American Experience (1988) s10e01 Episode Script

1
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Narrator:
IN 1944, A LITTLE-KNOWN SENATOR
FROM MISSOURI
WAS CAMPAIGNING FOR THE OFFICE
OF VICE-PRESIDENT.
NEW ORLEANS, HOUSTON, PORTLAND,
SEATTLE, BOSTON, NEW YORK CITY
WASHINGTON, PITTSBURGH,
ST. LOUIS.
HE CRISSCROSSED AMERICA.
ONE NIGHT,
IN HIS PRIVATE PULLMAN CAR
HE AWOKE IN A COLD SWEAT.
HE HAD DREAMED THA
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT HAD DIED
AND HE, HARRY TRUMAN, WAS
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
IN ALL HIS LIFE,
TRUMAN TOLD A REPORTER
HE HAD NEVER HAD SUCH
A TERRIFYING NIGHTMARE.
APRIL 12, 1945.
VICE-PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN
RECEIVED A CALL
URGING HIM TO COME QUICKLY
AND QUIETLY TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
AS HE RAN THROUGH THE CORRIDORS
OF THE CAPITOL
HE REFUSED TO FACE
WHAT LAY AHEAD.
"I THOUGHT I WAS GOING DOWN
THERE TO MEET THE PRESIDENT"
TRUMAN SAID LATER.
"I DIDN'T ALLOW MYSELF TO THINK
ANYTHING ELSE."
AT 5:25 P.M., TRUMAN ENTERED THE
FIRST LADY'S SECOND-FLOOR STUDY.
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT PUT HER ARM
AROUND HIS SHOULDER.
"HARRY," SHE TOLD HIM,
"THE PRESIDENT IS DEAD."
"IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN
DO FOR YOU?" TRUMAN ASKED.
"IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO FOR
YOU?" MRS. ROOSEVELT REPLIED
"FOR YOU ARE THE ONE
IN TROUBLE NOW."
HE WAS ONLY
A HIGH-SCHOOL GRADUATE
A FARMER UNTIL HE WAS 33
A HABERDASHER
GONE BANKRUPT AT 38.
NO ONE IN WASHINGTON
HAD EVEN HEARD OF HARRY TRUMAN
BEFORE HE WAS 50.
NOW, AT 60, HE WAS PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Man:
HERE WAS A LITTLE HABERDASHER
FROM MISSOURI
A SMALL BUSINESSMAN.
FOR HIM TO STEP IN
THE SHOES OF THE GREAT F.D.R.
THERE WAS
AN ENORMOUS FEELING OF LETDOWN.
McCullough:
FOR MANY PEOPLE, IT WAS
AS IF THE PRESIDENCY HAD DIED
NOT JUST THE PRESIDENT.
PEOPLE WERE SHAKEN,
NOT JUST BY ROOSEVELT'S DEATH
BUT WHAT DID THIS MEAN
TO HAVE THIS UNKNOWN QUANTITY
STEP INTO SUCH A POWERFUL
AND IMPORTANT POSITION?
Narrator:
"IF HARRY TRUMAN
CAN BE PRESIDENT"
AMERICANS EVERYWHERE WERE SAYING
"SO COULD
MY NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR."
Truman:
OUR HEARTS ARE HEAVY.
THE CAUSE WHICH CLAIMED
ROOSEVELT ALSO CLAIMS US.
HE NEVER FALTERED, NOR WILL WE.
Man:
I FELT THAT THE MAN
WAS OUT OF HIS ELEMEN
AND I THINK MANY OTHER AMERICANS
EXPRESSED THE SAME FEAR:
"WE'VE GOT AN INCOMPETEN
THAT WE KNOW NOTHING ABOU
IN THE WHITE HOUSE."
IT WAS A FRIGHTENING THING
TO CONTEMPLATE.
Narrator:
OF ALL THE MEN
WHO HAD BEEN PRESIDEN
HE WAS ONE OF
THE LEAST PREPARED.
VICE-PRESIDENT FOR ONLY 82 DAYS
EXCLUDED FROM ROOSEVELT'S
INNER CIRCLE, HE KNEW NOTHING
ABOUT THE WAR RAGING ACROSS
THREE CONTINENTS AND TWO OCEANS
EXCEPT WHAT HE READ
IN THE PAPERS.
BUT WITHIN FOUR MONTHS
HARRY S. TRUMAN
WOULD HAVE AT HIS COMMAND
THE MOST TERRIBLE WEAPON
EVER DEVISED BY MAN
AND HE WOULD HAVE TO DECIDE
WHETHER OR NOT TO USE IT.
( scales being played on piano)
( rooster crows)
Narrator:
"NOW, HARRY, YOU BE GOOD"
MARTHA TRUMAN HAD TOLD
HER 11-YEAR-OLD SON.
AND HARRY TRUMAN
HAD WANTED TO BE GOOD.
HE DREAMED OF BECOMING
A CONCERT PIANIS
AND PRACTICED WITH THE SAME
DETERMINED, OPTIMISTIC SPIRI
HIS PIONEER GRANDPARENTS
BROUGHT WITH THEM
WHEN THEY FIRST CAME WES
TO MISSOURI.
BORN ON MAY 8, 1884, IN LAMAR
HARRY WAS SIX WHEN HIS FAMILY
SETTLED IN INDEPENDENCE
A TOWN STILL CLOSE
TO THE RUGGED LIFE
OF THE AMERICAN FRONTIER.
MEN CARRIED KNIVES OR GUNS.
FISTFIGHTS WERE COMMON.
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI,
WAS NOT A PLACE
WHERE YOUNG BOYS
PLAYED THE PIANO.
Man:
HE'S THIS YOUNG KID
WHO LOOKS SORT OF LIKE A SISSY.
THERE'S A SURVIVING PICTURE
OF HIM
THAT WAS MADE AROUND THE TIME
HE WAS 11.
YOU SEE THIS KID WHO LOOKS SOR
OF LIKE LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY
DRESSED UP IN HIS SUNDAY BEST,
SORT OF PUDGY
WEARING THESE BIG, THICK GLASSES
IN A DAY
WHEN IT WAS VERY UNUSUAL
FOR A KID TO WEAR EYEGLASSES.
Narrator:
"THE POPULAR BOYS WERE THE ONES
WHO WERE GOOD AT GAMES
AND HAD BIG, TIGHT FISTS,"
TRUMAN REMEMBERED YEARS LATER.
"I WAS NEVER LIKE THAT.
"WITHOUT MY GLASSES
I WAS BLIND AS A BA
"AND TO TELL THE TRUTH,
I WAS KIND OF A SISSY.
"IF THERE WAS ANY DANGER
OF GETTING INTO A FIGH
I ALWAYS RAN."
BUT IN SPITE OF THE TEASING,
HARRY KEPT ON PLAYING THE PIANO.
ALL HIS LIFE,
HARRY TRUMAN WOULD SHOW
THE SAME DOGGED PERSEVERANCE.
McCullough:
THERE WAS THAT LITTLE BOY
UP EVERY MORNING AT 5:00
FOR TWO HOURS IN ABSOLUTE
EARNEST BEFORE GOING TO SCHOOL
SITTING THERE IN THE HALF-LIGH
WORKING AWAY
AT MOZART OR CHOPIN.
Narrator:
IT WAS HARRY'S MOTHER WHO FIRS
URGED HIM TO PLAY THE PIANO
AND ENCOURAGED HIM TO PRACTICE.
"HARRY WAS THE SORT OF BOY,"
A FRIEND RECALLED
"WHO SEEMED TO DO
WHATEVER HIS MOTHER TOLD HIM."
THE DAUGHTER OF A PIONEER FARMER
MARTHA TRUMAN
HAD GONE TO COLLEGE
AND STUDIED MUSIC,
ART AND LITERATURE.
BEFORE HARRY WAS FIVE,
SHE SAT HIM ON HER LAP
AND TAUGHT HIM TO READ
FROM THE FAMILY BIBLE.
Man:
I THINK HARRY'S MOTHER
WANTED HIM TO BE
A REAL GENTLEMAN
AND DO THINGS JUST RIGHT.
SHE ACTUALLY BABIED HARRY
A GOOD DEAL
IF YOU WANT TO SAY IT THAT,
BUT SHE HAD NO OTHER CHOICE
BECAUSE HE COULDN'T DO THE ROUGH
AND TUMBLE WITH THE OTHER KIDS.
Narrator:
HARRY'S INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS
WAS ROWDY AND BOISTEROUS.
ELECTION DAY
AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY
WAS MARKED BY HIGH SPIRITS,
CAROUSING AND BRAWLS.
AND IN INDEPENDENCE,
HARRY'S FATHER, JOHN TRUMAN
WAS ALWAYS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE ACTION.
McCullough:
HIS FATHER WAS ABOUT FIVE FOO
FOUR OR SO, BUT TOUGH.
HE WOULD FIGH
AT THE DROP OF A HAT.
HE WOULD TAKE AFTER PEOPLE,
PARTICULARLY ON ELECTION DAY
AND ONCE WHEN A MAN
IN A COURTROOM
ACCUSED HIM OF BEING A LIAR
HE CHASED THE FELLOW
OUT INTO THE STREE
AND THREATENED TO BEAT HIM UP.
Narrator:
LIKE HARRY'S MOTHER, JOHN TRUMAN
ALSO CAME FROM PIONEER STOCK.
HE EARNED HIS LIVING
TRADING HORSES AND MULES.
"A FIERY FELLOW,"
PEOPLE SAID OF HIM.
"VERY STUBBORN,
BUT ON THE SQUARE.
"A MAN OF HIS INTEGRITY
AND INDUSTRY
YOU EXCUSE
A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS."
ALL HIS LIFE, HARRY WOULD TRY
TO EARN JOHN TRUMAN'S RESPECT.
McCullough:
ONCE HIS FATHER
GOT YOUNG HARRY A PONY
AND THE FATHER
WAS LEADING THE PONY
AND THE LITTLE BOY FELL OFF
THE PONY AND STARTED TO CRY.
AND THE FATHER SAID,
"ANY LITTLE BOY THAT CRIES
WHEN HE FALLS OFF THE PONY
HAS TO WALK HOME."
SO HE HAD TO WALK
ALL THE WAY BACK.
AND MRS. TRUMAN, HARRY'S MOTHER,
DIDN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL.
Narrator:
"MAMA THOUGHT I WAS BADLY
MISTREATED, BUT I WASN'T"
TRUMAN REMEMBERED.
"IN SPITE OF MY CRYING
ALL THE WAY HOME
I LEARNED A LESSON."
HARRY LEARNED THAT A MAN
KEPT TRYING UNTIL HE SUCCEEDED;
THAT A MAN NEVER ADMITTED
HE WAS AFRAID;
THAT A MAN HAD TO SPEAK BLUNTLY
AND BE PREPARED TO FIGHT.
BUT NO MATTER HOW HARD HE TRIED
HARRY COULD NEVER QUITE
MEASURE UP.
Hamby:
MY OWN IMPRESSION IS
THAT HE REALLY WANTED
TO RELATE TO HIS FATHER.
HE FELT THAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP
WAS NOT AS GOOD
AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
IT WAS NOT AS CLOSE
AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
Narrator:
HARRY WAS NO
HIS FATHER'S FAVORITE.
HIS YOUNGER BROTHER
JOHN VIVIAN WAS.
JOHN VIVIAN SHARED
HIS FATHER'S INTERES
IN TRADING HORSES AND MULES.
HARRY PREFERRED TO READ.
HARRY WAS ONE OF THE FEW BOYS
IN TOWN WHO WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL.
MOST OF THE STUDENTS
IN HIS CLASS WERE GIRLS.
