Our Blog - Truman Library, Independence MO

We did a quick stop at the Harry S. Truman presidential library, which happens to be between the airport and my mom's house. We actually thought that the presidential library was better than JFK's library in Boston. Truman had a much more interesting life before the presidency than JFK, and the library did a good job of going through that a well as his almost 8 years as president.

Just a few points of trivia from his life ... he grew up in Missouri and fought in the Field Artillery during World War I. He was not really a very good businessman and had several failed businesses or investments. He became a judge in 1922 and was elected to the Senate in 1934. In 1940–1944 he gained national prominence as chairman of the Truman Committee, which was aimed at reducing waste and inefficiency in wartime contracts.

We was picked to be FDRs vice presidential candidate for the reelection because the current VP, Henry Wallace, was viewed as being too far left. FDR won the election (won BIG in fact, 432-99 electoral college vote) and he was sworn in as Vice President in January of 1945. He had one of the shortest stints as VP in history, only 82 days, being sworn in as president after FDR died of a cerebral hemorrhage in April 1945.

He landed in the Oval Office at the end of World War II and one of the first big decisions was the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. After serious strikes in 1946, his approval rating dropped and Democrats lost control of Congress in 1946. This caused him problems trying to pass his "Fair Deal" bills, and only the Housing Act of 1949 was ever enacted. Truman was the first president to address the NAACP in 1947 and recognized the State of Israel in 1948.

He ran again in 1948 and won, although it was a stunning come-from-behind victory. The defining image of the campaign came after Election Day, when Truman held up the erroneous front page of the Chicago Tribune with a huge headline proclaiming "Dewey Defeats Truman." His first "full term" was a bit busy, with the Korean war, civil rights, the Cold War, and the Marshall Plan. While he was eligible to run for a 2nd full term in 1952, he decided not to run after losing the New Hampshire primary. He convinced Adlai Stevenson to run, who lost to Dwight D. Eisenhower, allowing the Republicans to hold the White House for the first time in 20 years.

This is a replica of the President Truman's Oval Office from August 1950. If it looks rather "homey", it actually was. Television was not yet used a lot and so the office decor was more personal, rather than showy.