President Harry Truman: From Farm to Oval Office and the Atom Bomb

Summary

American History Hit: President Harry Truman – From Farm to Oval Office and the Atom Bomb

Released on February 27, 2025

In this compelling episode of American History Hit, host Don Wildman delves deep into the life and presidency of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States. Joined by Mark Adams, Director of The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, the discussion navigates Truman's humble beginnings, his unexpected rise to the presidency, and the monumental decisions that shaped the modern era.

1. Humble Beginnings and Early Life

The episode opens with Don Wildman highlighting Truman's modest origins, contrasting them with the aristocratic backgrounds of his contemporaries like Franklin Roosevelt. Born into a farming family in Lamar, Missouri, Truman's early life was far removed from the corridors of power. As Wildman narrates, “this son of a Missouri farmer, this college dropout and failed haberdasher, this every man American plucked from the masses, would then be held aloft by history, suddenly named the 33rd President of the United States” (00:03).

Mark Adams expands on Truman's upbringing, explaining that despite working on the family farm until his thirties, Truman had aspirations beyond agriculture. His nickname "the boy from Independence" underscores his connection to Missouri and his everyman appeal. The conversation touches on Truman's lack of a college education, a rarity among U.S. Presidents, and his early career struggles, including his failed haberdashery business.

2. Military Service and Entry into Politics

Truman's military service during World War I is portrayed as a transformative experience that honed his leadership skills. Adams notes, “He became a very talented artilleryman in the infantry and served in France with much distinction” (06:17). This period not only built Truman's confidence but also established a network of veterans who would later support his political ambitions.

After returning from the war, Truman attempted to break away from farming by starting a haberdashery with an army buddy. However, economic downturns led to the business's failure, pushing Truman towards politics. His entry was facilitated by the influential Pendergast political machine in Kansas City, highlighting the critical role of political patronage in his rise (07:43).

3. Unexpected Vice Presidency and the Sudden Presidency

The 1944 Democratic National Convention serves as a pivotal moment in Truman's life. Wildman recounts the iconic photograph of Truman being nominated as Roosevelt's vice president, capturing his initial surprise and the rapid escalation from a concession line to the national stage (00:03, 04:50). Adams explains that Truman was a last-minute choice to balance the ticket, replacing Henry Wallace, who was perceived as too left-leaning.

Truman’s vice presidency was marked by minimal interaction with Roosevelt, who kept a tight inner circle. As Adams states, “FDR's style was to have a very small inner circle of advisors. Truman was not one of those” (12:18). This lack of preparation left Truman unprepared for Roosevelt's sudden death on April 12, 1945. The dramatic moment when Truman learned he was president, captured in vivid detail by Wildman, underscores the abruptness of his ascendancy (13:13).

4. Handling the End of World War II and the Atomic Bomb

Truman's presidency was thrust into the global spotlight amidst the concluding stages of World War II. Adams highlights Truman's strategic decisions at the Potsdam Conference, where he grappled with Stalin and Churchill, laying the groundwork for the Cold War (21:36). One of Truman’s most consequential decisions was the authorization to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As Adams articulates, “He wanted to end the war as quickly as possible, to save American lives” (24:58).

Wildman emphasizes Truman's awareness of the bomb's devastating potential, quoting Truman’s journal: “We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world” (26:00). Adams adds that Truman's decision to place control of the atomic bomb solely in the President’s hands was a significant legacy, ensuring civilian oversight over nuclear weapons.

5. The Fair Deal and Domestic Reforms

Transitioning to domestic policy, Truman introduced the "Fair Deal," an ambitious set of proposals aimed at expanding the New Deal. Adams explains that although many initiatives were too ambitious for Congress, the Fair Deal laid the foundation for future legislation, including Lyndon Johnson's Medicare (19:50). Truman's commitment to social reforms extended to civil rights, where he took bold steps to desegregate the military and federal workforce through Executive Orders 9981 and 9980 (40:59).

Wildman and Adams discuss how Truman's civil rights initiatives were pioneering, challenging entrenched segregationist norms. Adams notes, “Truman is squarely in the middle of that timeline” (38:48), linking his actions to the broader Civil Rights Movement that would gain momentum in the subsequent decades.

6. The 1948 Election and Political Resilience

Despite significant challenges, including a split Democratic Party, Truman orchestrated one of the greatest election upsets in U.S. history. Wildman references the famous "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline, underscoring the disbelief at Truman's victory (00:03). Adams attributes Truman’s success to his focused campaign against the “do nothing Congress” and his relentless whistle-stop tour, which resonated with a wary electorate seeking effective leadership (43:01).

7. The Berlin Airlift and the Truman Doctrine

Post-election, Truman's administration faced the Soviet blockade of Berlin, leading to the historic Berlin Airlift. Adams describes it as “the largest humanitarian effort in world history at that time” (32:49). This decisive action not only alleviated the immediate crisis but also solidified the U.S. commitment to containment, a cornerstone of Truman’s foreign policy known as the Truman Doctrine. The episode details how these strategies laid the groundwork for NATO, the Marshall Plan, and the broader Cold War dynamics that defined mid-20th-century geopolitics (34:40).

8. Legacy and Reevaluation

Concluding the episode, Wildman and Adams reflect on Truman's enduring legacy. Despite initial unpopularity, particularly due to the Korean War, Truman's stature among historians has grown significantly. Adams attributes this resurgence to later biographical works and historical reassessments that recognize Truman’s pivotal role in shaping modern America (45:27).