( playing waltz)
HE SPENT HIS SPARE TIME
GOING TO CONCERTS
WHEN HE WASN'T DEVOURING BOOKS.
McCullough:
HE CLAIMED TO HAVE READ EVERY
BOOK IN THE LITTLE TOWN LIBRARY.
HE PARTICULARLY LIKED
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
GEORGE WASHINGTON, ANDREW
JACKSON AND ROBERT E. LEE.
THEY WERE HIS HEROES AND
HE WANTED TO BE LIKE THEY WERE.
Narrator:
EVERYTHING HE LEARNED
REINFORCED HIS NATIVE OPTIMISM
AND TAUGHT HIM TO ADMIRE THE
SIMPLE OLD-FASHIONED VIRTUES.
"A TRUE HEART, A STRONG MIND
AND A GREAT DEAL OF COURAGE"
HE WROTE IN A SCHOOL COMPOSITION
"AND I THINK A MAN
WILL GET THROUGH THE WORLD."
McCullough:
TRUMAN GREW UP IN A TOWN
WHERE THERE WERE CERTAIN
STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR.
SELFISHNESS IS NOT TOLERATED.
HYPOCRISY IS DETESTED.
YOU WERE PUT DOWN
IF YOU STARTED ACTING
A LITTLE TOO BIG
FOR YOUR BRITCHES
AND YOU JUDGE PEOPLE BY THE WORK
THEY DO DOING A GOOD JOB.
"INDEPENDENCE," HARRY SAID
"WAS A PLACE WHERE RIGH
WAS RIGHT AND WRONG WAS WRONG
AND YOU DIDN'
HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT."
THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, TRUMAN
WOULD IDEALIZE HIS HOMETOWN.
BUT INDEPENDENCE
WAS ALSO A PLACE
WHERE CATHOLICS AND JEWS
WERE NOT TO BE TRUSTED
ITALIANS AND IRISH
NOT TO BE HIRED.
BLACKS LIVED IN A CLUSTER
OF SHACKS CALLED "NIGGER NECK."
McCullough:
INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI,
WAS MORE LIKE THE SOUTH
THAN IT WAS LIKE THE MIDWEST.
IT WAS A JIM CROW TOWN.
WHEN THE CIVIL WAR VETERANS
GATHERED ON THE TOWN SQUARE
FOR REUNIONS
THEY WERE CONFEDERATE VETERANS.
AND TRUMAN GREW UP IN A FAMILY
WHERE RACIAL SLURS WERE USED
WHERE OLD HABITS OF THE MIND
AND THE MOUTH PREVAILED.
HARRY'S GRANDMOTHER ESPECIALLY
JUST HATED ABE LINCOLN.
HARRY'S MOTHER DIDN'T FEEL VERY
GOOD ABOUT ABE LINCOLN EITHER.
HER BIG HERO WAS ROBERT E. LEE.
AND YOU GET THE IMPRESSION
FROM WHAT YOU LEARN ABOU
TRUMAN'S MOTHER THAT, UH
SHE THOUGHT JOHN WILKES BOOTH
WAS A GREAT MAN.
Narrator:
HARRY BEGAN LIFE WITH
ALL THE PREJUDICES OF HIS FAMILY
AND MOST OF HIS FRIENDS
AND NEIGHBORS.
THE BEST AND WORS
OF SMALL-TOWN AMERICA
HELPED SHAPE
HIS MORAL IMAGINATION.
IN 1900, HARRY
AND HIS FATHER WEN
TO THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
CONVENTION IN KANSAS CITY.
JOHN TRUMAN WAS
A LIFELONG DEMOCRA
WHO PASSED HIS STAUNCH PARTY
CONVICTIONS ALONG TO HIS SON.
IT WAS THE 16-YEAR-OLD BOY'S
FIRST TASTE OF NATIONAL POLITICS
AND HE LOVED IT.
THE CROWDS, THE HOOPLA,
AND AS THE NEW CENTURY BEGAN
THE SPIRIT OF OPTIMISM
THAT FILLED THE AIR
THE DREAMS OF BETTER
AND BETTER TIMES AHEAD.
JOHN TRUMAN HAD HIS OWN DREAMS.
FIERCELY AMBITIOUS, ALWAYS
ATTRACTED TO THE BIG SCORE
HE BEGAN SPECULATING
IN GRAIN FUTURES.
Hamby:
HE WANTED TO GET RICH.
HE THOUGHT YOU HAD TO WORK HARD.
HE WAS AN ENORMOUSLY HARD WORKER
BUT HE THOUGHT THAT YOU NEEDED
SOME LUCK IN ORDER TO GET RICH.
AND HE BET THE FAMILY SAVINGS
AND INDEED EVENTUALLY
THE FAMILY HOME IN INDEPENDENCE
ON THE GRAIN MARKETS.
Narrator:
"YOUTH, THE HOPE OF THE WORLD"
READ THE LATIN SLOGAN
ABOVE THE HEADS
OF HARRY TRUMAN'S 1901
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATING CLASS.
BUT NOW, AT 17, HARRY'S
OWN HOPES WERE SHATTERED.
HE HAD WANTED TO GO TO COLLEGE
BUT HIS FATHER'S GAMBLE ON THE
GRAIN MARKETS PROVED DISASTROUS
AND THE TRUMANS LOS
EVERYTHING THEY OWNED.
BUT HARRY NEVER COMPLAINED
ABOUT HIS LUCK.
HE NEVER WOULD.
DETERMINED TO HELP
SUPPORT HIS FAMILY
HE HEADED FOR
NEARBY KANSAS CITY.
FOR A 17-YEAR-OLD BOY
JUST STARTING OUT IN LIFE
KANSAS CITY WAS BRIMMING
WITH POSSIBILITIES.
McCullough:
IT'S A BIG, ROUGH, BOISTEROUS,
OVERGROWN COW TOWN.
IT'S GOT EVERYTHING, INCLUDING
LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR SIN
IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED.
PROSTITUTION, GAMBLING AND WIDE
OPEN ALL-NIGHT HELL RAISING.
TO WHAT EXTEN
HARRY EXPERIENCED ANY OF THA
WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
MY SUSPICION IS NOT AT ALL.
HE WAS A GOOD BOY.
Babcock:
HARRY WAS A NICE GUY AND HIS
MOTHER HAD RAISED HIM VERY WELL.
I DON'T THINK HE WAS ABOUT TO
GET INTO TROUBLE IN KANSAS CITY
EVEN THOUGH A LOT OF PEOPLE DID
IN THOSE DAYS, YOU KNOW.
HARRY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF
MONEY, SO HE WORKED ALL THE TIME
SO HE COULDN'T GE
INTO VERY MUCH TROUBLE THAT WAY
BECAUSE HIS TIME
WAS SPENT WORKING.
Narrator:
MAILROOM BOY FOR A NEWSPAPER
TIMEKEEPER FOR A RAILROAD
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
BANK CLERK.
HARRY TOOK WHAT JOBS CAME HIS
WAY AND MADE THE MOST OF THEM.
"KANSAS CITY," HARRY REPORTED,
"WAS A PLACE WITH THINGS DOING."
HE WENT TO CONCERTS,
THEATER AND VAUDEVILLE
SAW THE FOUR COHANS
AND SARAH BERNHARDT.
ONCE HE HEARD
THEODORE ROOSEVELT SPEAK
FROM THE BACK OF A RAILROAD CAR.
"THE PRESIDENT," HARRY THOUGH
"APPEARED TO BE
SURPRISINGLY SHORT."
HE JOINED THE NATIONAL GUARD
AND ENJOYED THE COMPANY
OF OTHER YOUNG MEN.
WOMEN, THOUGH,
WERE ANOTHER MATTER.
"I WAS ALWAYS AFRAID OF GIRLS,"
HE ONCE WROTE.
AFTER FOUR YEARS
HARRY WAS DRAWING A GOOD SALARY
AS A BANK CLERK
AND FINDING NEW FRIENDS.
HE WAS 21 YEARS OLD
JUST BEGINNING TO MAKE
A LIFE FOR HIMSELF
WHEN, ONCE AGAIN, HIS FATHER
THWARTED HIS AMBITIONS.
DOWN ON HIS LUCK, JOHN TRUMAN
HAD BEEN FORCED TO SELL
HIS HOUSE, ALL HIS LIVESTOCK
AND HAD EVEN TAKEN A JOB
AS A NIGHT WATCHMAN.
HE SAW HIS CHANCE
TO GET BACK ON HIS FEE
WHEN HIS WIFE'S MOTHER ASKED HIM
TO TAKE OVER THE FAMILY FARM
15 MILES SOUTH OF INDEPENDENCE.
BUT HE KNEW HE COULDN'T RUN
THE HUGE 600-ACRE FARM
WITHOUT THE HELP
OF BOTH HIS SONS.
HE TOLD HARRY TO QUIT HIS JOB
AND COME HOME.
AGAIN, WITHOUT COMPLAINT,
HARRY DID AS HE WAS TOLD.
Babcock:
I DON'T THINK HE WAS
BY NATURE A FARMER.
I THINK HE LIKED PEOPLE BETTER,
SO IT WAS TOUGH ON HIM.
HE DIDN'T WAN
TO DO IT, I'M SURE.
McCullough:
IT WAS HARD WORK
HARD, HARD WORK
AND BLISTERING HEAT IN THE
SUMMERTIME IN WESTERN MISSOURI
AND COLD, COLD WINTERS WHERE
THE WHOLE LANDSCAPE TURNED IRON.
AND HE'D NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE,
THIS WAS NEW TO HIM.
HE'D GROWN UP IN TOWN,
HE'D GONE TO WORK IN THE BANK.
HE'D HAD CLERKS' JOBS;
HE LOOKED LIKE A CLERK.
Hamby:
HE REMEMBERED IN LATER YEARS
THE FRIENDS WHO TOLD HIM
HE WOULDN'T LAST SIX MONTHS
AND HE'D BE BACK AT WORK
AT THE BANK.
Narrator:
JOHN TRUMAN WAS
A STERN TASKMASTER.
"IF A CROOKED ROW
OR A BLANK SPACE SHOWED
IN THE CORNFIELD OR WHEAT,"
HARRY REMEMBERED
"I'D HEAR ABOUT IT FOR A YEAR."
Hamby:
HE'S WORKING FOR HIS FATHER
AND WORKING FOR JOHN TRUMAN
WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN EASY.
BUT HE WAS DETERMINED
TO PROVE HE COULD DO IT.
I THINK HE WAS
STILL DISSATISFIED
WITH HIS RELATIONSHIP
WITH HIS FATHER
AND THOUGHT THAT MAYBE
THIS WAS HIS LAST OPPORTUNITY
TO REPAIR IT.
Narrator:
FOR NEARLY EIGHT YEARS, HARRY
WORKED AT HIS FATHER'S SIDE.
"WE WERE REAL PARTNERS,"
HARRY REMEMBERED.
"HE THOUGHT I WAS ABOUT RIGHT.
I KNEW HE WAS."
"DEAR BESSIE, I'VE BEEN
SOWING OATS ALL WEEK
"AND HAULED ABOU
SIX TONS OF HAY YESTERDAY.
"YOU KNOW, THE WIND BLEW
SOMETHING FIERCE
"LAST TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
"AND THE SUN
ALSO HAD SOME EFFECT.
BETWEEN THEM,
I LOOK LIKE RAW BEEF."
TO ESCAPE THE DRUDGERY
OF HIS DAILY LIFE
HARRY STOLE TIME TO WRITE
A YOUNG WOMAN FROM
HIS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATING CLASS
ELIZABETH WALLACE "BESS."
