November 5, 1948
The Independence Examiner, Truman's hometown paper, reported Truman's warm welcome by nearly 2/3 of Washington, D.C.'s population. Truman was met by a surprisingly large crowd of thousands of cheering Americans as he traveled by motorcade from Union Station to the White House. Hundreds of thousands greeted the returning president with wild cheering and the tune, "I'm Just Wild About Harry." Truman was credited with laughing about part of the greeting he received returning from the train station. The return route along Pennsylvania Avenue passed in front of the Washington Post, one of the many papers that had predicted a Dewey victory. The Post welcomed the returning President with a large banner which proclaimed, "Welcome Home from the crow eaters." Truman responded in a generous manner by exhorting everyone to work together towards a country in which everyone can eat turkey whenever he pleases...he passed on the "crow banquet."
In Truman's speech at the Northern Portico of the White House at about noon, he complimented the country's new vice president, Alben Barkley. Truman promised to work hard and try to help the American people in any way he could. For a complete copy of Truman's speech upon his arrival at the White House see Remarks Upon Arrival at the White House. November 5, 1948
Among the many congratulatory messages Truman received from heads of states around the world were warm wishes from Israel's Chaim Weizmann. A copy of the actual letter may be found at:
Letter from Chaim Weisman to President Truman, November 5, 1948 (3 pages)
Ashley, 12th grade
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