Harry Truman Presidential Museum

Our stop for the day was the Truman Library. The first thing that struck me was how unlikely it was for Harry to become President. Harry was a farm boy with just a high school education, who spent his early years helping out his family and working various jobs. There was nothing unusual about him. He went into the army during World War I, where he showed leadership as captain of an artillery unit. Upon returning home, he married Bess his high sweetheart (who had turned him down twice before). Then he went into politics serving as County Judge (really a county commissioner) for 8 of the next 10 years. The Democratic political machine liked him and so he ran for Senator in 1934 and won. He claimed that his happiest 10 years were in the Senate.

Harry Truman is sworn in as President

In 1944, he was proposed as the Vice Presidential candidate for Roosevelt’s fourth term. Three months after taking office, Roosevelt died, leaving Harry as President. He had only met with the President twice. Harry’s presidency was one that really tried him. The win in Europe was good news, but then he had to make the decision of whether to drop the Atomic bomb on Japan (as we discussed in the Texas trip, everyone was worried how many Americans would have to die to conquer Japan city by city). After the war, he was faced with the Soviets occupying most of Eastern Europe, behind that Iron curtain Churchill talked about. He was a strong supporter of the United Nations, NATO, the creation of Israel (being the first to recognize the new country), and the Marshall plan (spending about 20% of our government budget to help out Europe). Then the Soviets blockaded Berlin and Truman was faced with the possibility of another war. He decided upon the Berlin Airlift to supply Berlin rather than forcing the issue with troops. Then came the rise of a Communist China and the Korean War. Not only did Truman have all these foreign challenges, but after the war, he had to deal with employing all those returning soldiers, high inflation after years of rationing and price controls and a dire need for housing for all these new families. Meanwhile, the Republicans gained control of Congress, so most of his “Fair Deal” never made it through Congress. Yet, by 1949, Americans with only 7% of the world’s population was producing almost 50% of the world’s goods. America became a world player both militarily and economically. Not bad, for a farmer from Missouri.

Harry's challenges