Wildman poignantly remarks on the often-overlooked aspects of Truman’s presidency, emphasizing his unwavering moral compass and the profound impact of his decisions on subsequent generations. The episode closes with a heartfelt tribute to Truman’s leadership and an invitation to listeners to explore the Truman Library for a more comprehensive understanding of his contributions (47:42).

Notable Quotes

• Truman on the unexpected vice presidency: “By golly, that's me,” capturing his genuine surprise at being nominated (00:03).
• Adams on Truman's transformation: “It really changes him. It really does change him” (06:27).
• Truman’s journal on the atomic bomb: “We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world” (26:00).
• Adams on Truman's legacy: “He’s the shining light of that” reflecting on Truman’s resurgence in historical rankings (47:06).

Conclusion

This episode of American History Hit paints a detailed portrait of Harry S. Truman, highlighting his remarkable journey from a Missouri farmer to a pivotal figure in global history. Through insightful discussions and compelling narratives, Don Wildman and Mark Adams illuminate the complexities and triumphs of Truman's presidency, offering listeners a nuanced understanding of a leader who navigated some of the most critical moments of the 20th century.

For those eager to explore further, visiting The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, is highly recommended to witness firsthand the artifacts and stories that shaped Truman's enduring legacy.

Transcript

[Don Wildman]

There are an awful lot of iconic photographs taken of Harry S. Truman. The man was unusually photogenic, with a flair for the dramatic. Here's one taken in July 1945. Truman sitting confidently in a wicker chair with Churchill and Stalin by his side. All three men at the Potsdam Conference, poised at the brink of the Cold War. Here's Truman also seated at his Oval Office desk, the nameplate famously stating the buck stops here. And then this one grinning ear to ear, holding up a newspaper with the headline Dewey Defeats Truman. Classic. But one lesser known image is a favorite of mine. It's from the Democratic National Convention in the Chicago summer of 1944. It captures the moment just after Truman was selected as Franklin Roosevelt's vice presidential running mate, his hand being held aloft by the convention chairman as camera bulbs flash. It's funny, when you look closer, it's almost as if Truman is dangling from the man's arm, his expression conveying a genuine sense of startled surprise. By golly, that's me, Truman reportedly said, hearing his name called out on the convention floor. A minute earlier, he had been standing in a concession line buying a hot dog. Less than a year later, in 1945, this son of a Missouri farmer, this college dropout and failed haberdasher, this every man American plucked from the masses, would then be held aloft by history, suddenly named the 33rd President of the United.

[Mark Adams]

Hello, all.

[Don Wildman]

Welcome to American history. Hit. I'm Don Wildman. Harry S. Truman served as president from April 12, 1945, to January 20, 1953, eight years that would set the post World War II agenda for the United States and for much of the Cold Cold War to come. The month Truman succeeded fdr, Mussolini was killed in an Italian village and Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker. Three months later, the first ever atomic bomb was tested successfully in the New Mexico desert. It would be Truman who made the fateful decision to use it, ushering in the nuclear age as the Iron Curtain descended across Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic. Here at home, the modern civil rights movement found traction, confronting southern segregation and racial violence. And in American homes everywhere, the television age brought programs into the living rooms like the Ed Sullivan show and I Love Lucy. Singin in the Rain made fun of the talkies, while Orwell's 1984 warned of a dystopian future. And Ralph Ellison's Invisible man spent 16 weeks on the bestseller list. That's the general context for a presidency we will discuss today in the company of Mark Adams, who is the director of The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. Welcome, Mark, to American History hit. Nice to have you.

[Mark Adams]

Thank you, Don. Thanks for the invitation, Mark.

[Don Wildman]

Before we get going, listeners will soon be able to tell you are an Englishman. I'm curious. What drew you halfway across the world to the Truman Library? It was the barbecue, wasn't it? Kansas City.

[Mark Adams]

I discovered the barbecue after I got here. But if I'd have known, I would have come sooner, I think. Yeah. I'm originally from Liverpool, Don, and emigrated in the early 90s. I have family here close by and after I visited them a few times, decided to stay. And I've actually been at the Truman Library for 28 years.

[Don Wildman]

That's a fantastic place. I did an interview with Harry Truman's grandson there not too many years ago. So let's begin at the beginning. The famously humble beginnings of Harry S. Truman. You couldn't find a more complete antithesis to the aristocratic upbringing of, say, Franklin Roosevelt. Truman was reared on a Missouri farm, or a couple of them. Born in Lahar, Missouri, the Trumans eventually settle in Independence, where you are today. Farming is a life he doesn't particularly like, but he works for the family farm until he's in his 30s. By the way, what does the S stand for?

[Mark Adams]

The S actually stands for nothing, but also stands for two different grandparents names, Solomon Young and then Ship Truman. So when he was with one side of the family, he would use one of those names, and when he was with the other side of the family, he would use the other. But it really didn't really stand for either one. It just was an S. But he would kind of alter that depending on which family he was visiting that day.

[Don Wildman]

I see the family finances are as rocky as the fields they plow. This prevents Truman from the education he dearly wanted. And I just want to underscore a fact I just blew past there. He worked on this farm until he was in his 30s, a man who will be president just a few decades later. It's amazing. Let's talk about the early years of Harry's education and so forth.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah. So he's the last president not to go to college. He does graduate high school, but then he works in a few banks and jobs like that. He's trying to find his way. The family calls him back to the farm in 1906. He graduated high school in 1901. So he's in his early 20s at that point. But as you're right, he goes in, he works on that farm for the next 11 years. Unfortunately, in 1914, his father dies. So then he's actually in charge of the farm. So even more responsibility and leadership. But then works on the farm for another three years until the United States enters World War I. And he jumps at the chance and volunteers to join the military.