Woman:
THE STORY HE TELLS
THEY WERE
IN SUNDAY SCHOOL TOGETHER
WHEN THEY WERE SIX YEARS OLD.
THERE WAS A YEAR'S DIFFERENCE
IN THEIR AGE
AND HE, FROM THAT MOMENT ON,
HE THOUGHT OF NO ONE ELSE
BUT THAT BLUE-EYED,
GOLDEN-HAIRED LITTLE GIRL.
Narrator:
IT TOOK FIVE YEARS, HARRY SAID
BEFORE HE COULD SUMMON THE
COURAGE EVEN TO TALK TO HER.
HE WOULD REMAIN IN AWE OF BESS
FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
BESS WAS POPULAR, OUTGOING
AND A GREAT ATHLETE
A SUPERB TENNIS PLAYER,
THE BEST FEMALE FENCER IN TOWN
AND A TERRIFIC THIRD BASEMAN.
Gentry:
SHE BELONGED TO A SPECIAL FAMILY
IN INDEPENDENCE
A FAMILY THAT WAS PROMINEN
AND RECOGNIZED.
AND, OF COURSE, HARRY CAME
WAS FROM A FARM FAMILY.
McCullough:
BESS WALLACE AND
HER FAMILY LIVED
IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST HOUSES
IN INDEPENDENCE.
THEY HAD A SERVAN
TO WAIT ON THE TABLE.
THERE WERE LACE CURTAINS
IN THE WINDOWS
AND BRUSSELS CARPETS
ON THE FLOOR.
AND YOU WALKED UP THOSE STEPS
ONTO THE WALLACE FRONT PORCH
AND YOU RANG THE DOORBELL
AND WHEN YOU CROSSED
THE THRESHOLD INTO THAT HOUSE
IF YOU WERE HARRY TRUMAN
YOU WERE STEPPING
INTO A DIFFERENT WORLD
WHERE PEOPLE DIDN'T WORK
WITH THEIR HANDS;
WHERE, TO ALL
THAT HE KNEW, AT LEAS
THEY HAD NO SUCH THING
AS DEBT OR WORRY
OR CONCERN ABOUT WEATHER
AND INSECTS AND ALL THE
ALL THE BURDENS OF FARM LIFE.
AND HE COURTED HER
WITH A DETERMINATION
THAT IS VERY EXPRESSIVE
OF THE KIND OF MAN HE WAS.
IT WAS HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN,
AND HE DIDN'T GIVE UP.
Narrator:
HE WROTE HER LETTER
AFTER LETTER, DAY AFTER DAY.
"DEAR BESSIE, I DON'T CARE
WHAT KIND OF PAPER YOU WRITE ON.
"I SHOULD BE JUST AS PLEASED
TO GET A LETTER FROM YOU
ON WRAPPING PAPER"
"DEAR BESSIE, YOU CERTAINLY DID
WRITE ME ONE FINE LETTER.
"PUT THE EMPHASIS
ON 'FINE' NOT ON 'ONE'
BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL FINE."
"DEAR BESS, I SHALL SURE BE GLAD
"TO GO TO SALISBURY'S
FOR DINNER SUNDAY
BUT DON'T THINK I'M A TERRIBLE
TIGHTWAD IF WE WALK."
HARRY WAS IN LOVE,
BUT BESS HELD HERSELF ALOOF.
Gentry:
SHE HAD LOTS OF BEAUX
AND HER MOTHER ALWAYS THOUGHT
SO I'M TOLD
THAT BESS COULD DO BETTER
THAN HARRY, A FARM BOY.
I ONCE ASKED MAY WALLACE,
HARRY TRUMAN'S SISTER-IN-LAW
IF IT WAS TRUE
THAT MRS. WALLACE
HER MOTHER-IN-LAW,
MADGE WALLACE
DIDN'T THINK THA
HARRY WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR BESS.
AND SHE SAID,
"OH, YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
"SHE DIDN'T THINK
HARRY WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR BESS.
BUT SHE DIDN'T THINK ANYONE
WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR BESS."
Narrator:
MADGE WALLACE WOULD NEVER THINK
HARRY WAS GOOD ENOUGH.
ONCE A BEAUTIFUL GIRL
FROM A MUCH-ADMIRED FAMILY
SHE HAD BECOME A RECLUSIVE,
TROUBLED WOMAN
GROWN MORE AND MORE DEPENDEN
ON HER ONLY DAUGHTER
EVER SINCE THE TRAGIC DEATH
OF HER HUSBAND.
( distant gunshot)
Hamby:
PRECISELY WHY DAVID WALLACE
GOT UP VERY EARLY ONE MORNING
CLIMBED INTO THE FAMILY BATHTUB
PUT A GUN TO HIS HEAD
AND PULLED THE TRIGGER
WE DON'T REALLY KNOW.
SOME ACCOUNTS HAVE I
HE WAS DEPRESSED
BECAUSE HE WAS HEAVILY IN DEB
BUT WHY WOULD
SUCH A FINE MAN DO THIS?
McCullough:
BESS'S FATHER WAS AN EXTREMELY
POPULAR, CHARMING MAN
WHO OFTEN RODE THE HORSE
AT THE HEAD OF POLITICAL PARADES
BUT HE WAS AN ALCOHOLIC
AND LIKE THE CHARACTER
IN THE POEM, RICHARD COREY
HE WENT HOME ONE NIGHT AND PU
A BULLET THROUGH HIS HEAD.
AND HIS WIFE, BESS'S MOTHER,
CAME APART.
SHE NEVER WAS ABLE
TO COPE AGAIN.
Narrator:
HER HUSBAND'S SUICIDE
SCANDALIZED THE SMALL TOWN.
"MADGE WALLACE BECAME," SOMEONE
SAID, "A PRISONER OF SHAME."
Hamby:
IT CAST A PALL
OVER THE REST OF HER LIFE.
MRS. WALLACE GAVE BESS
THE IMPRESSION
THAT IT WAS BESS'S DUTY
TO TAKE CARE OF HER.
HER MOTHER BECAME
VERY RELIANT ON HER.
Narrator:
BESS WAS JUST 18.
A NEIGHBOR REMEMBERED HOW
IN THE HOURS IMMEDIATELY
FOLLOWING HER FATHER'S SUICIDE
BESS WAS WALKING UP AND DOWN
IN BACK OF THE HOUSE
WITH CLENCHED FISTS.
"DEAR BESSIE,
I CERTAINLY ENJOYED MYSELF
"THE EVENING I WAS THERE
"AND YOU MAY BE ASSURED
THAT I SHALL REPEAT THE OFFENSE
"AS OFTEN AS I CAN,
OR YOU WILL ALLOW ME.
"THE CAKE AND COFFEE
COULDN'T BE BEAT.
THERE'S NOTHING BETTER
THAN CAKE, BUT MORE CAKE."
BESS WAS 25 WHEN HARRY
FIRST BEGAN TO COURT HER.
SHE WAS A YOUNG WOMAN
ON THE VERGE OF SPINSTERHOOD
THE BONDS FORGED
BY MATERNAL NEED AND FILIAL DUTY
DRAWING EVER MORE TIGHTLY
AROUND HER.
BUT HARRY IDOLIZED HER.
ALL THROUGH ELEMENTARY
AND HIGH SCHOOL
HE HAD SHYLY LOVED HER
FROM AFAR.
EVEN AS A YOUNG MAN
IN KANSAS CITY
HE HAD DREAMED
ALWAYS AND ONLY OF BESS.
NOW HE WAS 26 AND HE HAD
NEVER HAD A GIRLFRIEND.
Hamby:
TRUMAN, FROM THE TIME
HE WAS A KID
HAD ALWAYS BEEN SOMEWHAT UNEASY
WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX.
MAYBE BESS'S DISTANCE
AND HIS IDEALIZATION OF HER
PROVIDED AN EXCUSE FOR NO
GETTING INVOLVED WITH WOMEN
FOR FOR A LONG TIME.
HE'S BEEN HOOKED ON THIS WOMAN
EVER SINCE HE MET HER
AT THE AGE OF FIVE.
AND HE HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE
TO GET INTERESTED
IN ANY OTHER WOMEN SINCE.
Narrator:
HARRY SAW BESS WHENEVER
HE COULD, NEARLY EVERY SUNDAY.
THEY ENJOYED CONCERTS, PLAYS AND
CONTINUED TO EXCHANGE LETTERS.
"DEAR BESSIE,
YOU MAY BE VERY, VERY SURE
"THAT YOUR LETTERS
CANNOT POSSIBLY COME
TOO OFTEN
OR TOO REGULAR FOR ME."
"DEAR BESSIE, MY VOICE
IS SOMEWHAT WEARY
"FROM YELLING AT THE HORSES.
"PLEASE WRITE ME
WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIME
AS I ENJOY YOUR LETTERS
VERY MUCH."
FINALLY HARRY DREW UP
HIS COURAGE AND PROPOSED
IN A LETTER.
"DEAR BESSIE,
YOU MAY NOT HAVE GUESSED I
"BUT I'VE BEEN CRAZY ABOUT YOU
"EVER SINCE WE WEN
TO SUNDAY SCHOOL TOGETHER.
"BUT I NEVER HAD THE NERVE
TO THINK YOU'D EVEN LOOK AT ME.
"I DON'T THINK SO NOW
"BUT I CAN'T HELP FROM TELLING
YOU WHAT I THINK OF YOU.
"WERE I AN ITALIAN OR A POE
"I WOULD USE ALL THE LUSCIOUS
LANGUAGE OF TWO CONTINENTS.
"I AM NOT EITHER
"BUT ONLY A KIND OF GOOD-
FOR-NOTHING AMERICAN FARMER.
"IF YOU TURN ME DOWN, I'LL NO
BE THOROUGHLY DISAPPOINTED
"FOR IT'S NO MORE THAN I EXPECT.
"PLEASE WRITE AS SOON
AS YOU FEEL THAT WAY.
"THE SOONER,
THE BETTER PLEASED I AM.
MORE THAN SINCERELY, HARRY."
IT TOOK BESS
THREE WEEKS TO RESPOND.
SHE REFUSED,
AND HARRY WROTE TO THANK HER
FOR NOT RIDICULING HIM.
"YOU KNOW, YOU TURNED
ME DOWN SO EASY
"I AM ALMOST HAPPY ANYWAY.
"I WAS NEVER FOOL ENOUGH
TO THINK THAT A GIRL LIKE YOU
COULD EVER CARE
FOR A FELLOW LIKE ME."
BUT HARRY WOULDN'T GIVE UP.
HE BOUGHT A SECONDHAND
STAFFORD TOURING CAR
TO TAKE BESS COURTING.
WHEN HE LEARNED
THAT SHE LIKE TENNIS
HARRY BUILT HER A GRASS TENNIS
COURT OUT BEHIND THE FARMHOUSE
AND THREW A TENNIS PARTY
IN HER HONOR.
SHE DIDN'T COME.
"I REALLY WORKED ALL SUNDAY
GETTING THAT COUR
READY FOR YOU," HE WROTE HER.
"WE ALSO HAD A SUPPLY
OF WATERMELONS ON HAND.
"BUT YOU CAN MAKE I
SOME SATURDAY
AND MAMA SAYS YOU MUS
COME TO DINNER NEXT TIME."
McCullough:
PERSISTENCE IS A VERY STRONG
THEME IN HARRY TRUMAN.
HE DOESN'T GIVE UP VERY EASILY.
HE REALLY SET HIS MIND
THAT BESS WAS THE ONE
AND SHE ALWAYS WOULD BE
NEVER ANY VARIATION IN THAT.
HE JUST KEPT AT IT.
