Truman~ The Man from Missouri

He was our president during a time of transition. Often overshadowed by the controversial figures that proceeded and followed him, he held the country to a straight course guided by his strong Missouri principles.

I had the privilege to visit the Truman Presidential Library in his home town of Independence, Missouri recently. What I saw reminded me of a time when our country's leaders took their stand from what was good for the nation not what was politically expedient.

A replica of the Oval Office as it was during Truman's presidency at the Truman Library

Truman came to power not by the choice of the people but by the death of a great leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt had served an unprecedented 12 years in office. The only President president elected to four terms, in his last campaign he had replaced his unpopular vice-president with a little know senator from Missouri. Truman was not considered Roosevelt's first choice. In fact, Truman's choice for vice-president was sometimes referred to as "the second Missouri Compromise" but that might have one of Roosevelt's best choices. Our country was engaged in the greatest war the world had ever known. Suddenly this inexperienced vice-president of less than three months had to step up to the plate and deal with unbelievable situations.

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He learned of Roosevelt's death in a call from Mrs. Roosevelt. Ever a gentleman, he asked if there was anything he could do for her. Eleanor Roosevelt, aware of the presidency's heavy burden, replied, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now."

One of the first decisions he was forced to make was regarding dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. He had not even been aware of Manhattan Project prior to this. Now he had to choose whether to unleash the most deadly weapon even known or let the war drag on and physically invade Japan. Yeah. Tough choice! He made his decision. On August 6, 1945 The Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb. When that got no response in three days, he gave the command to drop the second one on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered August 14, 1945. Probably the toughest decision of his two terms as president. But he reasoned that more lives would be lost by a physical invasion than by the bombing. He received much criticism for that act but never regretted his choice.

The front and back of President Truman's famous desk plaque

One of the first things I saw when I entered the library museum was the famous plaque that stood on his desk during his presidency. The well known front read "The buck stops here." The back is equally revealing of his character and determination. It reads "I'm from Missouri." Remember it was the back that faced the president when he had to make those hard decisions.

The post-war era.

After the war, things did not get easier. He as faced with severe shortages in housing and consumer products. Inflation was rampant. Railway and labor strikes crippled industry. When the railroad workers struck shutting down rail travel and transport, he solved the crisis by seizing control of the railroads and threatening to draft the workers into the armed forces if they did not return to their jobs.

He was often criticized for off the cuff remarks but he was a man who acted on principle. When he realized the tremendous inequalities in the armed services, he issued Executive Order 9981 desegregating the armed forces, an unheard of act in his time. Though he was often accused o anti-Semitism, he was a key figure in the creation of the state of Israel.

Truman stature in Library	Harry and Bess Truman buried on ground of Library

The museum traces his entire life and he and his wife Bess are buried on the grounds. A larger than life-sized stature with an eternal flame dominates one area. It is symbolic of this man who kept the United States of America's own eternal flam burning brightly during some very dark years through his tireless service. He presided over this country during some of the worst crises it has faced, from the ending of  WWll, rebuilding European nations and alliances all but destroyed by that conflict,  the Cold War, McCarthyism, the Korean conflict, beginnings of the Civil Rights issues and countless others. During his two terms he had both highest and the lowest public approval ratings that had ever been recorded. Through it all, he lived by his personal motto: "If you can't stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen."

It got mighty hot while he was in office but he never once "left the kitchen."

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/