[Don Wildman]

He had wanted to go to West Point, but couldn't because of poor eyesight.

[Mark Adams]

That's right. His eyesight failed him. And there's a lot of discussion that when he did volunteer for World War I, he actually memorized the eye chart.

[Don Wildman]

That's right.

[Mark Adams]

So he could get in. He was actually too old for the draft. He actually volunteered because he was in his 30s and too old for the draft. So he was either really patriotic or wanted away from the farm. I think it's a little bit of both.

[Don Wildman]

Interesting. He became a very talented artilleryman in the infantry and served in France with much distinction. It's an experience there that really changes him, isn't it?

[Mark Adams]

It really is. It really does change him. He does a lot of training in Oklahoma before he leaves. He does some training in Western France to really learn how to fire the French guns. But that leadership that he has to endure and the really tough group of soldiers that he had to captain really gave him the confidence to lead in the future and really sets him on a political path because those veterans that he served with become his biggest political supporters.

[Don Wildman]

When he comes home, he comes under intense fire. I mean, this man really did see combat several times in very famous battles there. You can't help but wonder if how much that will come into play later on when he makes certain other decisions in his life. When he returns to the States, he is in Kansas City with big ideas of not returning to farming. This is a guy now in his 30s, at this point, starts a store, a haberdashery with a. With an army buddy, which does well at first and then ultimately fails because of the economy. Right?

[Mark Adams]

That's right. And in fact, he would recognize when soldiers came in, he'd be excited. Maybe they've come in to do some business and buy some men's clothes, but more often than not, they were coming in to him to ask for loans and for bailouts. And so he realized pretty quickly that it was not going to be a going concern. And so they end up going bankrupt.

[Don Wildman]

How does he eventually make his way into politics?

[Mark Adams]

So you mentioned World War I. He had introduced to one of the political bosses. His nephew was in World War I with Harry Truman. So that family is the Pendergast family, and they're notorious in Kansas City for basically kind of like the Chicago political scene. They kind of ran the Kansas City political scene. He meets one of the nephews of the boss, Tom Pendergast, in World War I. He gets introduced, and then Tom Pengast puts him forward, really, for, like, a county commissioner position. They call it a county judge. It's not a legal position, but it is an elected position. And so he's elected in the early 1920s to serve on what we call Jackson county, which is the county Independence is in, to serve on the County Commission, essentially.

[Don Wildman]

1922. He is 38 years old at this point. His face is a grown man we're talking about who is really not seeing a big future for himself at this point in life. It's just so ironic. Yeah.

[Mark Adams]

And it's a challenge because, you know, he just got married in 1919 when he came back from the war, and his wife is actually from better means than him, has a little bit more money, and he's really trying to live up to that and try and make a living, make a career.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah. 1934, I'm skipping about a decade. Now he runs for senator, and this is out of that same Democratic machinery run by Tom Pendergrass. He wins. But he wouldn't have gotten there without Pendergast, would he?

[Mark Adams]

No, he wouldn't. It's certainly key to his political success. Having that relationship with Pendergast really set him on the right path. If you're not chosen by Pendergast, you may not necessarily win, but you certainly don't have a chance without that support.

[Don Wildman]

This will become a bit of a controversy later on down the road for him. Jumping ahead. In 1944, more than halfway through his second senatorial term, he is nominated to replace Henry Wallace as Roosevelt's vice president. Now, 1944, we're in the middle of World War II at this point. We've come through the Depression. This has been an enormous amount of history that Truman has come through. How was he chosen for this position? I mean, Wallace, I know, was a divisive figure.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah. I think that people felt that Wallace was going more and more to the left, and they were looking more to maybe someone who's more appealing to the center. For those that know the geography of the United States, Missouri is pretty much in the center part of the country, maybe affiliated more with the south, particularly in the Civil War. And so he was seen as maybe a kind of a Midwestern Southern candidate that might balance fdr, who's seen as this east coast liberal. And he's just gone through all of these New Deal policies, so it's to kind of try and balance the ticket. But it was still a surprise to Truman going into that convention. He. He did not expect to be nominated. He's actually supporting other candidates at the beginning of that convention. So very different political conventions than we have today, where it's all sealed and signed before they even start the convention. Then it was really up for grabs.

[Don Wildman]

One aspect of this story that never gets the attention is how much were people aware of FDR's impending, really, death? I mean, he looked like a man on the edge. Would Truman and his ilk have known about this? Would they have been expecting this to happen?

[Mark Adams]

You know, it's hard to say that one. There's nothing really. There's not much evidence to it. It's not like people wrote about it or documented FDR's illness. We have an amazing photograph in our museum, actually, of FDR and Truman meeting after Truman has been nominated as vice president. They're similar in age. They're just a couple of years apart. Truman looks in vibrant health. He's wearing this crisp white shirt, big beaming smile. And then you see FDR sitting next to him, and he's got bags under his eyes, and his whole face is gaunt and drawn. And just looking at that photograph, we use that in our museum to show the health of FDR in 1944, 1945. Whether really people talked about it, we don't have much evidence of that. But just looking at their physical appearance, FDR certainly wasn't.

[Don Wildman]

Well, yeah, just common sense would have said a lot, I think. And Truman, therefore, would have known he was stepping into a very likely replacement role. Nonetheless, these two men barely knew each other, FDR and Truman. They'd only met twice, enduring his vice presidency. And Truman did what vice presidents usually do, the Senate duties and official greetings and parties. But very famously, FDR did not instruct him of anything that was going on as far as the war was concerned. I mean, FDR was in his fourth term at this point, so people just kind of gave over to him, didn't they?

