals which have been so eloquently proclaimed by Franklin Roosevelt,” Truman said in a speech broadcast live across the major radio networks and streamed via the War Department’s secure telecast portal.
Standing before a solemn joint session, Truman sought to steady the nation still reeling from Roosevelt’s sudden death just four days earlier. The new president struck a firm and reassuring tone, vowing to honor the commitments of the fallen commander-in-chief.
Video: 'First Speech to Congress (April 16, 1945)'
“I want in turn to assure my fellow Americans and all of those who love peace and liberty throughout the world that I will support and defend those ideals with all my strength and all my heart,” Truman said. “That is my duty and I shall not shirk it.”
He made clear that the Allied campaign in both Europe and the Pacific would press forward without pause.
“So that there can be no possible misunderstanding,” Truman declared, “both Germany and Japan can be certain, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that America will continue the fight for freedom until no vestige of resistance remains.”
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The address comes as U.S. forces continue their island-by-island advance in the Pacific and push toward Berlin in Europe. The message was seen as both a tribute and a warning — to allies and enemies alike — that America’s mission endures.
Truman, 60, was sworn in on April 12 after Roosevelt’s death from a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia. A relative unknown on the national stage just months ago, Truman is now tasked with guiding the nation through the final stages of World War II and the uncertain path that lies beyond.
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