Narrator:
TWO YEARS
AFTER SHE TURNED HIM DOWN
BESS BEGAN TO CHANGE HER MIND.
SHE TOLD HARRY THAT IF SHE EVER
MARRIED ANYONE, IT WOULD BE HIM.
"DEAR BESS, IT DOESN'T SEEM REAL
THAT YOU SHOULD CARE FOR ME.
"I'VE ALWAYS THOUGH
THAT THE BEST MAN IN THE WORLD
"IS HARDLY GOOD ENOUGH
FOR ANY WOMAN
"BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE BES
GIRL IN ALL THE UNIVERSE
"CARING FOR
AN ORDINARY GINK LIKE ME
"WELL, YOU JUST HAVE
TO LET ME GET USED TO IT.
I'M ALL PUFFED UP
AND HILARIOUS AND HAPPY."
BUT BESS WOULD NEVER
MARRY A FARMER.
THE FARM WAS $12,000 IN DEB
AND HARRY WAS STILL
WORKING FOR HIS FATHER.
THEN IN 1914, JOHN TRUMAN
STRAINING TO REMOVE
A BOULDER FROM A ROAD
SEVERELY INJURED HIMSELF.
X-RAYS REVEALED A TUMOR
BLOCKING HIS INTESTINE.
DOCTORS RECOMMENDED SURGERY
BUT HELD OUT LITTLE HOPE.
THE OPERATION FAILED.
HARRY SAW HIS FATHER
GROW WEAKER AND WEAKER.
NEAR DEATH, THE WIRY,
ONCE-AMBITIOUS MAN
LOOKED BACK ON HIS LIFE.
"I HAVE BEEN," HE TOLD HIS SON,
"A FAILURE."
ON THE EVENING
OF NOVEMBER 2, 1914
HARRY RESTED
AT HIS FATHER'S BEDSIDE.
"I HAD BEEN SITTING WITH HIM,
AND WATCHING A LONG TIME"
TRUMAN SAID LATER.
"WHEN I WOKE UP, HE WAS DEAD."
YEARS LATER,
WHEN A WRITER ASKED TRUMAN
IF HIS FATHER HAD BEEN A FAILURE
HARRY TOLD HIM,
"HOW COULD HE BE A FAILURE
IF HIS SON BECAME
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?"
Hamby:
THE DEATH OF JOHN TRUMAN
WAS A LIBERATION FOR HARRY.
ONCE HE GETS PAS
THE POINT OF GRIEF AND SHOCK
AT HIS FATHER'S DEATH
HE IS FINALLY FREE TO SET OU
IN DIRECTIONS OF HIS OWN.
AND HE DECIDES PRETTY QUICKLY
THAT THOSE DIRECTIONS ARE GOING
TO BE AWAY FROM THE FARM.
Narrator:
AFTER HEARING TALES OF EASY
MONEY TO BE MADE IN OKLAHOMA
HARRY HEADED SOUTH.
McCullough:
HE IS GOING TO DO
AS HIS FATHER HAD DONE
ONLY MAKE WHA
HIS FATHER HAD TRIED WORK.
HIS FATHER GAMBLED.
HIS FATHER GAMBLED AND LOST.
HE WAS GOING TO GAMBLE AND WIN.
Narrator:
HARRY BORROWED SEVERAL THOUSAND
DOLLARS AGAINST HIS LIVESTOCK
AND GAMBLED IT ON A ZINC MINE.
HE DECIDED HE'D GET RICH QUICK
TO CATCH UP WITH BESS
BECAUSE BESS WAS WELL-TO-DO.
Narrator:
"DEAR BESS, OUR FOREMAN SAYS
"WE HAVE A MUCH BETTER MINE
THAN HE EXPECTED.
"WHEN I SEE YOU, I HOPE TO TELL
YOU THAT WE ARE GOING FULL BLAS
AND MAKING ORE SO FAS
IT MAKES OUR HEAD SWIM."
Hamby:
HE SEEMS TO ASSUME THAT THINGS
ARE NOT GOING TO WRONG.
YOU WORK HARD, LADY LUCK WILL BE
ON YOUR SIDE AND YOU'LL MAKE IT.
BUT WHAT HARRY
DOESN'T UNDERSTAND
AND WHAT HE'S NEVER GOOD A
IS THAT YOU BUY LOW
AND YOU SELL HIGH.
"DEAR BESS, THE MINE
HAS GONE BY THE BOARD.
"I HAVE LOST OU
ON IT ENTIRELY.
"THERE WAS NEVER ONE OF OUR NAME
"WHO HAD SENSE ENOUGH
TO MAKE MONEY.
"I AM NO EXCEPTION.
"YOU WOULD DO BETTER, PERHAPS
"IF YOU PITCHED ME
INTO THE ASH HEAP
"AND PICK SOMEONE
WITH MORE SENSE AND ABILITY
AND NOT SUCH A SOFT HEAD."
BUT HE SANK ANOTHER 5,000
IN AN OIL WELL COMPANY
AND CONVINCED BESS
TO RISK SOME MONEY, TOO.
"DEAR BESS, PEOPLE SEEM TO THINK
OUR PROJECT HAS SOME MERIT.
"WE GOT $225 YESTERDAY.
HOPE TO SEE YOU SUNDAY AND BE SO
FULL OF OIL THAT I'LL FLOAT."
Hamby:
HE IS ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC.
HE COMES OUT OF
THIS CULTURE THAT SAYS
PEOPLE CAN GET AHEAD
IF THEY WORK HARD
AND THEN IT ALSO SAYS
IF THEY HAVE A LITTLE LUCK, TOO.
Narrator:
HARRY'S COMPANY RAN OU
OF MONEY AND WENT BUST.
BESS LOST EVERYTHING
SHE HAD INVESTED.
HARRY SOLD HIS STAKE
TO A BETTER-FINANCED OUTFIT.
THE NEW COMPANY KEPT DRILLING
AND STRUCK IT RICH.
IF HARRY HAD HUNG ON,
DRILLED JUST A LITTLE DEEPER
HE WOULD HAVE BEEN
A MILLIONAIRE.
"DEAR BESS, I SEEM TO HAVE
A GRAND AND ADMIRABLE ABILITY
"FOR CALLING TAILS
WHEN HEADS COME UP.
"MY LUCK SHOULD SURELY CHANGE.
"SOMETIME I SHOULD WIN.
"I HAVE TRIED TO STICK.
"WORKED, REALLY DID,
LIKE THUNDER FOR TEN YEARS
"TO GET THAT OLD FARM IN LINE
"AND I HAVE HAD
A CROP FAILURE EVERY YEAR.
THOUGHT I'D CHANGE MY LUCK
AND SEE WHERE IT'S GOTTEN ME."
HARRY TRUMAN WAS 33 YEARS OLD
AND HAD FAILED AT EVERYTHING
HE HAD TRIED.
BUT HARRY DIDN'T FEEL
SORRY FOR HIMSELF FOR LONG.
HE CLOSED HIS LETTER
BY ASKING BESS:
"CAN I COME OVER TUESDAY NIGHT?
"JUST REMEMBER
HOW CRAZY I AM ABOUT YOU
AND FORGET ALL THE REST."
WHEN AMERICA WENT TO WAR IN 1917
YOUNG MEN FROM SMALL TOWNS
ALL ACROSS THE NATION
RESPONDED WITH PATRIOTIC FERVOR.
HARRY TRUMAN WAS ONE OF THEM.
THAT SPRING
HARRY LEFT THE FARM IN THE HANDS
OF HIS MOTHER AND SISTER
AND JOINED THE ARMY.
AND AT LONG LAST,
BESS AGREED TO MARRY HIM
BUT NOW, HARRY REFUSED.
"I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE
RIGHT FOR ME," HE TOLD HER
"TO ASK YOU TO TIE YOURSELF
TO A PROSPECTIVE CRIPPLE."
THE GREAT WAR HAD ALREADY
TAKEN THE LIVES
OF AN ENTIRE GENERATION
OF EUROPE'S YOUNG MEN.
ONE MILLION MEN DIED
AT THE SOMME
NEARLY ANOTHER MILLION MORE
AT VERDUN.
BUT FOR HARRY,
LIKE OTHER RAW RECRUITS
WAR STILL SHIMMERED
WITH ROMANCE.
HE LATER SAID THA
HE WAS STIRRED BY THE FLAME.
"I FELT THAT I WAS GALAHAD
AFTER THE GRAIL."
McCullough:
THERE WAS NO NEED FOR TRUMAN
TO HAVE EVER GONE TO WAR.
HE WAS TECHNICALLY BLIND
IN ONE EYE.
HIS EYESIGHT WAS SO BAD
THAT HE COULD NEVER
HAVE GOTTEN IN AT ALL
BUT FOR THE FACT THA
HE MEMORIZED THE EYE CHAR
IN ADVANCE OF THE EXAMINATION.
BUT HE WANTED TO GO.
HE WAS DETERMINED TO GO.
Narrator:
HARRY HAD NEVER BEEN TO COLLEGE
NEVER BEEN IN A FIGH
IN HIS LIFE
BUT HE EARNED THE RANK
OF CAPTAIN, WAS SENT TO FRANCE
AND GIVEN COMMAND
OF FOUR RAPID-FIRE GUNS
AND 194 MEN.
ON THE MORNING OF JULY 11, 1918
CAPTAIN HARRY TRUMAN
INTRODUCED HIMSELF
TO THE NOTORIOUS BATTERY "D"
A ROWDY BUNCH, MOSTLY IRISH
FROM KANSAS CITY
SOME OF THE MOS
INSUBORDINATE SOLDIERS
IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY.
"NEVER," HARRY SAID LATER,
"HAVE I FELT SO NERVOUS."
Man:
WE'D BEEN A PRETTY TOUGH BUNCH.
WE'D GOTTEN RID
OF THREE CAPTAINS.
BUT THE FIRST NIGHT,
HE ADDRESSED THE BATTERY.
HE SAYS, "I DIDN'
COME OVER HERE
"TO GET ALONG WITH YOU FELLOWS.
YOU'RE GOING TO GET ALONG
WITH ME."
I SAID TO AN IRISHMAN, "WHAT DO
YOU THINK OF THE NEW CAPTAIN?"
HE SAYS, "90 DAYS, 90 DAYS."
Narrator:
"YOU COULD SEE,"
ONE OF THE MEN REMEMBERED
"THAT HE WAS SCARED TO DEATH."
McCullough:
WORLD WAR I WAS THE CRUCIBLE
FOR TRUMAN.
IT WAS THE FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE
OF HIS LIFE.
IT CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR HIM:
CHANGED HIM, CHANGED HIS
UNDERSTANDING OF HIMSELF.
Narrator:
AT THE END OF AUGUST, CAPTAIN
TRUMAN LED HIS MEN INTO BATTLE
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
BATTERY "D" OPENED FIRE
ON A COMPANY OF GERMAN SOLDIERS
ENCAMPED FOUR MILES AWAY.
BEFORE THE GERMANS
COULD RETURN THE FIRE
TRUMAN ORDERED HIS MEN
TO TAKE A NEW POSITION.
BUT THEY COULDN'T MOVE WITHOU
THE HORSES TO PULL THE CANNONS.
Wooden:
HARRY HAD GIVEN
THE FIRST SERGEANT ORDERS
TO HAVE THE HORSES UP
AT A CERTAIN HOUR
BUT THE FIRST SERGEANT WAS 30
MINUTES LATE GETTING UP THERE.
WE'D HAVE BEEN GONE
IF HE HAD HAVE.
THAT'S WHERE
THE TROUBLE STARTED.
Narrator:
IT WAS DARK AND RAINING
WHEN THE GERMANS OPENED FIRE.