[Mark Adams]

Yeah. And fdr, his style was to have a very small inner circle of advisors. Truman was not one of those. And you're right, the role of the vice president in the 1940s was very different than it is today, where the vice president, in current terms has a much stronger role. FDR goes to the Yalta conference in February after they're inaugurated in January. Truman is not invited. Truman doesn't get to Go. Which is kind of ironic because in July, Truman goes to the Potsdam Conference as president and has never met Churchill and Stalin up to that point. So he was completely unprepared.

[Don Wildman]

Listeners must keep that in mind as we approach these events that happen in the summer of 1945. How utterly unprepared Truman was for this role of president. No experience in international affairs to speak of, and yet he handles this incredibly resourcefully, incredibly professionally. It's amazing. He.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, it's really interesting. He does make this transition with no preparation. In fact, when he goes to that Potsdam conference in the summer, he decides to go by ship rather than by plane. So he has two weeks to prepare for the conference and reads all the briefings and meets with some of the advisors that were at the altar conference, like James Burns and others. So he's very well prepared. By the time he gets to meet with Stalin and Churchill, he is a voracious reader from when he's a child. And so he just reads and reads and reads and gets himself up to speed. And he surrounds himself with really good people. Over the first 12 months of his presidency, he essentially replaces all of the FDR's cabinet with his own people. And his closest advisors really become through for him.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah, I mean, he's had two senatorial terms to get used to federal governance and he's a big presence on the Hill. But nonetheless, this is another level altogether. Let's talk about the story of the moment when Truman finds out he is president. This is April 12, 1945. He is about to start a poker game when the phone rings and he's asked to come to the White House.

[Mark Adams]

Right. He's Speaker Rayborn's office when he gets that call. Probably a few drinks with that poker game too, I would imagine. It's late afternoon, early evening, and he's rushed over to the White House. He contacts his wife Bess, and his daughter Margaret, who's 20 years old in 1944, so 21 in 1945. She's about to go on a date, and so her mother has her change clothes into something a bit more sensible and meets him in the White House. And he meets Eleanor Roosevelt there. And they do the inauguration at the White House. Right. Immediately around just after 7:00 in the evening, and FDR had passed away late afternoon in Georgia. Eleanor Roosevelt is there and he asks Eleanor, you know, is there anything I can do for you? And their famous response is, harry, you're the one that's in trouble now. Is there anything we can do for You. So he is thrust right into the limelight immediately.

[Don Wildman]

Yes. And so begins this amazing journey that he is about to undertake. He not only has to, of course, step into the official duties, but he has to emotionally carry the nation forward. A nation that has, for 12 years, I suppose, been handled by FDR through the Depression and through World War II. It's an incredible time. Whole generations have been born into this time, and suddenly this man has this unenviable task to help them understand this and to make this transition with him.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, it's a really incredible time you've got. He comes in in April, following month, Germany surrenders. You know, we have to decide what to do with Germany. Are we going to do like we did at the end of World War I and treat them harshly? You know, what are we going to do in Western Europe? And then attentions, of course, turn to Asia. And the war in Asia is still being very violently fought until he drops the atomic bomb in August. And he's already looking ahead to international alliances like the United nations. Very shortly after that, in the late 40s, the creation of NATO, creation of the CIA. All of these things are all coming into fruition. Not to mention the domestic issues that he's going to face with all of these soldiers coming home and wanting jobs, and also the issues of civil rights. When you've had African American soldiers fighting in Europe but coming home to segregated society. So it's just so many issues to look at.

[Don Wildman]

It is overwhelming. After Dark Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal is a podcast that delves into the dark side of history. Expect murder and conspiracy, ghosts and witches. I'm Anthony Delaney. And I'm Maddie Pelling. We're historians and the hosts of After Dark From History Hit, where every Monday.

[Mark Adams]

And Thursday, we enter the shadows of. Of the past, discover the secrets of.

[Don Wildman]

The darker side of history. On After Dark From History hit wherever you get your podcasts. I mean, it's really fair to say that in my opinion, Truman is the first modern of our time US President, because he really does have to turn the wheel and change direction completely on major issues that have been taken for granted, for better or worse, by many Americans. You mentioned already something I want to say before we get into the heavy duty international stuff, obviously in the. In the summer, the reconversion is the term that I didn't even wasn't familiar with before getting ready for this. Reconverting the economy from war to peacetime is the whole process of sort of reabsorbing all these soldiers who are coming Home.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, it's really challenging because these soldiers have been gone. You know, America comes into the war in 1941, you know, two years after it starts in Europe. And those soldiers have been there both in Europe and in Asia and of course other parts of the globe too, in Africa and other places, bringing those soldiers home and as they say, reconverting them back into domestic jobs. Many women had taken those jobs while the men have been gone. And so many of those women don't want to necessarily go back to being housewives. But then it's also things like during the war you had price controls. And so do you keep those price controls as they are to keep the economy stable? Do you let those price controls lapse, but then worry about inflation? The industries have kept controls on all of their goods, like steel and raw materials for industry, for the war. Do you then let them increase those prices of raw materials? So there becomes a lot of strikes, a lot of unrest in the factories as there's wrestling about price controls. And the Republicans and the Democrats actually disagree on that. It actually becomes an election issue in 1948 as well. So the economy side of things is very difficult to manage for Truman.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah. And so inflation is a huge problem. I mean, it just spiking prices all over the place. He creates what's called the Fair Deal. I mean, he's a solid new dealer. He's carrying on the. The same agenda of his predecessor, but kind of re ups it as what's called the Fair Deal. What generally was that changing?

