Thanks, Exo
33. HARRY S. TRUMAN (America needs you, Harry Truman)
Born: May 8, 1884, Lamar, Missouri
Died: December 26, 1972, Independence, Missouri
Term: April 12, 1945- January 20, 1953
Political Party: Democrat
Vice President: Alben Barkley
First Lady: Bess Wallace Truman
Before the Presidency: Harry Truman grew up in a modest family of four. The family settled in Independence Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, when he was six. Harry was something of a nerd as his mother didn’t allow him to rough house. He also wore glasses, and he grew up a rather awkward boy. As such, he spent much of his free time reading and playing the piano. At one point he even dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. And, like most boys, he fantasized about being a soldier.
Truman worked hard at school and wanted to join West Point after graduating high school in 1901, but his poor eyesight nixed that idea. His father also had financial problems, so a major college was out as well. Instead, Truman attended a business school for a year before dropping out and finding work in construction, and then as a bank clerk.
In 1906, Truman left the bank to work on the family farm for close to a decade. It wasn’t his favorite profession, and he found an escape when he joined the National Guard in 1905. During this period, he courted a young woman named Bess Wallace and while she didn’t want to marry him initially, they continued with a romantic relationship. They would finally marry in 1919.
In 1914, Truman’s father died. Though he was heartbroken, this did give him the opportunity to wean himself away from the farm. He tried his hand as a small mining owner as an investor in the oil business but found little success in either.
The United States entered World War I in 1917 and Truman rejoined the National Guard. Soon, his unit was federalized, and he ended up fighting in France. Truman rose up in the ranks, making it all the way to Captain. He proved to be a solid leader, earning the respect of his men. His self-confidence bloomed and Truman would come home a surprisingly popular man in the Kansas City area.
His political career had started once he got home in 1919, unbeknownst to Truman at the time, who only wanted to be successful in a small business. Indeed, a clothing store he opened with his war buddy, Eddie Jacobson, ultimately would fail as Kansas City was apparently immune from the national economic boom of the early 1920s.
But Truman was not the awkward little kid anymore. The war had made him more confident, and he became active as a respected businessman, joining several civic and Veterans groups.
One of his war buddies happened to be Boss Thomas Pendergast of the Kansas City Democratic Party. Pendergast, though, wasn’t your typical political boss; he actually admired Truman for his honesty and hard work ethic. He convinced Truman to run for a local judgeship in Jackson County and, after a tight primary, won the general election easily.
As the local judge, Truman also served as County Commissioner and handled the county’s budget and roads while also awarding patronage to Pendergast supporters. He would lose re-election after a rift in the Democratic Party, but Pendergast got him elected again in 1926 and 1930. He proved to be a very good county commissioner as he oversaw a major road project and helped to guide the county through the worst of the Great Depression. And though he was part of the Pendergast machine, and even though Pendergast had some corruption in him, Truman himself was admired for his integrity and honesty. As such, he walked a fine line between making the Pendergast machine happy so he could continue to make improvements to the county. Truman’s integrity even benefited Pendergast as he could point to Truman as someone in his machine with integrity. Truman also had very much a bi-racial coalition which didn’t hurt matters much either.
By 1934, Truman decided he wanted to move up in the world. He asked Pendergast to support him for a run at the House. At first Pendergast agreed, but then changed his mind- he wanted Truman to run for the Senate instead. It was a bruising primary campaign, but Truman ended up with the Democratic nomination, and rolled on to an easy victory in November. Harry Truman was going to Washington.
Truman’s first term in the Senate was somewhat unremarkable. He enjoyed the camaraderie with his fellow Senators and was a reliable supporter of President Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, but he wasn’t known to take the lead on very many bills. He did have strong ties with the Labor Unions and was a factor on transportation issues on the two committees he served on. He even co-wrote the Transportation Act of 1940 which was an attempt to make the regulations a little less bureaucratic.
Truman’s re-election bid would not be as easy as the first. Pendergast was ill and now in prison as his wheeling and dealing had caught up with him. Still, he had the power of incumbency and was considered the liberal candidate in the Democratic primary. As such, he managed to eke out a close victory after doing well in the big cities of Kansas City and St. Louis. Again, he won in the general election, and he was ready for a second term.
By now, it was inevitable that the US would be involved in World War II and Truman was able to convince the Senate leadership and Roosevelt Administration to let him run his own committee to monitor what he saw as wasteful defense spending. No, he wasn’t one of those deficit hawks that wanted to eliminate the budget, more to the point, he didn’t want the Pentagon to be purchasing those popular hundred dollar toilets.
So, he chaired what was known as the Truman committee, the intent being to protect the little man’s interests from the likes of big business and labor union predators. It met with some moderate success and Senator Truman was now becoming nationally known.
The war also changed Truman’s convictions a bit. He supported the Neutrality acts in the 1930s knowing his constituents were a bit isolationist. But privately, he had grave concerns about Germany and Japan and advocated for a stronger military. When war did break out in Europe in 1939, Truman supported the Cash and Carry laws as well as Lend-Lease. He also supported the peacetime draft that was implemented in 1940. He explained his views to a Missouri voter in a letter stating, “We are facing a bunch of thugs, and the only theory a thug understands is a gun and a bayonet.” It was Harry Truman at his blunt best.