BATTERY "D" WAS TRAPPED,
ITS BIG GUNS MIRED IN THE MUD.
THE MEN PANICKED.
MANY RAN.
McCullough:
AND TRUMAN IS CAUGH
IN THE MIDDLE
AND HE SEES EVERYBODY TAKING OFF
AND HE STANDS THERE AND HE CALLS
THEM EVERY NAME HE CAN THINK OF
AND HE KNEW A LOT OF NAMES.
Narrator:
"YOU NO-GOOD IRISH
SONS OF BITCHES," HE HOLLERED
AND ORDERED HIS SOLDIERS
TO REGROUP.
THE MEN, STUNNED BY HIS RAGE,
INSPIRED BY HIS COURAGE
DID AS THEY WERE TOLD.
THROUGH THE DARK AND RAIN
TRUMAN MARCHED THEM
OUT OF DANGER.
"DEAR BESS, THE MEN THINK
I AM NOT MUCH AFRAID OF SHELLS
BUT THEY DON'T KNOW
I WAS TOO SCARED TO RUN."
BATTERY "D" HAD ESCAPED
WITHOUT A SINGLE CASUALTY.
McCullough:
AND THEY THEREAFTER
SAW HIM DIFFERENTLY
BECAUSE HE HAD STOOD HIS GROUND
AND AFTER A WHILE,
THEY BEGAN TO REALIZE
THAT THIS FELLOW
WITH THE EYEGLASSES
AND THE BANK-CLERK LOOK
ABOUT HIM
WAS IN FACT A MAN
OF REAL DETERMINATION.
Narrator:
CAPTAIN HARRY, THE MEN DECIDED,
WAS GOOD LUCK.
"WE HAVE A CAPTAIN,"
ONE SOLDIER WROTE HIS FATHER
"WHO CANNOT BE BEAT."
McCullough:
HE WAS ABOUT AS UNHEROIC IN
HIS EYEGLASSES AS ONE COULD BE.
BUT THERE IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM
THAT IS ON HIS I.D. CARD
AND HE HAS HIS GLASSES OFF
AND YOU LOOK AT THAT PHOTOGRAPH
AND YOU SEE THE STRENGTH
YOU SEE WHA
A RUGGED CHARACTER HE IS.
HARRY VAUGHAN ONCE SAID
THAT IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND
HARRY TRUMAN
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
THAT HE'S ONE TOUGH
SON OF A BITCH OF A MAN
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THAT PICTURE,
YOU CAN SEE THE IRON.
YOU CAN SEE WHAT HIS MEN MUS
HAVE RECOGNIZED AND UNDERSTOOD.
Narrator:
AT NIGHT, HARRY WOULD SI
AND STARE AT A PHOTOGRAPH
HE'D BROUGHT WITH HIM TO EUROPE.
"DEAR BESS, I HAVE TWO
BREAST POCKETS IN MY BLOUSE.
"NATURALLY YOU CAN GUESS
"WHOSE PICTURE STAYS
IN THE LEFT-HAND ONE.
"IT HAS NEVER LEFT ME,
NOR WILL IT EVER.
"I HAVE LOOKED AT I
MANY, MANY TIMES
"AND IMAGINED THAT YOU WERE
THERE IN SPIRI
"AS I KNEW YOU WERE,
AND IT HELPED A LOT.
"I HOPE YOU HAVE
A MOST HAPPY BIRTHDAY
"AND THAT YOU WILL NEVER SEE
ANOTHER ONE WITHOUT ME
"TO HELP CELEBRATE
AND THEN, MAY THEY GO ON
WITHOUT END."
BY NOVEMBER, THE WAR
TO END ALL WARS WAS OVER.
CAPTAIN TRUMAN AND THE BOYS
FROM BATTERY "D"
HAD SEEN SOME OF THE BLOODIES
FIGHTING IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
"DEAR BESS, YOU KNOW
I HAVE SUCCEEDED IN DOING
"WHAT WAS MY GREATES
AMBITION TO DO
"AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR
"THAT IS TO TAKE A BATTERY
THROUGH AND NOT LOSE A MAN.
"WE FIRED SOME 10,000 ROUNDS
AT HEINIE
"AND WERE SHELLED OURSELVES
TIME AND AGAIN
BUT NEVER DID THE HUNS
SCORE A HIT ON ME."
Hamby:
TRUMAN'S WARTIME SERVICE
WAS AWFULLY IMPORTANT TO HIM
BECAUSE IT WAS THE GREATES
SUCCESS HE HAD HAD IN HIS LIFE
UP TILL THAT POINT.
HE COMES OUT OF IT HAVING
ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS A LEADER
SOMETHING HE NEVER COULD HAVE
SAID ABOUT HIMSELF
AT ANY POINT EARLIER
IN HIS LIFE.
Narrator:
IN JANUARY 1919, HARRY WATCHED
AS PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON
ARRIVED IN PARIS
TO A TUMULTUOUS RECEPTION.
WORLD LEADERS WERE GATHERING
TO ENSURE A LASTING PEACE.
EMPIRES HAD FALLEN.
THE MAP OF EUROPE WAS
ABOUT TO BE REDRAWN
BUT HARRY TRUMAN SIMPLY WANTED
TO GO BACK TO MISSOURI.
"FOR MY PART," HE WROTE
"I DON'T GIVE A WHOOP WHETHER
THERE'S A LEAGUE OF NATIONS
"OR WHETHER RUSSIA HAS A RED
GOVERNMENT OR A PURPLE ONE
"AND IF THE PRESIDEN
OF THE CZECHOSLOVAKS
"WANTS TO PRY THE THRONE
FROM UNDER THE KING OF BOHEMIA
LET HIM PRY, BUT SEND US HOME."
BUT IT WOULD BE MONTHS
BEFORE THE ARMY WOULD LET HARRY
GO BACK TO MISSOURI.
HE TOURED FRANCE,
SAW THE RIVIERA AND PARIS
THE EIFFEL TOWER, NOTRE DAME
THE FOLIES-BERGERE.
40 YEARS LATER, HARRY WOULD
REMEMBER IT AS "DISGUSTING."
AT THE TIME, HE WROTE
THAT IT WAS WHAT YOU'D EXPEC
TO SEE IN KANSAS CITY
ONLY MORE SO.
SEVEN WEEKS AFTER RETURNING
HOME, ON JUNE 28, 1919
A DAY SO HOT THE FLOWERS
IN THE CHAPEL WILTED
HARRY TRUMAN MARRIED
BESS WALLACE
AT TINY TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
IN INDEPENDENCE.
HARRY WAS 35.
29 YEARS HAD PASSED SINCE HE HAD
FIRST SEEN BESS IN SUNDAY SCHOOL
EIGHT YEARS
SINCE HE FIRST PROPOSED.
HE HAD NEVER DATED
ANOTHER WOMAN.
ONE OF TRUMAN'S MEN
FROM BATTERY "D" WROTE HIM
"I HOPE YOU HAVE THE SAME
SUCCESS IN THIS NEW WAR
AS YOU HAD IN THE OLD."
AFTER A HONEYMOON
ON THE GREAT LAKES
HARRY MOVED ALL HIS BELONGINGS
INTO HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW'S HOUSE.
Hamby:
I THINK IT WAS
VERY IMPORTANT TO BESS
THAT HE WAS WILLING TO LIVE WITH
HER OBLIGATIONS TO MRS. WALLACE
AND, ABSOLUTELY, LIVE
WITH MRS. WALLACE
WHO WAS AN AWFULLY HARD PERSON
TO LIVE WITH.
HARRY SPENT MUCH
OF HIS ADULT LIFE
ALMOST BEING
A PUNCHING BAG FOR HER.
HE NEVER TALKED BACK TO HER.
HE FORCED HIMSELF TO THINK ONLY
THE NICEST THOUGHTS ABOUT HER
AT LEAST AS FAR AS ANYTHING
THAT'S EVER BEEN RECORDED.
Narrator:
ALTHOUGH HIS NEW BRIDE ASSURED
HIM THE SITUATION WAS TEMPORARY
HARRY WOULD LIVE WITH BESS'S
FAMILY FOR THE NEXT 15 YEARS.
IN 1919, AS AMERICA CELEBRATED
THE END OF WORLD WAR I
HARRY TRUMAN WAS JUST ANOTHER
SOLDIER IN SEARCH OF A JOB.
EDDIE JACOBSON,
HARRY'S OLD ARMY BUDDY
WAS OUT OF WORK, TOO.
EDDIE SUGGESTED THEY GO
INTO BUSINESS TOGETHER
IN DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY.
JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS
THEY OPENED UP A LITTLE
HABERDASHERY ON 12th STREE
SELLING GENTS' FURNISHINGS.
KANSAS CITY HAD GROWN FAMOUS
FOR ITS SOUL-STIRRING JAZZ.
HARRY DIDN'T TAKE MUCH
TO THE MUSIC
NEVER EVEN LEARNED TO DANCE
BUT JAZZ MADE
THE DOWNTOWN SWING
AND THAT WAS GOOD FOR BUSINESS.
EVERYBODY SEEMED TO
HAVE MONEY TO SPEND.
"WE SOLD SHIRTS AT $16,"
EDDIE REMEMBERED.
Woman:
HARRY WAS THE SALESMAN
AND EDDIE WAS THE BUYER.
THEY REALLY UNDERSTOOD
EACH OTHER IN THE BUSINESS.
THERE WERE NO CONFLICTS.
AND THEY WERE GOOD BUDDIES.
THEY PLAYED POKER
EVERY SATURDAY NIGH
TRUMAN CALLED EDDIE
"YOU BALDHEADED S.O.B."
THEY WERE CU
FROM THE SAME MIDWESTERN CLOTH
EXCEPT THAT THE RELIGIOUS
BACKGROUND WAS NOT THE SAME.
Narrator:
EDDIE JACOBSON WAS JEWISH
BORN ON NEW YORK CITY'S
LOWER EAST SIDE.
ALTHOUGH HARRY AND EDDIE
WERE FRIENDS
HARRY COULDN'T BRING EDDIE HOME
FOR DINNER.
BESS'S MOTHER OBJECTED.
HARRY AND EDDIE
MADE A GOOD TEAM.
THEY WORKED HARD, FROM 8:00 IN
THE MORNING TO 9:00 AT NIGHT.
BUT THE LITTLE HABERDASHERY
STRUGGLED
AND IN 1922,
AFTER JUST TWO YEARS
CAUGHT IN A POSTWAR RECESSION,
IT WENT UNDER.
HARRY WAS 38 AND DEEP IN DEBT.
"WENT INTO BUSINESS ALL
ENTHUSIASTIC," HE WROTE.
"LOST ALL I HAD
AND ALL I COULD BORROW.
FEELING FAIRLY BLUE."
HARRY WAS FACING FAILURE
ONCE AGAIN
BUT HIS LUCK WAS FINALLY
ABOUT TO CHANGE.
OLD ARMY PAL JIM PENDERGAS
THOUGHT TRUMAN'S WAR RECORD
WOULD MAKE HIM A GOOD CANDIDATE
FOR POLITICAL OFFICE
AND PUT IN A CALL
TO HIS UNCLE TOM.
TOM PENDERGAST WAS A RAWBONED
THICK-NECKED,
SPAT-WEARING IRISHMAN.
CRASS AND COLORFUL,
PENDERGAST WAS A HARD DRINKER
AND A RECKLESS GAMBLER.
IN TIME HE WOULD LOSE, SOME
SAID, $6 MILLION ON THE PONIES.
BUT HE KNEW HOW TO WIN
AT POLITICS.