[Mark Adams]

So he's looking primarily at domestic issues. So he's looking, but he's looking at everything. And in fact, he makes a major address in September after the Japanese surrender in 1945. He puts forward many, many points on health care, education, civil rights, labor. You name the domestic issue. He covers all of it, but it's way too ambitious. He comes back, he gets some of it through Congress, but he comes back in January of 1949 in his second term and puts forward many of these proposals again because he has a more favorable Congress at that point. Again, some of it is passed, but a lot of it is blocked, or he gets partial accomplishments. But one of the key things about that Fair Deal is that many succeeding presidents go back to that and actually pass some of that legislation. So like Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s passes legislation for Medicare and actually signs that at the Truman Library in Independence with Harry Truman on the stage and gives Harry Truman and his wife the first two cards as a nod to Truman trying to pass that in the 1940s. So there's a long legacy there for those Fair Deal programs.

[Don Wildman]

If you want to understand the stability of the US Governance on the federal level, it really is one hand to the next. From the FDR to Truman to even Eisenhower straight through to LBJ with Kennedy in there. It's amazing. In July, Truman is now the third of the big three. He meets at Potsdam, as we've mentioned, in Germany, with Stalin and Churchill. Churchill was then replaced by Attlee halfway through. And this is all about finalizing the terms of the close of World War II, in particular the fate of Poland. Everything was really about Poland to start with, wasn't it?

[Mark Adams]

It was, yeah. And it's one of those. I think Churchill really fought the hardest for Poland and was really digging his heels in. But unfortunately for Churchill and Truman, the Red army is already there. They're already in Germany, they're already in East Berlin. And so those lines have been drawn and to push them back, that's reopening another conflict. They try to get democratic elections and make all kinds of compromises, but ultimately it fails.

[Don Wildman]

And this failure to create those elections to the self determination of Poland really is the first moment for Truman about the Cold war, isn't it? This is. He realizes who he's dealing with and it's not going to be compromise.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah. Some historians argue the Cold War starts at Potsdam. Others say it comes a little bit later in December of 1945 with a crisis in Iran where the Soviets don't pull out of Iran as they had promised as well. And others would argue, you know, Churchill's Iron Curtain speech in March of 1946. But either way, the signs are there. Truman is trying to negotiate with Stalin and really just not. He's getting frustrated with him. It's interesting because at the beginning of the conference, in our, in our archives, we've got 1300 letters that Harry Truman writes to his wife Bess Wallace, over their lifetime. And he writes from Potsdam. And the first impression, he says to his wife Bess, I like Stalin, I can deal with him. But that's day one. By the end of the conference, he's become increasingly frustrated. And because he sees no negotiation, the. The Red Army's in place and it's hard to shift that.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah, maybe it's his logistical mindset, the mind of an artilleryman, you know, strategizing the future and how far his firing will go. He is such a methodical guy, Harry Truman. You can kind of backtrack, you know, hindsight and see where all of These big themes come from, and then they sort of move forward. I guess that's true of most presidencies, but especially so with Truman.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, I think he feels like he's a negotiator. You mentioned he was in Congress for 10 years. He worked with both sides of the aisle as president. The domestic issues, he gets through, he does, with great Republican support on some of those issues, like the Marshall Plan. He couldn't have got that passed without Republican support. And he's a Democrat, of course. And I think he thought he could negotiate in the same way with Stalin, but there were a few compromises. He. His main goal actually was to get Stalin to agree to invade Japan to help bring the war to an end quickly. And Stalin did agree to do that. I think they regretted that a little bit later because Stalin went straight into Manchuria in early August of 1945. But I think Truman saw the end goal there of trying to end the war as quickly as possible and used his negotiation there to get Stalin to get involved on that side of the war.

[Don Wildman]

And let's talk about that in August comes, of course, the fateful decision to use the atomic bomb to end the war with Japan. Referring listeners to our past episode, number 99, entitled Oppenheimer, what if America never dropped the atomic bomb? And our first episode of the entire series in September 22, was the atomic bomb in the Secret City. There's a lot to talk about here, of course, but as far as Truman is concerned, what is his basic reasoning? Have we learned all we're going to know about why he decided to use the weapon?

[Mark Adams]

You know, it's a lot simpler than people think in terms of his motivation. He wanted to end the war as quickly as possible, to save American lives as quickly as possible. And once that technology was put in front of him, that would achieve those two aims. Get out of the war, save American lives. Seems rather blunt and simplistic, but everything I've read in the 28 years I've worked at the Truman Library, he never wavers from that at the time. And then in his writings and interviews he does later on, he never waivers from that position.

[Don Wildman]

It was my father's favorite lesson to me. He was in the Philippines waiting for that attack on the home islands, and he said, you wouldn't be here without Harry Truman. That was what he always chalked it up to. Whether that was correct or not, that was my dad's version of things.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, I was gonna say we hear that a lot from museum visitors that come through the museum, whether it's veterans themselves or, or children of veterans that come through our museum. Many leave the museum actually weeping as they appreciate Truman's decision because it saved a family member.

[Don Wildman]

He writes in his journal, well, it's a quote from the Potsdam days, actually. We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley era after Noah and his fabulous ark. I mean, he was aware of the ramifications of what was happening. He was aware of how big this was, certainly militarily, but scientifically, I suppose, right?

