Harry Truman: The Missouri Compromise
How a “good old boy” from Missouri went from the halls of the Senate to the Oval Office
“I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.” ~ Harry Truman on Becoming President in 1945
Harry Truman was known around the halls of the Senate as being a persistent man. By 1940, he had held his Senate seat for five years, but he remained scarcely known in the town full of brash and ambitious men. When World War II broke-out in Europe, Truman saw its arrival as the perfect opportunity to change that.
In 1940, a year into the war, Congress authorized $10 billion in defense contracts in a short six months. In his office, Senator Truman soon began receiving numerous claims of fraud and waste mismanagement across the country. Deciding to investigate the claims himself, he hopped into his old Dodge and maneuvered across the South, stopping at army camps along the way. What he saw astounded him; he witnessed men standing around wasting time and piles of lumber sitting unused. $10 billion being squandered.
Opting to take action, in February 1941, Truman proposed the formation of a committee to investigate the National Defense Program; the White House did not support this action. But once the U.S. entered the war in December 1941, Truman was given free rein to investigate whatever waste claims may come his way. The man who was known as “go along, get along Harry” went after some of the largest industries in the nation: steel, airplane, and aluminum. He called them out on the amount of material waste they were blowing the budget on during a time of international crisis. The committee he formed became known as the “Truman Committee,” and he relentlessly attacked big business, which he had always distrusted.
Truman’s committee ended up saving the country billions of dollars, and he saw his popularity soar. TIME Magazine named him one of the top 10 senators in D.C., writing, “the sudden emergence of Harry Truman in the Senate is a queer accident in democracy.” It was ironic that Harry Truman, the political product of Tom Pendergast’s corruption, became known as the senator who went after corruption. He had finally come to terms with his ties to Pendergast and was accepted in political circles.
In the summer of 1943, rumors began swirling around D.C. that Harry Truman could find himself on the ticket for vice presidential candidate. He laughed off the scuttlebutt, saying that he in no way, shape, or form wanted the position, nor did he feel that he was favored by Franklin Roosevelt. Truth be told, Roosevelt was slowly distancing himself from all political fights. Although it was unknown publicly, the president’s health was steadily declining. His friends and peers were terrified at the amount of weight he had lost and the jaundiced tone appearing on his face. The president left the choice of his vice presidential candidate up to the party bosses. Besides, he saw his main priority as winning the war.
To all the onlookers and delegates at the 1944 Democratic Convention in Chicago, Vice President Henry Wallace and Jimmy Byrnes, current Director of the Office of War Mobilization, were the two men to beat. But Robert Hannegan, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, saw it differently. Wallace was considered too radical and an unscrupulous candidate for labor, while Byrnes, a South Carolinian, was a segregationist and would not please the civil rights proponents and liberals. He personally felt Harry Truman was the perfect compromise, the “Missouri Compromise,” as he was dubbed. Truman at first refused to accept the nomination, but after speaking to the president on the phone he was convinced he had to take it.
Despite the adrenaline from the convention and the honor of being offered the vice presidential nomination, Truman did not feel he was the most qualified man for the job. How could he possibly fill the shoes of the great Roosevelt if something should happen within the next four years? But as of July 21, 1944, there was no turning back, Truman was on the ticket. While he campaigned vigorously for Roosevelt, his wife Bess stayed away from the limelight. On her way back to Independence after her husband had accepted the nomination, she refused to speak to a soul.
Truman took advantage of the media’s attention and reveled in campaigning on his railcar traveling the country. He portrayed himself as the “good old boy” from Missouri who became the voice against corruption during the war, taking on the “big boys” of Wall Street. Although he was an astute politician and a workhorse, he was still overlooked. For twelve years, Roosevelt had led the nation through the Depression and World War II, and there was no reason to believe he would not see them through the war and another term. This belief was confirmed once again when Roosevelt was elected for an unprecedented fourth term on November 7, 1944.
Harry Truman was untouched by the fame and popularity brought to him by his new title of vice president. To his old buddies in the Senate, he remained “Harry,” and after a long day’s work, he would go out and join the men for a cold brew. Despite his subtle nature, his prestigious title brought him the attention of certain Hollywood stars. One day while he was playing “Missouri Waltz” on the piano at the National Press Club, a rising young actress named Lauren Bacall climbed on top of the piano and posed for the cameras. Vice President Truman went along with the photo opportunity and continued playing the piano, all the while smiling at the sultry Bacall. He loved it; his wife did not.
While he did receive praise and adulation from Hollywood and the press, the one person he found difficult to win over was the president himself. By early 1945, Roosevelt was a desperately sick man, even Truman noticed the tremble in his hands and the dark circles forming under his eyes. Still, he was leading the country through a war and had little time to discuss the world’s affairs with his vice president. In total, Truman met with President Roosevelt only two times during his vice presidency. Truman was next in line for the presidency, but he was treated as the low man on the totem-pole.
On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt, once called “the hope of the world,” died at his home in Warm Springs, Georgia. He was only 63 years old and had been president for twelve years, longer than any president before or after him. Truman had feared the inevitable, but he refused to allow himself to think that the boss may die. Like millions of Americans, and people all over the world, he too depended on the president to lead.
After receiving word of the president’s death from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman was sworn in as 33rd President of the United States, with Bess, his daughter Margaret, and the Cabinet beside him. The only words he could muster after the momentous occasion were: “I’m not big enough for this job.”
That evening, President Truman met for the first time with his Cabinet, a group of people he hardly knew. At the conclusion of the meeting, they began to trickle out of the room, but Secretary of War Henry Stimson stayed behind; he had something he wanted to tell the new president. He briefly relayed that there was a project in the works, a new explosive that could cause unimaginable destruction but almost assuredly would bring an end to the war. That was all he divulged to Truman about the Manhattan Project, and the president was left with questions rushing endlessly through his mind. A wave of uncertainty washed over him, he felt vastly unprepared for this new role.
To read more about Harry Truman’s tenure in the U.S. Senate, please visit this link.
Also, check out the Truman Library’s article on Truman’s happy years in the Senate.
