Creation of NATO | March 18, 2024
Address on the Occasion of the Signing of the North Atlantic Treaty: April 4, 1949
On April 4, 1949, the U.S. entered into its first peacetime military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty. After Secretary of State Dean Acheson signed the treaty, President Truman addressed the crowd. “In this pact, we hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression–a bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all our citizens.”
Read on for more from President Truman’s address after the North Atlantic Treaty was signed. For the accompanying historic sound recording, click here.
This Day In History | February 2, 2023
February 2, 1948 | Special Message to Congress on Civil Rights
On February 2, 1948, Harry S. Truman delivered a “Special Message to Congress on Civil Rights.” In the 3,095-word address, President Truman called for anti-lynching legislation, fair housing oversight, greater protection of the right to vote, an end to discrimination in the federal workforce, and the abolition of Jim Crow practices in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Commencement Address at Princeton University | May 23, 2022
Commencement Address at Princeton University
Delivered at Princeton University on June 17, 1947, following the conferment of an honorary degree on Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States of America
President Dodds, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
The President of Princeton University spoke of crises a while ago. He should try sitting in my chair for about an hour and a half!
It is with a great deal of pleasure, and much pride, that I am now able to count myself as a member of the Princeton family. Princeton University has conferred an honor upon me for which I am deeply grateful. I consider it a special privilege to have received the degree of Doctor of Laws at the Final Convocation of the Bicentennial Year in the presence of this distinguished company. Read More
This Day In History | February 22, 2022
#OTD February 22, 1946 | The Long Telegram
76 years ago, George Kennan, an American diplomat living in Moscow, sent an 8,000-word telegram to President Truman’s State Department. Today, “The Long Telegram” is regarded as a foundational U.S. document, right up there with the Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers and George Washington’s Farewell Address. As a sign of its enduring significance, the telegram’s 75th anniversary appears on top-ten lists of historic moments to note in 2021. Read More
Historic Speeches | January 5, 2022
Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union
President Harry S. Truman – January 6, 1947
TRU History – Inauguration Day 1949 | January 20, 2021
Inauguration Day 1949
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…
“Mr. Vice President, Mr. Chief Justice, fellow citizens:
I accept with humility the honor which the American people have conferred upon me. I accept it with a resolve to do all that I can for the welfare of this Nation and for the peace of the world.”
“In performing the duties of my office, I need the help and the prayers of every one of you. I ask for your encouragement and for your support. The tasks we face are difficult. We can accomplish them only if we work together.
“Each period of our national history has had its special challenges. Those that confront us now are as momentous as any in the past…”
9 Love Letters in 9 Years | March 20, 2019
The Courtship of Harry and Bess
Harry S. Truman and Bess Wallace carried on a nine-year courtship almost entirely through letters and some supervised visits. Harry first met Bess when they attended Sunday school together in 1890. Harry was six years old and Bess was five.
By 1910, Harry began what some call his longest “campaign” — the courtship of Bess Wallace. Nine years after sending his first letter, Harry and Bess married on June 28, 1919.
Below are a selection of letters, one from each year of their courtship, that give brief insights into Harry’s feelings for Bess and his determination to one day wed the “one girl in the world” for him.
Election Eve 1948 | October 31, 2018
On November 1, 1948, Harry Truman was home in Independence, awaiting the presidential election the following day after the exhaustion of his Whistle Stop campaign. He addressed the people one more time, this time in his hometown, in the speech below:
Independence, Mo.
November 1, 1948, Election Eve
I want to thank Senator Barkley for his generous introduction, and to say what I have said before — that no candidate for President ever had a finer running mate. The people of this country are everlastingly in his debt for his leadership in their interest. Senator Barkley will go down in history as one of our greatest public servants.
During the past two months the Senator and I have been going up and down the country, telling the people what the Democratic Party stands for in government. I have talked in great cities, in State capitals, in county seats, in crossroad villages and country towns. Read More
Holiday Addresses from Harry S. Truman | December 22, 2017
President Harry S. Truman made eight Christmas addresses to the nation during his presidency. In these speeches, which were broadcast from Washington, D.C., or his home in Independence, MO, President Truman spoke about his faith and the connections between it and democracy, compared the plight of Jesus and Mary to that of those doing without or homeless during Christmas, heralded the bravery and purpose of those fighting in Korea, and called on his fellow Americans to uphold the promise of the Christmas story, democracy, and world peace.
Historic Speeches | June 28, 2017
7 Times Truman Made the Case for National Health Care
Harry S. Truman was the first president to publicly endorse a national health insurance program. Just seven months into his presidency, Truman sent a special message to Congress proposing a national health care program. The American Medical Association deemed Truman’s proposed national health care plan, which was to be open to all Americans and administered by a federal health board, “socialized medicine.” Others claimed the plan was painted with a red brush. Ultimately, Truman’s national health care proposal was defeated in Congress. Years later, Truman listed this defeat the most troubling disappointment of his presidency. Read on for excerpts from Truman’s most rousing calls for national healthcare.
