The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s

by William I. Hitchcock

On January 20, 1953, a cloudy and mild day, Eisenhower went to the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol to take the oath of office. Truman, his sour and mute companion in their limousine ride down Pennsylvania Avenue, now stood across from him, his face unmoved and distant. Chief Justice Fred Vinson faced Eisenhower, holding in his left hand two Bibles: one, used by George Washington in 1789, opened to II Chronicles 7:14 (“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”), and Ike’s own personal Bible, opened to Psalm 33:12 (“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance”). Behind Eisenhower stood Vice President Nixon, who had been sworn in just moments earlier. Eisenhower raised his right hand, solemnly took the oath of office, and then turned to the gathered crowd.