How Truman Became the Nominee for Vice President

Harry Truman did not want to be Vice President and he wasn’t shy about saying so to anyone who asked him, from his colleagues in the Senate to members of his family. “It is funny how some people would give a fortune to be as close as I am to it and I don’t want it,” he wrote to Margaret on July 9, 1944, just 12 days before he would ultimately accept the Democratic Party’s nomination.

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TRU History – Truman Signs Directive 225

We recently heard a remarkable story from an unexpected caller, and we wanted to share it today, in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The caller was a gentleman from Florida. He introduced himself as “Harry” and said that he wanted to make a donation to the STAY TRU Capital Campaign.

“You see, I’m named for Harry Truman,” he told us. “During World War II, my parents were sent to concentrations camps – Auschwitz and Dachau.” Against all odds, they found each other after the camps were liberated, then were moved – along with millions of refugees – into a displaced persons camp. The situation wasn’t hopeful. In Germany alone, there were 7 million refugees with no home to return to. Read More

Inaugural Address

On this day in 1949, Harry S. Truman delivered his Inaugural Address on the U.S. Capitol’s East Portico. More than 100,000 people were gathered in the Capitol Plaza when he began his 2,272-word address with these words… Read More

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

American history is full of improbable coincidences. For instance, on July 4, 1826, America celebrated 50 years of independence and saw two founding fathers draw their final breaths – Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

Last year, in a letter to you, we shared another. February 12, 2021 was not only the 212th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth but also the 75th anniversary of the blinding of Isaac Woodard, a brutal event that, arguably, helped usher in the greatest civil rights progress in this nation since the Emancipation Proclamation. Read More

Harry S. Truman Library and Museum Unveils a Photo Retrospective of the Korean War

A new exhibition at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum offers a poignant look at the first few months of the Korean War through the lens of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Max Desfor. The Forgotten War: Korea 1950 features 36 stunning photographs of the frantic early months of the war from September to December 1950, when the fate of the Korean peninsula was in question.  Read More

Veterans Day Values

Lessons from Harry S. Truman in 3 Objects

We can learn a lot from the artifacts of a life well-lived. This Veterans Day, we turned to the Truman Library’s collection and President Truman’s personal possessions to learn what Harry Truman can teach us about service, sacrifice and honor.

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Hear Colin Powell speak about the impact President Truman had on his life

The Truman Library Institute joins America and the world in mourning the loss of a towering public servant and patriot, Colin Powell.

An American politician, diplomat, statesman, four-star general, and our country’s first Black secretary of state, Powell died yesterday at the age of 84.

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The Nuremberg Trials

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the conclusion of one of the most significant events in history.

From November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946, leading members of the Nazi Party had to answer to an international court for conspiracy, war crimes, and crimes against peace and humanity. Known today as the Nuremberg Trials, this “alternative justice” set a remarkable precedent for trying war crimes and had a lasting effect on international criminal law. Read More

PICTURE HISTORY

THE SURRENDER OF JAPAN | SEPTEMBER 2, 1945

“We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control wherever situated.”

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V-J DAY | AUGUST 14, 1945

“I HAVE RECEIVED THIS AFTERNOON A MESSAGE FROM THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT…”

At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 14, 1945, President Truman announced to reporters gathered in the Oval Office that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II.  Read More