A TOUGH BACKSTAGE OPERATOR
HE WOULD BUILD A POLITICAL
MACHINE SO STRONG
AND CONTROL I
WITH SUCH AN IRON GRIP
THAT ONE DAY PUNDITS WOULD CALL
KANSAS CITY "TOM'S TOWN."
PENDERGAST MADE MONEY
SELLING THE COUNTY CONCRETE
AND REAL ESTATE
MONOPOLIZING THE MARKE
AND LINING HIS POCKETS
WITH LUCRATIVE KICKBACKS.
BUT IN KANSAS CITY IN THE '20s
THERE ARE MANY WAYS
TO GET RICH.
GAMBLING, BOOTLEG LIQUOR,
PROSTITUTION, NARCOTICS
PENDERGAST WAS INTO ALL OF IT.
HE WAS DEEPLY INVOLVED
IN THE KANSAS CITY RACKETS
AND MANIPULATED
JACKSON COUNTY POLITICS.
IN 1922,
WHEN PENDERGAST NEEDED SOMEONE
TO STAND FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
OR "JUDGE,"
AS THE POSITION WAS CALLED
PENDERGAST CHOSE
WAR HERO HARRY TRUMAN.
HARRY SAW HIS CHANCE AND,
WITHOUT HESITATION, GRABBED IT.
Man:
PENDERGAST TURNED TO TRUMAN
TO SORT OF PERFUME
THE PENDERGAST MACHINE
BY GETTING A PERSON
WHO HAD INTEGRITY
WHO ALSO HAD STRONG SUPPOR
AMONG VETERANS OF WORLD WAR I.
Narrator:
BUT PENDERGAST DID NOT YE
CONTROL ALL OF JACKSON COUNTY.
HARRY WOULD HAVE TO CAMPAIGN
HARD, AND HE WAS GREEN.
HE COUNTED ON PENDERGAST,
HIS WAR RECORD
AND THE BOYS FROM BATTERY "D."
McCullough:
HE WAS PATHETIC AS A SPEAKER.
HE COULD HARDLY EXPRESS
HIMSELF AT ALL
AND HIS PALS FROM THE ARMY
ALL WENT OU
AND CAMPAIGNED HARD FOR HIM AND
THEY WOULD CHEER AT EVERY RALLY
AND THEY WOULD TRY
AND WHIP UP EXCITEMEN
FOR THEIR BELOVED CAPTAIN HARRY.
AND AT ONE POINT, THEY DECIDED
IT WOULD BE DRAMATIC
IF TRUMAN ARRIVED BY PLANE, SO
THEY GOT A WORLD WAR I BIPLANE
AND ONE OF THE ARMY PALS
FLEW THE PLANE.
TRUMAN CAME SAILING
THROUGH THE AIR
LANDED, CLIMBED OUT OF THE PLANE
STAGGERED ACROSS THE FIELD,
VIOLENTLY ILL, TO A FENCE
WHERE HE THREW UP
IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY.
AND THAT WAS SORT OF HIS FIRS
GREAT ENTRANCE AS A POLITICIAN.
Narrator:
HIS SPEECHES WERE BLUN
HIS VOICE FLAT, HIS STYLE
COARSE, EVEN CRUDE.
BUT HE LIKED POLITICKING WITH
THE PEOPLE OF JACKSON COUNTY
THE TALK, THE JOKES,
THE CAMARADERIE.
HE WAS TIRELESS AND ENERGETIC
AND HE WON
BY JUST 279 VOTES.
HE WOULD BE ELECTED TWO MORE
TIMES IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.
AFTER YEARS OF DRIFT AND FAILURE
HARRY TRUMAN HAD FINALLY
SETTLED INTO A CAREER.
COUNTY COMMISSIONER
WAS A BIG JOB.
HARRY WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 700
EMPLOYEES AND $7 MILLION A YEAR.
Man:
HE WAS FAMOUS AT THAT TIME
FOR BEING A BUILDER
AND HE BUILT SOME GREAT HIGHWAYS
IN JACKSON COUNTY.
THAT WAS AT A TIME
WHEN THEY USED TO SAY
"MISSOURI?! STAY OUT OF MISSOURI
AND STAY OUT OF THE MUD."
Narrator:
TRUMAN LOVED THE JOB:
THE POWER
THE PRESTIGE
THE CHANCE TO DO GOOD THINGS.
HE WORKED WITH IRISH
AND ITALIAN CATHOLICS
AND BLACK COMMUNITY LEADERS
SLOWLY MOVING AWAY
FROM SMALL-TOWN PREJUDICES.
HE EARNED A REPUTATION
FOR EFFICIENCY, HONESTY
WON THE RESPEC
OF THE NEWSPAPERS
BUT HE COULD NOT WIN
THE PRAISE OF BESS'S MOTHER
WHO DISAPPROVED OF POLITICS.
BUT HARRY NEVER COMPLAINED.
HIS LIFE HAD AT LAS
FOUND DIRECTION.
IN 1924, MARGARET, HIS FIRS
AND ONLY CHILD, WAS BORN.
HARRY WAS NEARLY 40
WITH A DAUGHTER HE ADORED,
A WIFE HE DEARLY LOVED
AND DOZENS OF FRIENDS.
HE JOINED THE ELKS, THE MASONS,
THE AMERICAN LEGION
THE AMERICAN VETERANS
OF FOREIGN WARS
THE INTERNATIONAL
ACQUAINTANCE LEAGUE
AND SPENT EVERY MONDAY NIGH
IN A BACK ROOM OVER A BANK
PLAYING POKER.
BUT HE WAS TROUBLED.
BROUGHT UP TO HONOR
THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG
HARRY FOUND IT MORE
AND MORE DIFFICUL
TO DEAL WITH THE MAN
TO WHOM HE OWED HIS JOB.
BY 1930, TOM PENDERGAS
DOMINATED KANSAS CITY POLITICS
WHILE HIS INVOLVEMENT IN KANSAS
CITY RACKETEERING HAD BECOME
EVEN MORE UNSAVORY.
THE RUTHLESS GANGSTER
JOHNNY LAZIA WAS HIS LIEUTENANT.
KANSAS CITY BECAME NOTORIOUS FOR
SHOOT-OUTS, ARSON, KIDNAPPINGS.
HARRY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH
MOBSTERS, BUT HE TURNED HIS BACK
WHILE PENDERGAST SKIMMED
MILLIONS IN PUBLIC MONEY.
TORN BETWEEN LOYALTY
TO PENDERGAS
AND HIS OWN SELF-RESPEC
HE BEGAN SUFFERING FROM ACUTE
HEADACHES, DIZZINESS, INSOMNIA.
PENDERGAST DEMANDED
THAT HARRY RIG COUNTY CONTRACTS.
HARRY INSISTED ON FAIR BIDDING.
HIS HONOR, HE SAID,
WAS AT STAKE.
PENDERGAST TOLD HARRY HIS HONOR
WASN'T WORTH A PINCH OF SNUFF.
HARRY'S ANXIETY GREW SO GREA
THAT HE QUIETLY TOOK A ROOM A
A HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY
AND POURED OUT HIS TROUBLES
ON PAGES HE KEP
BUT WOULD NEVER SHOW ANYONE.
"AM I JUST A CROOK," HE WROTE
"TO COMPROMISE IN ORDER
TO GET THE JOB DONE?
"I WONDER IF I DID RIGHT.
"I SAVED $3,500,000
"BUT I HAD TO PUT A LO
OF NO-GOOD SONS OF BITCHES
"ON THE PAYROLL,
AND PAY OTHER SONS OF BITCHES
"MORE MONEY FOR SUPPLIES
THAN THEY WERE WORTH
"IN ORDER TO SATISFY
THE POLITICAL POWERS.
I BELIEVE I DID DO RIGHT."
HARRY REFUSED TO CONDEMN
PENDERGAST HIMSELF.
"HE OWNED A BAWDY HOUSE,
A SALOON
AND GAMBLING ESTABLISHMENT,"
HARRY WROTE
BUT HE'S ALL MAN."
HARRY DID AGREE TO GIVE COUNTY
JOBS TO MACHINE LOYALISTS
RELATIVES AND FRIENDS.
BUT HE RESOLVED NEVER TO TAKE
A BRIBE OR KICKBACK HIMSELF.
McCullough:
TRUMAN ACCEPTED HIS ASSOCIATION
WITH THE PENDERGASTS
AS THE PRICE HE HAD TO PAY
TO BE IN POLITICS
NOT UNLIKE, ONE MIGHT SAY
ACCEPTING LIVING
WITH MADGE WALLACE
AND IN HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW'S HOUSE
AS THE PRICE HE HAD TO PAY
TO MARRY BESS.
Narrator:
IN 1932, WHEN HARRY WEN
WITH PENDERGAS
TO THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
IN CHICAGO
HE SAW FRANKLIN ROOSEVEL
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Franklin Roosevelt:
GIVE ME YOUR HELP
IN THIS CRUSADE TO RESTORE
AMERICA TO ITS OWN PEOPLE.
Narrator:
IN ACCEPTING
HIS PARTY'S NOMINATION
THE 51-YEAR-OLD ROOSEVEL
ACHIEVED A LIFELONG AMBITION.
HARRY S. TRUMAN WAS 48,
UNKNOWN OUTSIDE OF MISSOURI.
NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME
HE BEGAN TO REVEAL
HIS OWN AMBITIONS.
HE LET IT BE KNOWN
THAT HE WANTED TO RUN
FOR GOVERNOR OR CONGRESS
BUT PENDERGAST HAD
OTHER CANDIDATES IN MIND.
THEN IN 1934, WHEN PENDERGAS
WAS LOOKING FOR A NEW SENATOR
SOME OF THE BOSS'S AIDES
RECOMMENDED HARRY.
"DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME,"
PENDERGAST BELLOWED
"YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE
THAT HARRY TRUMAN CAN BE ELECTED
TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE?!"
AFTER THREE OTHER MEN
TURNED HIM DOWN
PENDERGAST SETTLED
FOR HARRY TRUMAN
AND BACKED HIM
IN THE MISSOURI PRIMARY.
TRUMAN'S OPPONENTS CALLED
HIM "PENDERGAST'S BELLHOP."
THE ELECTION TURNED
ON KANSAS CITY
WHERE PENDERGAST MADE CERTAIN
THAT TRUMAN GOT ALL BUT 11,000
OF ITS 148,000 VOTES.
PENDERGAST ACTUALLY STUFFED THE
BALLOT BOXES WITH ILLEGAL VOTES
AND PEOPLE
THAT WEREN'T REGISTERED.
Narrator:
THE NEW UNITED STATES SENATOR
FROM MISSOURI WAS 50 YEARS OLD
AND HAD NEVER BEEN TO WASHINGTON
FOR MORE THAN A FEW DAYS.
McCullough:
SO OFF HE GOES TO WASHINGTON AND
TOM PENDERGAST'S PARTING WORDS
TO THE NEW SENATOR
FROM MISSOURI ARE
"KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHU
AND ANSWER YOUR MAIL."
AND HE ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON
WITH A SHADOW OVER HIM
A CLOUD OVER HIM
AS THE "SENATOR FROM PENDERGAST"
AND THERE ARE CERTAIN SENATORS
WHO WON'T EVEN SPEAK TO HIM
BECAUSE HE HAS SUCH A STIGMA
ATTACHED TO HIM.
Narrator:
HARRY, BESS AND MARGARET SETTLED
INTO THE NATION'S CAPITAL
MOVING INTO AN INEXPENSIVE
FOUR-ROOM APARTMENT.
BUT BESS WASN'T HAPPY THERE.
SHE LASTED JUST FIVE MONTHS
BEFORE SHE RETURNED
TO INDEPENDENCE.