And so, Harry Truman seemed comfortably happy doing his best as a United States Senator. He had no real Presidential ambitions.
But fate has a strange way of behaving.
Summary of offices held:
1905-1911: National Guard
1917-1919: United States Army (World War I)
1920-1953: Army reserve (Colonel)
1923-1925: Judge, Jackson County, Missouri, Eastern District
1927-1935: Presiding Judge, Jackson County, Missouri
1935-1945: US Senator, Missouri
1945: Vice President of the United States
What was going on: The Cold War, the Atomic bomb, The Red Scare, Post war boom, the Nuremberg trials, the Korean War
Scandals within the administration: IRS scandal
Why he was a good President: Accountability mostly. When he said the Buck stops here, he meant it. He took responsibility for his faux pas such as the Korean War. He also made executive decisions knowing they’d be unpopular but was best for the country. He strived to make life better for the Average American and he did more for civil rights than anyone had before him, including Lincoln.
Why he was a bad President: Well, he did get us into Korea. Also, it’s questionable whether he should have dropped the atomic bomb. Yes, the intentions were good (If dropping an A-Bomb is ever good) but it also began the Cold War and we’re certainly living in fear of a nuclear holocaust at this writing (thanks, Vladdie Putin).
What could have saved his Presidency: Maybe more success with his Fair Deal agenda could have helped him at the time. His legacy is rather solid, though.
What could have destroyed his Presidency: If he really was Woodrow Wilson, Jr. and went with his prejudices instead of his heart. And, of course, there was Korea.
How he became Vice President: President Roosevelt decided to dump Vice President Henry Wallace for the 1944 election. The Democrats had seen him as too liberal (read: Communist) and a bit wacky as well. The powers that be, then, congregated in one of their smoke filled rooms and came up with the consensus pick of- Harry Truman.
Truman accepted the nomination with a little reluctance, but he proved to be a good campaigner and seemed ready to accept the duties once FDR was re-elected.
As Vice-President, he didn’t have a lot of contact with the President though there was certainly no animosity between them. He was critical as a tie breaking vote on a couple occasions, notably in getting Henry Wallace approved for Secretary of Commerce.
Of course, we’ll never know how effective Vice President Truman would be because, after only eighty-two days, he was summoned to the White House to be told by Eleanor Roosevelt that the President was dead. The first thing Truman asked was if there was anything he could do for her.
Eleanor answered, “Is there anything we can do for you? You’re the one in trouble now.”
And indeed, he was.
First term: World War II was literally about to end in Europe when Truman became President. Mussolini, already thrown out of power and being hidden by the Nazis, had been captured and publicly executed. Hitler, meanwhile, was stuck in his bunker as the Russians roared into Berlin with the Allies coming from the other direction. Hitler, of course, did what any Fascist hero would do, he killed himself.
So, the war in Europe was over but the US still had to deal with Japan in the Pacific arena. American planes were bombing Tokyo on what seemed like a daily basis, but the Japanese military refused to give in, even as it was obvious the war was lost for them.
Meanwhile, there was a secret program known as the Manhattan project and they had, by 1945, developed the first atomic bomb. President Truman was made aware of this new invention that could wipe out entire cities. After some consultation and some heart wrenching, it was decided that the use of the atomic bomb would likely save more lives than the constant bombings of Japanese cities. This was assuming, of course, that Japan would come to their senses and surrender.
So, President Truman made the fateful decision and okayed the bombing of Hiroshima. The effects of the atomic bomb were devastating. As many as 125,000 civilians were killed, many more suffered severe health problems for the rest of their lives and the city itself was reduced to rubble, all with one bomb.
It was hoped that Japan would surrender right then and there. They didn’t, so an atomic bomb was also dropped on Nagasaki; another 80,000 civilians were killed. This time, the powers that be in Japan realized their nation was in trouble, especially after it was implied that Tokyo would be next.
So, Japan unconditionally surrendered. World War II was over at last.
With the war now over, President Truman could now concern himself with domestic concerns. He had been a fan of the New Deal and he continued Roosevelt’s policies for the most part.
Europe was another matter. With the war over, Truman had to deal with two problems. The most obvious issue was on what to do to help Europe recover from the immense damage the war had caused. The even more serious problem, though, dealt with a new foe, for the Soviet Union was now free to spread its interesting brand of Communism and they were set on pushing their will not only on Eastern Europe, but on East Germany, including Berlin, as well. This would set off some confrontations between East and West starting with the Truman administration. The Cold War had begun.
1946 was not a good year for President Truman, at least on the domestic front. He had hopes to expand the New Deal even further, but Congress didn’t seem so keen, even with a now booming post-war economy. It didn’t help that inflation was getting out of control and there were a wave of Union strikes throughout the country.
So, despite the booming economy, Truman’s polling numbers sank like a lead balloon and the Republicans took both houses in the November election. It didn’t look like Truman was going to accomplish much in the two years he had left.
