What I Learned on My Summer Vacation
by William “Brother” Rogers
Two of my favorite presidents are Abraham Lincoln and Harry S. Truman. Until recently, I had not thought about how much they have in common.
Last month while on business, I visited the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. A week later, on my family vacation, we toured numerous historic Lincoln sites in and around Springfield, Illinois. We even veered through Kentucky on the drive home to see Lincoln’s birthplace and boyhood home.
Visiting these historic places within a week of each other, I discovered that Lincoln and Truman have much in common. Both were products of a rural upbringing in middle America. Lincoln was the first president born west of the Appalachian Mountains. He claimed his childhood could be described by one line from Gray’s Elegy, “The short and simple annals of the poor.”
Truman labored through his early adulthood as a farmer of little distinction in Grandview, Missouri. His future mother-in-law worried terribly that Harry was not good enough for her dignified daughter Bess.
Both Lincoln and Truman failed miserably at business. Lincoln tried his hand at running a store in the Illinois village of New Salem and ended up saddled with a debt he struggled for years to repay. In Lincoln’s words, the store just “winked out.” Truman fashioned himself a haberdasher in Kansas City and his store soon met the same fate as Lincoln’s.
Neither Lincoln nor Truman had as much formal education as their peers in government, but both proved to be intellectually up to the task of the most difficult job in the world. Lincoln read so much as a youngster that some considered him lazy. He reportedly said later, “My father taught me to work, but he did not teach me to like it.” A self-educated lawyer, Lincoln became one of the most successful attorneys in Illinois history, winning hundreds of cases before the state supreme court.
Truman was the last American president who was not college educated. A voracious reader, Truman’s knowledge and ability impressed such learned men such as General George Marshall. In a rare impromptu toast, Marshall said of Truman, “The full stature of this man will only be proven by history, but I want to say here and now that there has never been a decision made under this man’s administration that has not been in the best interest of this country.”
Lincoln and Truman first realized their leadership ability through military service. Many years after his election by his peers as a militia captain in the Black Hawk War, Lincoln said it was “a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since.” Truman’s heroic service as a battery commander in World War I established him as a leader. “ I have always wondered,” he later wrote, “how things would have turned out in my life if the war had not come along just when it did.”
Both men entered the presidency with low expectations from others and at a time when the country was in crisis. Lincoln was perhaps one of the least prepared presidents in American history. His official public service included nothing more than a few terms in the Illinois legislature and one undistinguished term in Congress—hardly the preparation one would think necessary to grapple with the greatest crisis in American history.
Harry Truman had to fill the gigantic shoes of Franklin Roosevelt, who had guided the country through the Great Depression and nearly through World War II. He knew nothing about the atomic bomb or Roosevelt’s dealing with the Allies. The great president was dead, and the country was stuck with a novice to face the challenge of ending the most cataclysmic war in history and to make sense out of the complex peace which followed.
We know how both men fared. History has judged that they made the right decisions at the most crucial times, despite the impact on their popularity or dissension among their advisors. Their success is due to the quality of their personal judgment and commitment to their principles.
For example, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and Truman integrated the armed forces. Lincoln relieved the ineffective General McClellan of command, and Truman fired the overzealous General MacArthur. Lincoln favored a more lenient reconstruction policy toward the South, and Truman used the Marshall Plan to make friends out of enemies.
In short, Lincoln secured freedom at home, and Truman spread freedom abroad. We continue to benefit today from their wise leadership then. Aren’t we fortunate to live in a country where ordinary citizens can rise to greatness through public service.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.
Two of my favorite presidents are Abraham Lincoln and Harry S. Truman. Until recently, I had not thought about how much they have in common.
Last month while on business, I visited the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. A week later, on my family vacation, we toured numerous historic Lincoln sites in and around Springfield, Illinois. We even veered through Kentucky on the drive home to see Lincoln’s birthplace and boyhood home.
Visiting these historic places within a week of each other, I discovered that Lincoln and Truman have much in common. Both were products of a rural upbringing in middle America. Lincoln was the first president born west of the Appalachian Mountains. He claimed his childhood could be described by one line from Gray’s Elegy, “The short and simple annals of the poor.”
Truman labored through his early adulthood as a farmer of little distinction in Grandview, Missouri. His future mother-in-law worried terribly that Harry was not good enough for her dignified daughter Bess.
Both Lincoln and Truman failed miserably at business. Lincoln tried his hand at running a store in the Illinois village of New Salem and ended up saddled with a debt he struggled for years to repay. In Lincoln’s words, the store just “winked out.” Truman fashioned himself a haberdasher in Kansas City and his store soon met the same fate as Lincoln’s.
Neither Lincoln nor Truman had as much formal education as their peers in government, but both proved to be intellectually up to the task of the most difficult job in the world. Lincoln read so much as a youngster that some considered him lazy. He reportedly said later, “My father taught me to work, but he did not teach me to like it.” A self-educated lawyer, Lincoln became one of the most successful attorneys in Illinois history, winning hundreds of cases before the state supreme court.
Truman was the last American president who was not college educated. A voracious reader, Truman’s knowledge and ability impressed such learned men such as General George Marshall. In a rare impromptu toast, Marshall said of Truman, “The full stature of this man will only be proven by history, but I want to say here and now that there has never been a decision made under this man’s administration that has not been in the best interest of this country.”
Lincoln and Truman first realized their leadership ability through military service. Many years after his election by his peers as a militia captain in the Black Hawk War, Lincoln said it was “a success which gave me more pleasure than any I have had since.” Truman’s heroic service as a battery commander in World War I established him as a leader. “ I have always wondered,” he later wrote, “how things would have turned out in my life if the war had not come along just when it did.”
Both men entered the presidency with low expectations from others and at a time when the country was in crisis. Lincoln was perhaps one of the least prepared presidents in American history. His official public service included nothing more than a few terms in the Illinois legislature and one undistinguished term in Congress—hardly the preparation one would think necessary to grapple with the greatest crisis in American history.
Harry Truman had to fill the gigantic shoes of Franklin Roosevelt, who had guided the country through the Great Depression and nearly through World War II. He knew nothing about the atomic bomb or Roosevelt’s dealing with the Allies. The great president was dead, and the country was stuck with a novice to face the challenge of ending the most cataclysmic war in history and to make sense out of the complex peace which followed.
We know how both men fared. History has judged that they made the right decisions at the most crucial times, despite the impact on their popularity or dissension among their advisors. Their success is due to the quality of their personal judgment and commitment to their principles.
For example, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and Truman integrated the armed forces. Lincoln relieved the ineffective General McClellan of command, and Truman fired the overzealous General MacArthur. Lincoln favored a more lenient reconstruction policy toward the South, and Truman used the Marshall Plan to make friends out of enemies.
In short, Lincoln secured freedom at home, and Truman spread freedom abroad. We continue to benefit today from their wise leadership then. Aren’t we fortunate to live in a country where ordinary citizens can rise to greatness through public service.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.