Signature Events
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY
6:30 PM (CT), Online & Onstage
Kansas City, Missouri
2024 Howard & Virginia Bennett Forum on the Presidency
Save the date for the most anticipated Member event of the year! In the wake of the presidential election, join political commentators and presidential historians Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy (authors of The Presidents Club) for an exclusive conversation moderated by David Von Drehle, historian, New York Times best-selling author and Washington Post columnist. Together, they will look to our nation’s past to better understand the opportunities and challenges created by the 2024 election—and what it means for the future of American democracy.
The 18th Annual Bennett Forum on the Presidency is offered exclusively to Truman Library Institute members and VIP guests.
- Student / Teacher level = 1 free ticket
- Basic level = 2 free tickets
- Family level and higher = 4 free tickets
Not yet a Member? Annual memberships start at just $35 and offer nationwide benefits.
JOIN OR RENEW TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT.
When you activate your Membership, you will receive an email with your Member-Only registration link for the 18th Annual Bennett Forum on the Presidency. Both in-person and virtual tickets are currently available, but seats are going fast for this popular annual event.
Truman Presidential Museum
ARTISTIC VIEWS OF THE TRUMAN HOME
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
500 West U.S. Highway 24, Independence, Missouri
The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum presents a new temporary exhibition titled Artistic Views of the Truman Home. The prominent Victorian home at 219 North Delaware Street in Independence, Missouri, has been a source of inspiration for artists who have created sketches, paintings, photographs, scale models and other depictions of the home. President Truman and his wife Bess lived together in the home for 53 years, from their marriage in 1919 until the President’s death in 1972.
Artistic Views of the Truman Home features more than a dozen different artistic renditions of the first family’s “Summer White House,” as well as a scaled replica and more than 50 photographs. The exhibition is included with regular museum admission; Members free.
OFFICIAL INAUGURAL MEDALS
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
500 West U.S. Highway 24, Independence, Missouri
Presidential inaugurations are a time of national celebration, and it’s no surprise that Americans have always sought to acquire souvenirs of the occasion. Over the years, a wide variety of mementos have commemorated the inauguration. However, since the second inauguration of William McKinley in 1901, one collector’s item stands out for its recurring appeal—the Official Inaugural Medal. Now, at the Truman Library, visitors can view 33 official inaugural medals, from William McKinley (1901) to Joseph Biden (2021). The companion book, featured on the Coin World podcast “Hail to the Chief,” is on sale in the Museum Store, while they last.
UPSET! Harry Truman and the 1948 Election
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
500 West U.S. Highway 24, Independence, Missouri
With the world watching the pivotal 2024 election, a new Truman Library exhibition recalls the biggest political upset in U.S. history. Promising Americans a “Fair Deal” while campaigning against a “do-nothing Congress,” Truman changed the nation’s tune—from MILD to WILD about Harry.
A new temporary exhibition, UPSET! Harry Truman and the 1948 Election, 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 200 artifacts, original political cartoons, interactive displays, diary entries, photographs and videos, opens May 30, 2024, and runs through February 1, 2025, at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum.
This special exhibition is included with general admission. Truman Library Institute Members enjoy free admission.