HER MOTHER WANTED HER HOME.
SHE AND MARGARET SHUTTLED
BACK AND FORTH TO WASHINGTON
WHERE THE TRUMANS RENTED ONE
SMALL APARTMENT AFTER ANOTHER.
THROUGHOUT HARRY'S YEARS
IN THE SENATE
BESS SPENT MUCH OF HER TIME
IN INDEPENDENCE
LEAVING SENATOR TRUMAN
HEARTSICK AND LONELY.
"DEAR BESS,
I'VE BEEN WANDERING AROUND
"LIKE A LOST SOUL THIS MORNING.
"IT'S A WRENCH
TO BE WITHOUT YOU.
I NEVER MISSED YOU SO MUCH."
"DEAR BESS, YOUR CARD WAS
A LIFESAVER THIS MORNING.
I NEVER IN MY LIFE SPEN
SUCH A LONESOME NIGHT."
"DEAR BESS, YOUR LETTER CAME
ON THE SECOND MAIL
SO EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT."
"DEAR BESS, YOUR LETTER
WAS IN THE FIRST MAIL."
"DEAR BESS, I DO WISH
YOU'D LET ME HEAR"
"DEAR BESS, DREAMED
ABOUT YOU LAST NIGHT.
"THOUGHT WE WERE GOING
THROUGH A FLOOD TOGETHER.
WE GOT THROUGH
WITHOUT DISASTER."
"DEAR BESS, IT WAS GOOD TO HEAR
YOUR VOICE LAST NIGHT"
"DEAR BESS,
I WAS SO LONESOME LAST NIGHT.
EVEN IF MY COMBINATION OF WORDS
MAKES YOU SICK SOMETIMES"
"DEAR BESS, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
"IF YOUR DRESS DOESN'T FIT YOU
SEND IT BACK
AND WE'LL GET A LARGER ONE."
"DEAR BESS, YOU DON'T KNOW
HOW MUCH I APPRECIATED
"THE LETTER THAT CAME
IN THE MORNING'S MAIL.
"I WAS SO DEVILISHLY HOMESICK.
"I COULD SEE YOU STANDING
OUT THERE IN THE YARD
"WATCHING ME DRIVE AWAY
AND I DON'T THINK
YOU KISSED ME GOOD-BYE."
Narrator:
IT WOULD BE YEARS BEFORE SENATOR
TRUMAN GAINED ENOUGH CONFIDENCE
TO WORK HIMSELF OUT FROM UNDER
PENDERGAST'S SHADOW.
HE CE IN, A FRIEND REMEMBERED,
WITH A REAL INFERIORITY COMPLEX.
"I WAS AS TIMID,"
TRUMAN LATER WROTE
"AS A COUNTRY BOY ARRIVING
ON THE CAMPUS
OF A GREAT UNIVERSITY."
WITH AMERICA CAUGHT IN THE GRIPS
OF THE DEPRESSION
TRUMAN FELL IN LINE
WITH FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT'S
NEW DEAL PROGRAMS.
HE CALLED ROOSEVEL
"THE GREATEST OF THE GREATS."
BUT ROOSEVELT HIMSELF HAD NO USE
FOR THE JUNIOR SENATOR
FROM MISSOURI.
IT TOOK FIVE MONTHS BEFORE
THE WHITE HOUSE SUMMONED TRUMAN
FOR A 15-MINUTE MEETING.
AFTER JUST SEVEN MINUTES,
TRUMAN WAS SHOWN THE DOOR.
McCullough:
ROOSEVELT WOULD HAVE NOTHING
TO DO WITH HIM.
ROOSEVELT REALLY GAVE HIM
THE BACK OF HIS HAND.
PEOPLE ON THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF
GAVE HIM THE BACK
OF THEIR HANDS.
HE COULDN'T GET APPOINTMENTS.
HE WASN'T SOMEBODY
THAT THEY TOOK VERY SERIOUSLY.
Narrator:
TRUMAN SAT FOR MONTHS
IN THE SENATE CHAMBER
WITHOUT MAKING A SINGLE SPEECH.
HE WAS KNOWN
AS "GO ALONG, GET ALONG HARRY."
McCullough:
HE HAS TO PROVE
TO THE PEOPLE IN THE SENATE
THAT HE'S SOMEBODY
TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY
THAT HE'S A HARD WORKER
AND THAT HE'S HONES
AND THAT HE'S GOING
TO DO THE JOB.
AND HE GAVE I
EVERYTHING HE HAD.
HE WOULD WORK LONGER DAYS,
HARDER DAYS THAN ANYBODY.
HE WAS IN THERE
BEFORE ANYBODY SHOWED UP.
HE WAS ASSIGNED TO COMMITTEES
AND HE WOULD SHOW UP
WHEN NOBODY ELSE WOULD SHOW UP
FOR DREARY COMMITTEE SESSIONS
AND DREARY COMMITTEE HEARINGS
VERY OFTEN THE ONLY ONE THERE
LISTENING TO HOURS AND HOURS
OF DEADLY TESTIMONY
ABOUT DEADLY SUBJECTS
BUT HE WAS GOING TO DO THE JOB.
HE WAS GOING TO LEARN
THE BUSINESS.
AND, AS TIME WENT BY
IN A MATTER
OF ABOUT THREE OR FOUR YEARS
THEY BEGAN TO REALIZE
WHAT KIND OF A FELLOW
THEY HAD ON THEIR HANDS.
Narrator:
SLOWLY, TRUMAN BEGAN
TO PROVE HIMSELF.
BUT EVEN AS HE BECAME
MORE AND MORE INDEPENDEN
HE REMAINED LOYAL
TO TOM PENDERGAST.
HE KEPT A FRAMED PORTRAIT OF
THE MISSOURI BOSS IN HIS OFFICE
EVEN THOUGH
PENDERGAST WAS IN TROUBLE.
PENDERGAST WAS SERIOUSLY ILL
HIS GAMBLING OUT OF CONTROL,
HIS DEBTS IN THE MILLIONS.
IN 1939, A GRAND JURY
INDICTED HIM FOR TAX EVASION.
CONVICTED, HE WAS SENTENCED
TO PSON FOR 15 MONTHS
AND BANNED FROM POLITICS
FOR FIVE YEARS.
THE SCANDAL TAINTED TRUMAN
AND IT COULDN'T HAVE COME
AT A WORSE TIME;
IN 1940,
HE WAS UP FOR REELECTION.
HIS OPPONENTS DERIDED HIM
AS A FRAUDULENT SENATOR
ELECTED BY GHOST VOTES
A PENDERGAST LACKEY.
TRUMAN TRIED TO CONVINCE VOTERS
THAT PRESIDENT ROOSEVEL
SUPPORTED HIM
BUT ROOSEVELT NEVER DID.
McCullough:
ROOSEVELT WANTED TO DISTANCE
HIMSELF FROM HARRY TRUMAN.
ROOSEVELT CONSIDERED TRUMAN
AN EMBARRASSMEN
TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Narrator:
WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF
THE PRESIDENT, OR PENDERGAS
TRUMAN HAD TO GO IT ALONE.
MOST OBSERVERS DIDN'
GIVE HIM A CHANCE.
BUT HE NEVER GAVE UP
AND EKED OUT A NARROW VICTORY.
HE WON BY JUST 8,000 VOTES.
TRUMAN RETURNED
TO THE SENATE HIS OWN MAN
BUT HE WOULD REMAIN
A BACKBENCHER
UNTIL ONCE AGAIN, A WAR WOULD
REVEAL HIS STRENGTH AS A LEADER
AND CATAPULT HIM
INTO THE LIMELIGHT.
( explosion)
Narrator:
1940 NAZI ARMIES
SWEPT ACROSS EUROPE.
GREAT BRITAIN WAS UNDER ATTACK.
THE UNITED STATES WASN'
IN IT YET
BUT AMERICA WAS GETTING READY
BUILDING PLANES
MUNITIONS
TANKS
ARMY CAMPS.
BACK IN WASHINGTON,
TRUMAN WAS RECEIVING COMPLAINTS
ABOUT WASTE, MISMANAGEMENT,
AND EVEN FRAUD
AND ALL BY HIMSELF,
HE DECIDED TO LOOK INTO IT.
Man:
WITHOUT LETTING ANYBODY IN HIS
PARTY KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING
HE DECIDED
TO GO SEE FOR HIMSELF.
AND HE TOOK
A LONG AUTOMOBILE DRIVE
AS I RECALL, HE DROVE A DIRTY
OLD DODGE IN THOSE DAYS
AND HE CLIMBED IN HIS DODGE,
DROVE SOUTH.
HE MUST HAVE HAD A LIST OF
THE CAMPS THAT WERE BEING BUIL
AND WHEREVER HE WENT,
HE STOPPED AT ONE OF THESE.
HE WENT IN
AND STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS.
NOBODY EVER ASKED HIM WHO HE WAS
OR WHY HE WAS ASKING
THESE QUESTIONS.
HE'D TALK TO WORKERS.
HE'D TALK TO FOREMEN.
Narrator:
TRUMAN WAS APPALLED
BY WHAT HE SAW.
"THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF MEN,"
HE SAID
"JUST STANDING AROUND COLLECTING
THEIR PAY, DOING NOTHING."
Sparks:
HE SAW BIG PILES OF LUMBER
JUST LYING THERE
NOBODY WAS USING IT;
TRUCKS STANDING STILL
AND RUSTING.
Narrator:
CONGRESS HAD AUTHORIZED
MORE THAN $10 BILLION
FOR DEFENSE CONTRACTS
IN JUST SIX MONTHS.
FROM HIS OWN
HIGHLY PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
TRUMAN FEARED
THE MONEY WAS BEING SQUANDERED.
ON FEBRUARY 10, 1941
SENATOR TRUMAN PROPOSED
THE FORMATION OF A COMMITTEE
TO INVESTIGATE THE ENTIRE
NATIONAL DEFENSE PROGRAM.
Sparks:
THE WHITE HOUSE DIDN'T LIKE
THE IDEA AT ALL.
THEY DIDN'T WANT ANYBODY POKING
INTO WHAT THEY WERE DOING
BUT THEY THOUGHT AT THE OUTSE
THAT THEY COULD
CONTROL HARRY TRUMAN
THAT HE WOULD DO ABOUT ANYTHING
THE LEADERSHIP
OF THE SENATE WANTED HIM TO DO.
THEY FOUND OUT DIFFERENT.
Narrator:
ON DECEMBER 8,
AMERICA WENT TO WAR.
TRUMAN WAS ALL AT ONCE
THRUST CENTER STAGE.
LABELED AS THE LACKEY
OF ONE OF THE MOS
CORRUPT BOSSES IN AMERICA
HE WOULD NOW MOVE
TO STAMP OUT CORRUPTION
IN THE LARGEST WAR MACHINE
EVER ASSEMBLED.
TRUMAN TOOK ON
THE MOST POWERFUL MEN IN AMERICA
AND THE COUNTRY'S
LARGEST INDUSTRIES
STEEL, ALUMINUM,
RUBBER, AIRPLANES.
McCullough:
HE HAD A DISTRUS
OF BIG BUSINESS
A DISTRUST OF WALL STREE
AND HE WENT AFTER THE PEOPLE WHO
WERE REALLY SELLING SHODDY GOODS
OR DOING THINGS
THAT WERE CLEARLY UNPATRIOTIC.
Sparks:
IN A HEARING, HE SHOWED
ABSOLUTELY NO FEAR.
HE MADE IT CLEAR
THAT HE MEANT BUSINESS.
HE WAS NOT AFRAID
TO SAY ANYTHING TO ANYBODY.
HE WAS FEARED.
