Lords of Misrule 2024 presentsTrumanas sent in by one Poots
This past semester I took a history course titled “The Life and Presidency of Harry S. Truman.” The course was taught by the one and only Dr. McDonald, a kind yet intimidating Southampton man who frankly should have no business teaching U.S. history, but could go toe-to-toe with any American on the subject. Him teaching the class was a significant motivation for me registering, along with the fact many of my friends were also considering signing up. I had obviously known a bit about President Truman before enrolling in the course, given my lifelong interest in American history. He was the president from my home state of Missouri, he was a failed haberdasher before entering politics, he became president after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, ended the Second World War and led the country in the beginning of the Cold War. Essentially what I knew about him before taking the class was the superficial trivia that most people who take an interest in history would know.
Since this was my fifth semester in college and my third class with Dr. McDonald, I was familiar with how we would be approaching the subject and what we would be learning about. There would be a great focus on historiographic debate, which is basically just politics about how we should interpret the days of old. Trust me, it gets interesting. So I assumed that we would be focusing on the issues rather than Truman himself, even though his name was the one in the title. Practically, we did. We discussed his major decisions, the many people who had influence on him, and even took a field trip to his presidential library where we simulated the presidential decision making process.1 The history program at my university likes to emphasize its departure from typical “Great Man” history, or the notion that history should be taught by focusing on trends and themes rather than idolizing figures. This was a tough challenge in a course of this nature, and I do think we did a good job at avoiding outright idolization of the man. However, it would be a lie if I said I did not gain a new appreciate for this man that has so often been overlooked by history and by the American public.
As with any McDonald class, he assigned us to read a million books within the semester. The one that stood out to me most was David McCullough’s 1992 biography Truman. This thousand-page behemoth almost single handedly revived President Truman’s reputation forty years after he left office with a 22% approval rating. When one reads the book, it becomes abundantly clear how this was possible. Over the course of my time with Truman, I saw him for what he was: a small-town farm boy from western Missouri, raised with strong morals and a stronger sense of duty; a young man who found love and chose to fight for what he believed in; a businessman who did whatever he could to keep his family afloat, failing time and time again until he couldn’t fail anymore; a tried-and-true politician who always did what he thought was right and never forgot about the land and people from which he came.
Harry Truman never had the best of luck. His haberdashery business went under in a period of exuberant growth in the national economy, an almost impressive accomplishment. His only way out was to get into politics with the help of the shady Pendergast machine, who, after their first three candidates declined, gave Truman the opportunity to run for Senate. He did good work in the Senate, fighting against overspending and corruption in the United States military during the Second World War. He was bullied into joining the presidential ticket by Roosevelt, who would then die, leaving Truman to deal with a global catastrophe. Two things helped Truman get through his unfortunate presidency: his knack for finding good people to rely on and his own personal courage.
As part of our class, we watched the HBO TV film Truman, starring Gary Sinise. One of the running jokes we had was calling Truman a “Missourah mule,” using the goofy accent Sinise put on in his portrayal of the president. In our study of his presidency, it became clear that though he was indeed stubborn, it was only when he had already made his mind up about something. If he did not, he would seek out answers. It is remarkable that he surrounded himself with such capable people. Great minds like General George C. Marshall, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Special Counsel Clark Clifford, Press Secretary Charlie Ross, Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal, Chief Justice Carl Vinson, and countless others were who Truman could rely on when he had to make one of his many difficult decisions. He held great respect for all of these men, and with this respect he also held courage to stand up for what he believed in. Very few others could sit in that chair and make as many hard choices as Truman did. Now, I cannot say that Truman made the best or most moral choices all of the time. Such a statement would be irresponsible. What I can say, though, is that Truman himself believed that he always made the right decisions, even if he found it difficult or pointless in the face of great evils, and I can commend him for that.
It is odd to feel so connected to someone that I have never met, but in a way I feel like I know President Truman. I was always well acquainted with him, as his name is on everything in this state, including the school at which I am a student. But only now can I say that I truly appreciate him as an American president, statesman, and icon. In the last four months, my classmates and I saw him at his most human, when he would confide to his beloved wife Bess about the stresses of Washington, have a personal crisis about Marshall losing respect for him after a foreign policy disagreement, grieve the loss of a friend with the sudden death of Ross, take personal accountability for events large and small, and defending his family from attacks by those who wished to hurt him. Through all of his numerous faults, I see myself in Truman, a simple Missouri man who was put in a place where he had no business being, having to rely on minds greater than his own to get by. I can only hope that I turn out half as well as he did. History classes should help develop your view of the world, and this semester helped me develop my view of myself. I will leave you with an excerpt from the epilogue of McCullough’s biography:
Ambitious by nature, [Truman] was never torn by ambition, never tried to appear as something he was not. He stood for common sense, common decency. He spoke the common tongue. As much as any president since Lincoln, he brought to the highest office the language and values of the common American people. He held to the old guidelines: work hard, do your best, speak the truth, assume no airs, trust in God, have no fear. Yet he was not and had never been a simple, ordinary man. The homely attributes, the Missouri wit, the warmth of his friendship, the genuineness of Harry Truman, however appealing, were outweighed by the larger qualities that made him a figure of world stature, both a great and good man, and a great American president.2
Harry S. Truman passed away on the day after Christmas 1972 at the age of 88. He was survived by his wife Bess, daughter Margaret, and her four sons.
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