INDEPENDENCE, MO (May 15, 2024) – A new temporary exhibition, UPSET! Harry Truman and the 1948 Campaign, allows visitors to travel back in time to see how the most stunning surprise in U.S. presidential election history came about. The exhibit, which includes more than 100 artifacts, original political cartoons, interactive displays, diary entries, photographs and videos, is open May 30 until Feb. 1, 2025 at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum in Independence, MO.

“Harry Truman had been written off by pollsters, by most of the press, and even by members of his own staff. The large crowds that came out to see him during his 1948 Whistle Stop campaign were explained away as curiosity-seekers hoping to catch a last glimpse of the outgoing President,” said Kurt Graham, Director of the Truman Library. “But Harry Truman believed in himself and pulled off the election surprise of the century, winning by a comfortable margin.”

The new exhibition takes Truman Library guests behind the scenes of the Whistle Stop campaign with diary entries from daughter Margaret Truman, stories from staff and spectators, and rarely seen artifacts including gifts from supporters. At one low point in the campaign, the train was halted until fundraisers could secure enough donations to get it moving again.

Other features of the exhibition include:

• Political cartoons, including more than 20 originals, that trace the highs and lows of the Truman Presidency and the campaign against New York Governor Thomas Dewey.
• More than 20 campaign buttons promoting Truman, Dewey and third-party candidates such as Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond and Progressive Henry Wallace.
• Videos that highlight the beleaguered Truman facing a myriad of economic and political challenges, the confidence of the Republicans, the dysfunction of the Democratic National Convention, the distinctly different campaign speaking styles of the two leading candidates, and the celebration after Truman’s surprise victory.
• Engaging interactives including a massive U.S. map showing the routes of the Whistle Stop campaign, a coloring table for children, and a voting booth.

“This gallery is a bit like walking into a time capsule of the post-war 1940s, when America was at peace, the economy was booming, but the nation and the world were in the midst of extraordinary change,” said Mark Adams, Museum Curator of the Truman Library. “Inflation was spiraling, housing was hard to find and peace seemed tenuous.”

President Truman had proposed solutions, but a Republican-led Congress rejected many of his ideas. So he campaigned primarily against what he called the “Do-Nothing Congress” rather than his Republican opponent, and it worked.

Adams says the campaign offers lessons for today’s campaigns: “Never give up, know your audience, and get your voters to cast ballots.”

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum is open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m – 5 p.m. and Sunday 12 – 5 p.m. Museum admission is $12. Discounts are available for seniors, students and veterans. Admission is free for Truman Library Institute members and children 12 and younger.

As a 2024 Blue Star Museum, the Truman Library is proud to offer free admission to military personnel and their families through Labor Day.

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Davison Strategic Communications

UPSET! Media Kit