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, certainly. After the first reports came through from Hiroshima, once those reports landed on his desk, he actually did something really, really important that's often overlooked is that he takes the control of the atomic bomb away from the military and it becomes under the President. So once it was available in August, he gives the military carte blanche to use it initially after the second bombing of Nagasaki. He then takes that back and says any future use by anybody has to be at the direction of the President and not any military general. And that's the way it is today. And that's a huge legacy of the atomic age. And of Truman's decision to do that is incredibly important.

[Don Wildman]

As mentioned earlier, it's useful to see Truman's presidency in two parts, obviously defined by his election in 1948. Before that, he's stepping into the role. But even before that, In May of 48, there's the founding of Israel, which I dare say most Americans forget was on Harry Truman's watch that all this happened. And he was a huge advocate of Israel, recognized them 11 minutes after they announced the nation against the wishes of some of his closest aides.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, it's one of those decisions we examine really closely at the museum because it's one of the very few decisions where cabinet members, his own cabinet members, some of them disagreed with him. And that's pretty unusual for the Truman administration. Most notably, George Marshall, who's the Secretary of State, is adamantly opposed to this. And there's a famous meeting a couple of days prior to the recognition of Israel that they have in the Oval Office, which is known now as the showdown in the Oval Office, where they have Clark Clifford, his counsel, is advocating for the recognition of Israel, and George Marshall is arguing very strongly against it. The really important thing to remember here is that George Marshall is a hero of Harry Truman's. Harry Truman describes him as being the most important living American. Obviously his role in World War II is legendary. And Truman really has him on A pedestal more than any other advisor. So for him to go against Marshall is really shows his strength of the decision he's going to make. The character that he has, he kind of dances around it in the meeting and says, you know, we'll just adjourn the meeting and we'll think on it and then have his advisors go talk to Marshall and try and get him to come around, which they eventually do. But that is a really tough decision. I think he's swayed by two people. He's swayed by his army friend and the friend that he opened the clothing store with. Eddie Jacobson is a World War I veteran. He's Jewish. And it was the Truman and Jacobson clothing store, the haberdashery. So they've been friends, you know, since World War I. And Eddie Jacobson advocates for the recognition of Israel. But Eddie Jacobson also does something really important, and that is he introduces Harry Truman to Chaim Weisman, who is going to. Is the leader of the Zionist Organization, is going to become one of the first leaders in Israel once the government is established. And he has a couple of secret meetings in the White House with Chaim Weizmann. And once Harry Truman meets Wiseman, who's a very charismatic figure, Truman's decision is made. He's going to go forward with that, much to the disappointment of George Marshall and much to the disappointment of the US Delegation to the United nations, who are completely unaware that Truman is going to make this decision.

[Don Wildman]

And why does he make the decision? What's his reason?

[Mark Adams]

Well, I think a lot of it is. You mentioned the Bible a couple of times. Truman is a Christian. He grows up. He's not a church every weekend or anything like that. But he sees this as being kind of foretold in the Bible of the Jews going to return to their homeland. And so we see some of it there. I think the reports of the Holocaust, which have come through to his desk by then, of course, really hit home emotionally and morally to find a place for them. And he feels like the Jews cannot go back and live in Germany and Poland and all of these places that they've faced antisemitism. And so I think he feels like this is the best option for the Jews to go to the land of Palestine.

[Don Wildman]

Interesting how the fate of Poland in the Potsdam conference plays through to the founding of Israel, isn't it?

[Mark Adams]

There is a connection there, for sure, but I think it's really more of a moral decision, I think, rather than the political one. George Marshall, though, does question the political motives. He Thinks there's an election later that year, thinks that he's going after Jewish votes. And there is some argument there. Some historians have made that argument. But New York, where the most Jewish votes are the candidate that he's running against, Thomas Dewey as the governor of New York. And Dewey is always going to win the New York electoral college votes. So that was kind of out of play. But certainly that was an argument that's been made by George Marshall and then some historians since then as well.

[Don Wildman]

It immediately sparks a war with the Arabs. I mean, it's an incredibly fateful decision.

[Mark Adams]

Immediately. The next day. Yeah.

[Don Wildman]

He didn't regret it in the face of that war.

[Mark Adams]

No. And in fact, By January of 1949, Israel has won that war against five Arab nations. They were far stronger on the ground. They built up a militia. And By January of 1949, the compromise that Truman made with Marshall is that Israel would have democratic elections, which they do. And In January of 1949, Truman gives full legal recognition to Israel because they are now an established nation and they've had elections.

[Don Wildman]

Not Too long after June 1948, the Berlin Airlift begins. Now, understand this is, to anyone who's not familiar, Berlin is actually, surprisingly, in East Germany. So when the divide happens as a result of various circumstances, West Berlin, which we're taking care of, is in the middle of East Germany. So at that point, Stalin wants to sort of take over West Berlin. Truman stands up to this and begins what's called the Berlin Airlift, which just goes on for a very long time. More than a year, from June 48 to September 49, they do 277,000 flights into Tempelhof Airport, making it forever a shrine of this Western rescue effort. It's an incredibly interesting moment that Harry Struman really is the architect of, isn't he?

