President Harry Truman 1884-1972

HST Museum Courtyard

Our second day in Independence was dedicated to touring the Truman Museum and Library located about a mile from the Truman residence. This is also the burial place of Harry, Bess, Margaret, and her husband. The building is larger than it looks in front and is situated on a lovely, quiet, grassy knoll. Harry and Bess oversaw it’s design and construction, and Harry walked there nearly every day in his retirement years. His walks were so brisk that Secret Service men had trouble keeping up. We were nine years old when Truman assumed the Presidency, and we had never heard of him until Roosevelt's (FDR) death. There was no TV in those days. FDR had kept him uninformed and out of the limelight. It was great for us to tour the museum and relive those days when Harry became leader of the most powerful nation in the world. He was a common man, but a man of great courage and charisma. He would be our last President with only a high school diploma. Poor eyesight prevented Truman from participating in sports but led him to two of his greatest passions, reading and music. He was an excellent student and often played the piano in the White House. 

Following his high school graduation in 1901, Truman worked briefly as a timekeeper for a railroad construction contractor, then as a clerk in two Kansas City banks. In 1906 he returned to Grandview to help his father run the family farm. He continued as a farmer for more than 10 years. Truman served in the Missouri National Guard. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, he helped organize the 2nd Regiment of Missouri Field Artillery, which was quickly called into federal service as the 129th Field Artillery and sent to France. Truman was promoted to captain and given command of the regiment's Battery D. Many predicted that he would fail as a combat line officer. He and his unit saw action in three campaigns, and Truman never lost a man. He joined the Reserves after the war, rising eventually to the rank of colonel. He sought to return to active duty at the outbreak of World War II, but Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall declined his offer to serve.

Failed Haberdashery

From 1919 to 1922 Truman ran a men's clothing store in Kansas City with his wartime friend, Eddie Jacobson. The store failed in the postwar recession. Truman narrowly avoided bankruptcy, and through determination over many years he paid off his share of the store's debts. He was then elected as one of three judges of the Jackson County Court. Judge Truman, whose duties were administrative rather than judicial, built a reputation for honesty and efficiency in the management of county affairs. He was defeated in 1924 (his only election loss) but won election as presiding judge in 1926. He won re-election in 1930. In 1934 Truman was elected to the United States Senate. He had significant roles in  the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 and the Transportation Act of 1940. After being reelected in 1940 he gained national prominence as Chairman, Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. This committee, which came to be called the Truman Committee, sought with considerable success to ensure that defense contractors delivered  quality products at fair prices.

FDR and Harry: Legendary Presidents

On January 20, 1945 Truman took the vice-presidential oath, and after President Roosevelt's death only 82 days later on April 12, 1945, he was sworn in as the nation's 33rd President. He later called his first year as President a "year of decisions." During his first two months in office he oversaw the ending of the war in Europe. Truman had no knowledge of the atomic bomb until he was in his third day as President. Less than four months later he approved the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945. Japan surrendered on August 14, and American forces of occupation began to land by the end of the month. The first year of Truman's presidency also saw the founding of the United Nations and the development of an increasingly strained and confrontational relationship with the Soviet Union.

Bess, Margaret, and Harry
Nationwide Whistle Stop Election Tour

Truman's presidency was marked throughout by important foreign policy initiatives. Central to almost everything Truman undertook in his foreign policy was the desire to prevent the expansion of the influence of the Soviet Union. The Truman Doctrine was an enunciation of American willingness to provide military aid to countries resisting communist insurgencies; the Marshall Plan sought to revive the economies of the nations of Europe in the hope that communism would not thrive in the midst of prosperity; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) built a military barrier confronting the Soviet-dominated part of Europe. Truman's recognition of Israel in May 1948 demonstrated his support for democracy and his commitment to a homeland for the Jewish people. Almost everyone was predicting that the President would not be re=elected In 1948. However, his energy in undertaking his campaign and his willingness to confront issues won a plurality of the electorate for him. His famous "Whistlestop" campaign tour through the country has passed into political folklore, as has the photograph of the beaming Truman holding up the Chicago newspaper whose headline proclaimed, "Dewey Defeats Truman."

The one time during his presidency when a communist nation invaded a non-communist one -- when North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950 -- Truman responded by waging undeclared war. During the War, Truman boldly relieved General Douglas MacArthur, a WW II and Korean War hero, because MacArthur wanted to expand the War to China. The decision to dismiss was the correct one, but it was  unpopular with nearly everyone who  idolized MacArthur.

She's Just Wild About Harry

The Congress, which was much more Republican in its membership than it had been during FDR's reign, did not share Truman's desire to build on the legacy of the New Deal. The Truman administration went considerably beyond the New Deal in the area of civil rights. Although, the conservative Congress thwarted Truman's desire to achieve significant civil rights legislation, he was able to use his powers as President to achieve some important changes. He issued executive orders desegregating the armed forces and forbidding racial discrimination in Federal employment. He also established a Committee on Civil Rights and encouraged the Justice Department to argue before the Supreme Court on behalf of plaintiffs fighting against segregation.  

"Mr. Citizen" on a Brisk Walk

Truman did not seek re-election in 1952.  For the last two decades of his life, he delighted in being "Mr. Citizen," as he called himself in a book of memoirs. He spent his days reading, writing, lecturing and taking his long, brisk walks. He took particular satisfaction in founding and supporting his library, which made his papers available to scholars, and which opened its doors to everyone who wished to have a glimpse of his remarkable life and career. Upon leaving office Truman had less than a 30 per cent approval rating. As the events of history have evolved, however, historians now rank Truman as the sixth best U.S. President  just behind Washington, Lincoln, F. Roosevelt, Jefferson, and T. Roosevelt. What a comeback for the little man from Independence!