The Republicans were giddy at having control of Congress and would pass the Taft-Hartley Bill over Truman’s veto in 1947. This bill limited union participation in politics, approved right to work laws in states that wanted them (Right to work was actually a euphemism for anti-union and anti-minimum wage). It also gave the President the right to block strikes with an eighty day cooling off period. Truman didn’t like the measure, but he would find himself invoking Taft-Hartley on several occasions.
Truman fared better when it came to foreign policy. He came up with what was known as the Truman Doctrine. This Doctrine basically supported free European Countries in the war against Communism though it wasn’t formally worded that way. It also called for economic assistance for Greece and Turkey. The extremes of both parties were against the bill from leftist Henry Wallace to majority Leader and isolationist Robert Taft, who would be a constant pain in the side for Truman. Still, it did appeal to the moderates on both sides, and it passed easily.
The other major accomplishment was a humanitarian one. Secretary of State George Marshall suggested an economic aid package to Europe to help them recover from the ravages of war. Officially called the European Recovery Plan, it would be better known as the Marshall Plan.
President Truman supported this plan as he hoped it would make Communism less attractive to the suffering Europeans and would produce economic and political stability on the continent.
Of course, it did much more than that as many Western Europeans (The Soviets and their satellites refused to participate) benefited from the humanitarian aid. Western Europe did indeed stabilize politically and economically, and the United States was widely seen as a force for good.
Of course, the Soviet menace wasn’t going away anytime soon. Stalin decided he wanted all of Berlin (It had been partitioned by the four powers after the war). Since Berlin was actually deep inside East Germany, Stalin ordered a blockade of the entire city so no food could get in. Truman was in a dilemma as advisers suggested he send in the military. He had a better idea.
Instead of sending in the Marines, the United States began air drops of essential supplies to the beleaguered city. Skeptics didn’t think it would work and, it is a bit surprising that the Soviets didn’t try to shoot the airlifts down (which would have caused a war anyway). But it did work, and the Soviets would eventually give in. West Berlin would be free, surviving another blockade in 1961, until the Berlin Wall finally came down in 1989 and Germany was reunited as a free country.
President Truman did one last act in his term as he was now running for re-election. He advanced civil rights farther than any President had before him when he desegregated the Armed Forces. Though Truman personally had his prejudices, having grown up in segregated Missouri, even using language that would have gotten him almost executed today, he also had an innate sense of fairness and decency. In other words, he was no Woodrow Wilson.
The order was met with resistance from the armed forces and wouldn’t be fully implemented until the start of the Korean War and not truly finalized until the Eisenhower administration, but it was an important step in not only acknowledging that all of us are all indeed equal, but it also began a wave of African-American voters into the Democratic Party.
Of, course, with the Dixiecrats in control in the South, it would also cause a major rift in the Democratic Party that would never be repaired, but progress does have to take its lumps, sadly.
Election of 1948: Truman’s prospects of winning re-election were mediocre at best and almost non-existent at worse. Yes, he won back the support of the labor unions and was popular with African Americans, but it was assumed he couldn’t even get elected dog catcher in the South and the Republicans still had a decent hold on the North.
Because of Truman’s liberal policies, there were some major rifts within the party to the point where The Mississippi and part of the Alabama delegations walked out. Truman accepted the socially liberal plank of Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota and at least one Dixiecrat, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, formed his own party and ran against Truman in the General election.
Yet despite all the rancor, Truman would be nominated for a term in his own right, but he would not have an easy road of it. Besides having to deal with Thurmond, he had a fourth candidate likely to take away votes. Henry Wallace was running as the Progressive Party candidate. Thus, Truman had competition from both the right and left wings of his party.
The Republicans, therefore, must have been salivating when they re-nominated Thomas Dewey paired with California Governor Earl Warren. With the acrimony surrounding the Democrats, the GOP, no doubt, saw an easy win with their two strong candidates. Dewey pushed some of the right buttons as he remained a progressive on some issues (though he now had some criticisms of the New Deal). He was also a staunch anti-Communist, definitely a winning issue in the Red Scare days of 1948.
But Dewey did have at least one drawback. While his policies seemed sound, he wasn’t the most exciting candidate in the world. Truman wasn’t known for his brilliant oratory either, at least when compared to FDR, but compared to Dewey, he was an absolute firebrand. He campaigned hard and seemed to expect a miracle to come through in the end. He also quietly had his collation of labor, minorities, and liberals, so it wasn’t going to be a slam dunk for Dewey.
Or would it be? Thurmond was making waves in the South, and he would ultimately take four states plus an elector from Tennessee. And Wallace was siphoning votes from Truman as well.
So, on election day, the Chicago Tribune made the important announcement, DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN. Thomas Dewey was going to be the next President of the United States.
Only he wasn’t. It appears that the pro-Republican paper was just a little premature. In fact, Truman won the election, and it wasn’t even all that close. It was a plurality, but it was a large one, about three and half percentage points better than Dewey. More importantly, he scored a solid win in the Electoral College.
So, America would have four more years of Harry giving em’ hell.