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, it's an amazing episode in history. It's the largest humanitarian effort in world history at that time, which is rather remarkable, as you're right, Germany itself had been divided into four zones, with the Russians, United States, the British, and the French dividing up into kind of four quarters, if you like. But you're right, Berlin is inside of that Soviet zone, and that city of Berlin is also divided into four. Now, the British, the French, and the Americans all unite together to merge their zones into one. Stalin blocks off the trains, the canals, the roads. So the only way in is by flight. There was really strong concerns by the military that any flights going in might be shot down if they brought in supplies, and Truman took that risk to do that. With a number of other pilots from other countries as well. British pilots, Australian pilots, Canadian pilots. It was a kind of a national effort. It was one of those, you see now with these relief efforts that are multinational. It was one of those first of that nature as well. It's an incredibly logistical effort to bring in flights from the different zones to land in West Berlin and really help 2 million Berliners survive. There's 2 million people there. There are some argument that they're actually receiving so much food and goods, and the United Kingdom is still in rations in 1948, that the West Berlin population was actually eating more food than they were in the United Kingdom. But that's just one of those sidesteps of the story. It really becomes an incredible story. And if you think about it, it's only three years since Germany was the enemy. So it kind of goes hand in hand later on with the Marshall Plan of how to rebuild your enemy, not treat them like you did after World War I, which Truman was very aware of.

[Don Wildman]

It defines that the overall Cold War mission of the west and certainly the US to contain and address Soviet expansion. That becomes the cause for decades to come. It starts really with the Berlin Airlift.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, containment is the right word. And that was the policy that they used under George Kennan's writings and so forth, to go forward with containment. There's a key part of that. It is to stop the spread of communism, but it's to do so without going to war as much as they could. That ultimately fails when it comes to Korea in 1950. But 1947, with Greece and Turkey, and with the Berlin airlift in 1948, they really tried to halt the spread of communism as much as they can, either with military aid or with economic aid.

[Don Wildman]

It will be the beginning of what becomes the Truman Doctrine to stop the domino theory from unfolding. To me, this is so interesting to look at Harry Truman's presidency because everything's so packed. So much happens. I mean, we're not even to his elected term yet, and all this incredible stuff has happened. If not for someone like this man who could jump into the deep end of the pool and just swim. It's hard to believe this would have been such a successful unfolding of the American century.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, I think his character comes through. He's not afraid to make the decision to get the advice of the right people, to put the right people around him. But what you're really hinting at there is the legacy afterwards, all of these decisions he makes. It redraws the map of Europe. It Begins the creation of NATO. The Marshall Plan ultimately leads to the European Union, and the United nations is created in June of 1945. All of those things set the stage for the rest of the 20th century.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah, this is a college dropout who was farming in his 30s. Truman's 1948 campaign is overlooked for how much it also redefines 20th century federal politics. I mean, his choices, especially regarding civil rights, specifically to do with African Americans in the military and in the federal workforce, those are in direct conflict with the holdovers of Jim Crow segregation. Truman breaks that political logjam in the Democratic Party in that convention. It starts with him.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, it's an amazing story, and it's a political gamble in a way, because part of his party walks out of the convention in 1948 when they pass the civil rights plank that the Democrats are going to forge. He'd actually made a delivered an address, a written address rather than a speech in February of 1948 laying out his civil rights message. They carry that through in the convention in the summer. And what we call the Dixiecrats or the Southern Democrats actually walk out of the convention and form their own party on the right wing of the party. And at the same time, we mentioned Henry Wallace a little bit earlier. He's on the left wing of the party and was the former vice president under fdr. He forms his own party, the Progressive party, on the left. So suddenly in this convention, the party is split three ways. So everybody thinks there's no way Harry Truman can win when his party's been split in that way.

[Don Wildman]

This convention really changes the political calculus of the Democratic Party. In the early era of the 1900s, you have W.E.B. du Bois and, you know, black intellectuals who are really addressing Jim Crow. And that leads to the naacp. There's a tremendous groundswell of really intellectual and political derring do in the black population of America that is joined then after World War II by this faction of the Democratic Party led by Harry Truman. That's the beginning of the civil rights movement that spawns Martin Luther King Jr. And all the rest of it. It's amazing journey that goes on. And Truman is squarely in the middle of that timeline.

[Mark Adams]

It's really interesting because for a long time here in the United States, the school textbooks talk about the civil rights starting in the 1960s, and now they're starting to push that back to World War II and even World War I. Quite frankly, there's quite a number of movements there too. But certainly in terms of presidential actions, Truman is the first that takes that step with executive orders in the summer of 1948, again, right before that election, in November, in July of 1948, is when he integrates the military and integrates the federal workforce. The other thing, though, too, you mentioned the naacp, is he actually was the first president to address that group in the summer of 1947, the year before. And so that really plays well. And then when he's campaigning in the 48 election, he's the first president to go to Harlem and makes a speech in Harlem. Right. Just in the week before the election itself.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah, it's interesting. It is in this convention that Hubert Humphrey emerges as a leader from Minnesota. Paul Douglas, Illinois. These are the guys who are really pushing this white Democratic Party to think differently about the civil rights plank, which will, of course, they know, alienate all those Southern Democrats who had such power. You know, it's kind of. You're replaying everything from the Civil War in some other version right now. And this is where, you know, those Dixiecrats go off with Strom Thurmond, and you end up, we've lost the south, which is what eventually creates Nixon's whole power base. But nonetheless, and this is the theme of Harry Truman, he forges onward. He understands how this is going to work, but he knows where his values are. And that is really very clear with Truman, where it comes from for him.

[Mark Adams]

Yeah, I think it's the center of it is really his moral character that he realizes it's the right thing to do. And if he doesn't get elected, then at least he stood up for his morals. It's really interesting, though, because he comes from a Southern background. His grandparents on both sides of his family, own slaves. His own wife has been accused of being racist. And other friends write to him, like, what are you doing? You know, they're really questioning his decision, but he stands firm on it.

[Don Wildman]

Yep. It's two weeks after that convention. July 26, 1948, Truman signs two executive orders. 998-09981. They should be etched in stone in Washington, D.C. but they're forgotten. Those two executive orders order the desegregation of the U.S. military and of the federal workforce. Huge moment. This is turning around what Woodrow Wilson did decades earlier. Huge moment in American life, largely overlooked. Thank you, Harry Truman.

