Remember Harry Truman on President's Day
By Brother
Rogers
As we approach President’s Day in this presidential election year, I can’t help but reflect on my favorite president, Harry Truman. He left office in January 1953 with one of the lowest approval ratings in the history of such ratings, but today he is ranked by historians as one of our nation’s best chief executives.
The country was in shock when Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945. FDR was a true political giant, and his successor, Harry Truman, seemed like a political shrimp. When Truman became president, a common refrain was that it really proved that anyone can become president. Truman was the last president without a college degree.
The low point of his popularity might have been when he fired General Douglas McArthur, a genuine war hero. Americans scoffed, “To err is Truman.” Like many of his decisions, with the hindsight of history, he did the right thing (asserting civilian control of the military) even if it wasn’t popular at the time.
This unknown man from Independence, Missouri made many fateful decisions that reverberate to this day. Truman presided over the end of World War II, the rebuilding of Europe and Japan and the Berlin Airlift. He approved dropping the atomic bomb and development of the hydrogen bomb. He was present at the creation of NATO and the United Nations. He established the Department of Defense and started the CIA. He initiated the Cold War policy of containment of communism and backed it up with force in Korea.
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, appointed by Lyndon Johnson as the first African American in that job, claimed that Truman did more for civil rights than any other president. Truman was outraged at the unfair treatment of black veterans returning from World War II. He ordered the integration of the armed forces in the midst of his election campaign in 1948. Speaking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Truman became the first president of the United States to address the NAACP. He also was the first president to send a civil rights message to Congress. He did all this before the civil rights movement gained political momentum.
Truman is best known politically for pulling off the biggest surprise in presidential election history. Counted out in 1948, he shocked the pollsters and the pundits with an upset victory. One of the most memorable political photos of all time is Truman smiling while holding a newspaper headline that erroneously reported, “Dewey Defeats Truman.”
After his presidency, Truman refused to accept money for speeches or to profit by serving on corporate boards. He moved back home to the only house he ever owned with the only woman he ever loved. He was humble even in retirement.
My friend Westbrook Murphy, whose father worked for Truman, tells this illustrative story. Several years after leaving office Truman drove from Independence into Kansas City for a concert by reigning opera star Maria Callas. After the performance, he went backstage to meet her. He emerged seeming highly pleased, and catching up with friends walking across the street to the parking garage beamed, “You know, she remembered me.”
So should we all.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.
As we approach President’s Day in this presidential election year, I can’t help but reflect on my favorite president, Harry Truman. He left office in January 1953 with one of the lowest approval ratings in the history of such ratings, but today he is ranked by historians as one of our nation’s best chief executives.
The country was in shock when Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945. FDR was a true political giant, and his successor, Harry Truman, seemed like a political shrimp. When Truman became president, a common refrain was that it really proved that anyone can become president. Truman was the last president without a college degree.
The low point of his popularity might have been when he fired General Douglas McArthur, a genuine war hero. Americans scoffed, “To err is Truman.” Like many of his decisions, with the hindsight of history, he did the right thing (asserting civilian control of the military) even if it wasn’t popular at the time.
This unknown man from Independence, Missouri made many fateful decisions that reverberate to this day. Truman presided over the end of World War II, the rebuilding of Europe and Japan and the Berlin Airlift. He approved dropping the atomic bomb and development of the hydrogen bomb. He was present at the creation of NATO and the United Nations. He established the Department of Defense and started the CIA. He initiated the Cold War policy of containment of communism and backed it up with force in Korea.
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, appointed by Lyndon Johnson as the first African American in that job, claimed that Truman did more for civil rights than any other president. Truman was outraged at the unfair treatment of black veterans returning from World War II. He ordered the integration of the armed forces in the midst of his election campaign in 1948. Speaking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Truman became the first president of the United States to address the NAACP. He also was the first president to send a civil rights message to Congress. He did all this before the civil rights movement gained political momentum.
Truman is best known politically for pulling off the biggest surprise in presidential election history. Counted out in 1948, he shocked the pollsters and the pundits with an upset victory. One of the most memorable political photos of all time is Truman smiling while holding a newspaper headline that erroneously reported, “Dewey Defeats Truman.”
After his presidency, Truman refused to accept money for speeches or to profit by serving on corporate boards. He moved back home to the only house he ever owned with the only woman he ever loved. He was humble even in retirement.
My friend Westbrook Murphy, whose father worked for Truman, tells this illustrative story. Several years after leaving office Truman drove from Independence into Kansas City for a concert by reigning opera star Maria Callas. After the performance, he went backstage to meet her. He emerged seeming highly pleased, and catching up with friends walking across the street to the parking garage beamed, “You know, she remembered me.”
So should we all.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.