Harry S. Truman: Difference between revisions

Investigations revealed [[Corruption in the United States|corruption]] in parts of the Truman administration, and this became a major campaign issue in the [[1952 United States presidential election|1952 presidential election]], although they did not implicate Truman himself. He was eligible for reelection in 1952 but, with poor polling, he chose not to run. Truman went into a retirement marked by the founding of [[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum|his presidential library]] and the publication of his memoirs. It was long thought that his retirement years were financially difficult for Truman, resulting in Congress establishing a pension for former presidents, but evidence eventually emerged that he amassed considerable wealth, some of it while still president.{{Citation needed}} When he left office, Truman's administration was heavily criticized. Despite this controversy, scholars [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|rank]] Truman in the first quartile of American presidents. In addition, critical reassessment of his presidency has improved his reputation among historians and the general population.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Alonzo L.|last=Hamby|date=October 4, 2016|title=Harry S. Truman: Life in Brief|url=https://millercenter.org/president/truman/life-in-brief|access-date=February 2, 2022|agency=[[Miller Center of Public Affairs]]}}</ref>

Truman was interested in music, reading, history, and historymath,<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCullough |first=David |url= |title=Truman |date=2003-08-20 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-6029-9 |pages=50 |language=en}}</ref> all encouraged by his mother, with whom he was very close. As president, he solicited political as well as personal advice from her.{{sfn|Oshinsky|2004|pp=365–380}} Truman learned to play the [[piano]] at age seven and took lessons from Mrs. E.C. White, a well-respected teacher in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]].{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=52}} He got up at five o'clock every morning to practice the piano, which he studied more than twice a week until he was fifteen, becoming quite a skilled player.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=38}} Truman worked as a page at the [[1900 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]];{{sfn | Ferrell |1994|p=87}} his father had many friends active in the Democratic Party who helped young Harry to gain his first political position.{{sfn|Truman Library|2012aa}}

Truman's initiative convinced Senate leaders of the necessity for the committee, which reflected his demands for honest and efficient administration and his distrust of big business and Wall Street. Truman managed the committee "with extraordinary skill" and usually achieved consensus, generating heavy media publicity that gave him a national reputation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael James Lacey|title=The Truman Presidency|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hfkuktI-JewC&pg=PA35|year=1991|pages=35–36|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521407731}}</ref>{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=12–14}} Activities of the Truman Committee ranged from criticizing the "[[dollar-a-year men]]" hired by the government, many of whom proved ineffective, to investigating a shoddily built New Jersey housing project for war workers.<ref>{{Citation | last = Herman | first = Arthur | title = Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II | pages = [https://archive.org/details/freedomsforgehow00herm/page/103 103, 118, 194, 198–199, 235–236, 275, 281, 303, 312] | publisher = Random House | place = New York | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-1-4000-6964-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/freedomsforgehow00herm/page/103 }}.</ref>{{sfn |''Life''|November 30, 1942}} In March 1944, Truman attempted to probe the expensive [[Manhattan Project]] but was persuaded by Secretary of War [[Henry L. Stimson]] to discontinue with the investigation.{{r|n=zuberi2001|r={{cite journal |last1=Zuberi |first1=Matin |title=Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |journal=Strategic Analysis |date=August 2001 |volume=25 |issue=5 |pages=623–662 |doi=10.1080/09700160108458986|s2cid=154800868 | issn = 0970-0161 }}|p=634}}

The president's approval rating dropped from 82&nbsp;percent in the polls in January 1946 to 52&nbsp;percent by June.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=64–65}} This dissatisfaction led to large Democratic losses in the [[1946 United States elections|1946 midterm elections]], and Republicans took control of Congress for the first time since 1930. When Truman dropped to 32&nbsp;percent in the polls, Democratic Arkansas Senator [[William Fulbright]] suggested that Truman resign; the president said he did not care what Senator "Halfbright" said.{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=48–50}}{{sfn|McCoy|1984|p=91}}

In 1950, Truman vetoed the [[McCarran Internal Security Act]], which was passed by Congress just after the start of the Korean War and was aimed at controlling communists in America.{{sfn |McCoy|1984| pp =216–217, 234–235}} Truman called the Act, "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press, and assembly since the [[Alien and Sedition Acts|Alien and Sedition Laws]] of 1798," a "mockery of the Bill of Rights" and a "long step toward totalitarianism".<ref name=trumanveto>{{cite web |url-status=dead |first1=Harry S. |last1=Truman, [|url=http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/viewpapers.php?pid=883 |title=Veto of the Internal Security Bill] {{Webarchive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301113033/http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/viewpapers.php?pid=883 |archive-date=March 1, 2007 }},|publisher= Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. |date= September 22, 1950 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Text of President's Veto Message Vetoing the Communist-Control Bill |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/09/23/113171737.pdf |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 23, 2013 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 23, 1950}}</ref> His veto was immediately overridden by Congress and the Act became law.{{sfn |McCoy|1984| pp =216–217, 234–235}} In the mid-1960s, parts of the Act were found to be unconstitutional by the [[United States Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Belknap |first=Michael R.|title=The Vinson Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy|year=2004|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|location=Santa Barbara, California |page=171|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oeFRJj8dVAUC&pg=PA171|isbn=9781576072011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Belknap |first=Michael R.|title=The Supreme Court Under Earl Warren, 1953-1969|year=2005|publisher=[[University of South Carolina]]|location=Columbia, South Carolina|page=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zNAzo_xJEMC&pg=PA79|isbn=9781570035630}}</ref>