[Mark Adams]

Well, the thing to say about that, too, is when you think about it, that means in 19, you know, during World War II, the African American soldiers who fought bravely were actually did so in segregated units. And then think about what they're fighting against, which was Nazi Germany practicing racial policies, and you've got segregated troops fighting against that. It doesn't compute, Right. So when they come home, it's a real struggle. And Truman should deserve and does get a lot of credit. You mentioned Executive Order 9981, if I may. I was very fortunate to go to the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. last year for a civil rights symposium, and they had the original Executive Order 9981 on display. And so for the first time in my life, I got to see that original document at the National Archives rotunda in Washington, D.C. so that was really, really, really special moment to see Harry Truman's signature on that document.

[Don Wildman]

My wife is African American, and her aunt, her godmother, beloved woman in her 90s, were talking on the phone the other day and she said, yep, I like that Harry Truman, she said to me. And that is a common phrase, right? Yeah. The common feelings about that from that generation about Truman's courage, taking this whole thing to task was really on his watch. Let's talk about that election. The famous newspaper photograph I referred to in the opening, which is, you know, Dewey defeats Truman. It was going to be a close election. Certainly made no easier for himself by alienating the south as he did. How does this all play out and how come he wins?

[Mark Adams]

That's a really good question. We just actually had an exhibit about that 48 election that I curated here at the museum. It's an amazing story. It's kind of probably the biggest surprise election victory in U.S. political history. I think a lot of it is he kind of focuses on very few messages. He doesn't attack his opponent, Thomas Dewey, very much. He does once or twice. His main opponent tends to be the Republican Congress that came in. In the 1946 midterm elections, the Republicans won the House and the Senate for the first time in a generation. So in the summer of 48, after the conventions, as they start to strategize, they really start this campaign in September through November. And most of his speeches are attacking what he calls the do nothing Congress. He kind of calls them out in the convention speech and says, if you're promising all of these things because the Republic Convention had been the week before, then go ahead and pass him. And the Republicans don't pass that legislation. It's all false promises. And he reminds the audiences as he travels 30,000 miles on the train around the country in his famous whistle stop campaign that this Congress is doing nothing and you need to reelect a Democratic president, a Democratic Congress, and Ultimately, that's what happens. But I think a lot of it too is the momentum he builds with these campaign speeches. He goes to every small town, every large city. He goes everywhere, crisscrossing the country numerous times. And the momentum just builds through September and October to early November, the time of the election. The momentum just keeps growing as he.

[Don Wildman]

Campaigns so much of that first elected term. I mean, keep in mind he could have run again in 1954. Constitutionally, he had only served one. He'd been only been elected once. That second term will be defined by the Korean War and the creation of the Truman Doctrine, as I mentioned, and that eventually leads to Vietnam. Then there's the Cold War really heating up under Truman. So let's take this question, and primarily we're talking about these years that we've discussed today, him taking over the presidency and then the first term. Harry Truman lands on the good side of history, always listed in the top quarter of American presidents. But somehow, despite the amazing events that occurred on his watch, these decisive moves made by him that changed American history, the man really doesn't get the credit he deserves. Why do you think that is?

[Mark Adams]

Well, I think a lot of this unpopularity in the second term becomes about because of the Korean War. It evolves into a stalemate by 1952, when the election would have taken place, and it's bogged down and they can't seem to weigh out of it. And I think that as he leaves office, he's got a pretty low approval rating, as you suggest. But really, I think it takes until 1970s before he's reevaluated. Some of that is the process of time. And you see what happens in Vietnam. But I think the biggest issue there is Richard Nixon. When Richard Nixon is forced to resign, people then start harkening back to presidents with moral character and behaved better in the White House, let's put it that way. And they sort of get nostalgic about that kind of president. And Truman is the shining light of that when people look at that. And then, of course, he dies in 1972 as well. So it's right in that year, in 1972, 1973, that he gets a boost through his demise, which seems an odd thing to say, but that's. And then a number of biographies come out. Those mostly come out, his own autobiography, but then I think the other one in the early 1990s, is the biography of Truman by David McCullough and then ultimately an HBO movie in 1995. Those two things, the Watergate scandal and Nixon and Truman's death. And then 15, 20 years later, the David McCullough biography, those two things start to elevate, I think, to the end of the Cold War in 1989. We look at, well, that wouldn't have been possible if Truman had not drawn the line in Berlin and things like that.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah, right.

[Mark Adams]

So a number of things, but those three seem to stand out.

[Don Wildman]

And let us not discount James Whitmore and give him hell Harry.

[Mark Adams]

Right, right. And Chicago, you know, pining for Harry Truman in their song, so.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah, exactly. It's really fascinating. I'm excited by the fact that we have not told this whole story because it goes on after this and we will do so in a following episode. Mark Adams is the director of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. I encourage folks to go see that even this summer. Who knows? It's a really fascinating day that will give you a real interesting view of this man. Thank you so much, Mark.

[Mark Adams]

Thank you, Don. It was a real pleasure.

[Don Wildman]

Hello, folks. Thanks for listening to American History hit. Each week we release new episodes, two new episodes dropping Mondays and Thursdays. All kinds of great content like mysterious missing colonies to powerful political movements to some of the biggest battles across the centuries. Don't miss an episode by hitting like and follow. You help us out, which is great, but you'll also be reminded when our shows are on. And while you're at it, share with a friend. American History hit with me. Don Wildman, so grateful for your support. Thanks so much.