Truman:
THE COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING
THE NATIONAL DEFENSE PROGRAM
HAS FOUND WASTE, INEFFICIENCY,
MISMANAGEMENT AND PROFITEERING.
Narrator:
HE QUESTIONED
WITNESSES RELENTLESSLY
ATTACKING THEM FOR BAD PLANNING,
SLOPPY ADMINISTRATION, GRAFT.
HIS REPUTATION SOARED.
THE COMMTEE BECAME KNOWN
AS THE TRUMAN COMMITTEE.
HE PERSONALLY SAVED
THE NATION BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
REPORTERS NAMED HIM
ONE OF THE TEN MOST VALUABLE MEN
IN WASHINGTON.
"THE SUDDEN EMERGENCE
OF HARRY TRUMAN IN THE SENATE"
TIME MAGAZINE WROTE, "IS
A QUEER ACCIDENT OF DEMOCRACY."
EVEN PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WANTED
SOME OF THE CREDIT.
"YES, YES," ROOSEVELT SAID
"I PUT HIM IN CHARGE OF THA
WAR-INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE
DIDN'T I?"
Hechler:
HERE WAS ONE OF THE PRODUCTS
OF ONE OF THE MOST CORRUP
POLITICAL MACHINES
IN THE NATION
THE PENDERGAST MACHINE
YET HE WAS ABLE TO RISE ABOVE I
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REMARKABLE
THINGS ABOUT HARRY TRUMAN.
Narrator:
AT LAST, TRUMAN HAD FOUND
A HOME IN THE SENATE.
POPULAR, NATIONALLY KNOWN,
HE BECAME AN INSIDER
A RESPECTED MEMBER OF ONE OF THE
MOST POWERFUL CLUBS IN AMERICA.
HIS PRIVATE LIFE, TOO,
HAD SETTLED
INTO A COMFORTABLE ROUTINE.
MARGARET TRUMAN, "MISS SKINNY,"
HARRY LIKED TO CALL HER
AND WAS ALREADY TALKING
HADOF A SINGING CAREER.NS
HE LOOKED ALWAYS,
HIS DAUGHTER SAID
AS IF HE HAD JUST STEPPED
FROM A BANDBOX.
HIS SUITS WERE ALWAYS
CLEANED AND PRESSED;
HIS STYLE IMMACULATE.
TO BESS, HE REMAINED
COMPLETELY DEVOTED.
"DEAR BESS, WELL,
I DOUBT YOU WILL REMEMBER I
"BUT TOMORROW IS AN ANNIVERSARY
OF VITAL IMPORTANCE.
"23 YEARS HAVE BEEN
EXTREMELY SHOR
"AND FOR ME,
ALTOGETHER MOST HAPPY ONES.
"A FAILURE AS A FARMER, A MINER,
AN OIL PROMOTER AND A MERCHAN
"BUT FINALLY HIT THE GROOVE
AS A PUBLIC SERVAN
AND THAT DUE MOSTLY TO YOU
AND LADY LUCK."
SENATOR TRUMAN WAS CONTEN
BUT IN THE SUMMER OF 1943, HE
BEGAN TO HEAR DISTURBING TALK.
CERTAIN PEOPLE WANTED HIM
TO RUN FOR VICE-PRESIDENT.
Narrator:
ON JULY 18, 1944, WHEN THE
DEMOCRATS CONVENED IN CHICAGO
THE RUMORS THA
HARRY TRUMAN WAS GOING TO BE
THE NEXT VICE-PRESIDEN
WERE STILL JUST RUMORS.
HE HAD, IN FACT,
ARRIVED AT TONVENTION
PREPARED TO NOMINATE
ANOTHER MAN.
"I DON'T WANT TO BE
VICE-PRESIDENT"
HE WOULD TELL ANYONE WHO ASKED.
HE WAS CONVINCED THAT THE
PRESIDENT DID NOT LIKE HIM.
BUT IN 1944
THE PRESIDENT WOULD NOT DICTATE
THE CHOICE FOR VICE-PRESIDENT.
IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, HARRY
TRUMAN'S FATE WOULD BE DECIDED
BY A GROUP OF POWERFUL DEMOCRATS
MEETING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.
McCullough:
THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY
AND HIS OWN
IMMEDIATE FUTURE AND FATE
ARE ALL IN THE HANDS
OF FORCES BEYOND HIS CONTROL
AND HE CAN'T BE ANYTHING
BUT A KIND OF A CHIP
ON THE SURFACE OF THE WATER,
BEING SWEPT ALONG.
Narrator:
AS THE CONVENTION GOT UNDERWAY
THE DEMOCRATS PREPARED
TO GIVE THEIR NOMINATION
FOR THE FOURTH TIME
TO FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.
MANY OF THEM ALREADY KNEW
IT WOULD BE THE LAST.
THE PRESIDENT WAS ILL.
DIAGNOSED WITH HEART DISEASE
HE HAD NEVER ASKED,
AND WAS NEVER TOLD
THE EXTENT OF HIS ILLNESS
BUT THOSE CLOSE TO HIM
WERE FRIGHTENED
BY THE DEATHLIKE PALLOR
THAT SHADOWED
THE ONCE-EBULLIENT FACE.
Woman:
IT WAS NOT SPOKEN OF, THE
FACT THAT ROOSEVELT MIGHT DIE.
THAT WAS A DEEP, DARK SECRET.
IT WAS WARTIME,
AND NO ONE WANTED TO TALK ABOU
THE PRESIDENT FAILING
IN ANY WAY
BUT I THINK THAT HAD TO BE
BEHIND EVERYBODY'S MINDS.
Man:
IT WAS IN THE MINDS
OF MANY DELEGATES
THAT WHOEVER WAS NOMINATED
FOR VICE-PRESIDEN
COULD VERY WELL BECOME PRESIDEN
WITHIN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
THE ENTIRE FOCUS
OF THAT CONVENTION
WAS ON WHO WOULD BE NOMINATED
FOR THE VICE-PRESIDENCY.
Crowd:
WE WANT WALLACE!
WE WANT WALLACE!
WE WANT WALLACE!
Narrator:
THE CURRENT VICE-PRESIDENT,
HENRY WALLACE
WAS THE MAN TO BEAT.
A CHAMPION
OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND LABOR
HE WAS IMMENSELY POPULAR
WITH LIBERALS
BUT CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS
OPPOSED HIM.
MANY OF THEM TURNED TO JIMMY
BYRNES FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
A FORMER SENATOR
AND SUPREME COURT JUSTICE.
AN AVOWED SEGREGATIONIST,
HE WAS UNACCEPTABLE TO LIBERALS.
( crowd chanting):
WE WANT WALLACE!
WE WANT WALLACE!
Narrator:
WITH THE DEMOCRATS DIVIDED
PARTY LEADERS WERE SEARCHING
FOR A COMPROMISE.
PARTY CHAIRMAN
BOB HANNEGAN WANTED
NEITHER WALLACE NOR BYRNES.
Roll:
MY FATHER AND THE OTHER
POLITICAL ADVISERS FEL
THAT JIMMY BYRNES WOULD BE
A LIABILITY TO THE TICKET.
SOUTHERNERS WERE
A DRAWBACK AT THAT TIME.
LABOR WAS NO
PARTICULARLY FOND OF HIM
AND MY FATHER WAS
VERY CONCERNED
ABOUT WALLACE
AS A POSSIBLE PRESIDENT.
HE FEL
THAT HE WAS SORT OF FLAKY
AND FROM A POLITICIAN'S
STANDPOIN
MY FATHER COULDN'T CONTROL HIM.
SO, MY FATHER FELT THAT TRUMAN
WOULD BE SOMEWHAT BLAMELESS
THAT HE WOULD HAVE
NO REAL DRAWBACKS.
Hamby:
SO HE EMERGES
AS A COMPROMISE CANDIDATE:
"THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE,"
SOME PEOPLE SAY.
HE HAS CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS,
SOUTHERNERS LIKE HIM
BUT HE'S BEEN A GOOD NEW DEALER.
HE'S GOT LABOR UNION CONTACTS.
HE EMERGES AS THE PERSON
EVERYONE CAN AGREE ON.
IT WAS SIMPLY
ACTUALLY A DIPPING INTO
ALMOST THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
YOU COULD ALMOST SAY,
TO APPOINT AS VICE-PRESIDEN
AND TO SELECT AS VICE-PRESIDEN
ON THE TICKE
A MAN WHO DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING
AGAINST HIM.
( cheering)
Convention speaker:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
OF THE CONVENTION
Narrator:
UNKNOWN TO THE DELEGATES
THE PARTY BOSSES WERE DETERMINED
TO MAKE TRUMAN VICE-PRESIDENT.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE, THEY HAD MADE
A TRIP TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
McCullough:
ONE JULY NIGHT IN 1944
THE BIG BOSSES ME
WITH FRANKLIN ROOSEVEL
AND IT WAS A VERY HOT NIGHT,
VERY HUMID
WITH THE LONG FRENCH DOORS
OPEN TO THE AIR
AND THE CURTAINS BLOWING IN
WHAT LITTLE BREEZE THERE WAS
AND THEY ALL SAT AROUND IN
THEIR SHIRTSLEEVES, PERSPIRING
TALKING ABOUT WHO OUGHT TO BE
THE VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CHOICE.
AND THE BOSSES ALL SAID
IT COULD NOT BE WALLACE
IT COULD NOT BE BYRNES,
AND IT OUGHT TO BE TRUMAN.
ROOSEVELT LATER TOLD
HIS SON JIMMY
THAT, IN FACT,
HE REALLY DIDN'T CARE.
HE WAS A TIRED, SICK, ILL MAN
AND HIS MIND
AND WHAT ENERGY HE HAD
WAS ALL CONCENTRATED ON THE WAR.
I THINK MY FATHER AND OTHER
PARTY LEADERS DID THE CHOOSING
AND ROOSEVEL
WENT ALONG WITH IT.
I DON'T THINK HE CARED
AT THIS POINT.
I THINK IT WAS
I DON'T THINK IT WASATTER
OF GREAT CONCERN TO HIM.
IF IT HAD BEEN,
HE WOULD HAVE KNOWN VERY WELL
HOW TO PUT THE MATTER TO REST.
Narrator:
THE MOST IMPORTANT DEMOCRATS
WERE NOW LINED UP BEHIND TRUMAN
AND AT THE CONVENTION,
BOB HANNEGAN TOLD THE SENATOR
THE VICE-PRESIDENTIAL
NOMINATION WAS HIS.
Roll:
ONCE MY FATHER AND HIS FRIENDS
HAD PRETTY MUCH SET TRUMAN UP
THEN THEY HAD TO CONVINCE TRUMAN
THAT HE WAS GOING TO RUN.
AND HE WAS VERY MUCH
OPPOSED TO I
AND HE SAID HE WOULDN'T DO IT.
McCullough:
HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE PRESIDEN
AND HE CERTAINLY DIDN'T WAN
TO BE PRESIDEN
AFTER FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.
HE DIDN'T WANT TO COME IN
AND TRY AND HAVE TO FILL
THOSE ENORMOUS SHOES.
HE DIDN'T THINK HE WAS QUALIFIED
TO BE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE WAS VERY HAPPY WHERE HE WAS,
IN THE SENATE.
HE HAD GONE THROUGH THE TRAUMA
OF THE PENDERGAST YEARS
WHERE HIS NAME HAD BEEN
RUBBED IN THE MUD
ALONG WITH PENDERGAST MACHINE,
AND IT HURT HIS FAMILY.
HE WAS A VERY
DEVOTED FAMILY MAN.
McCullough:
BESS HAD NONE OF THAT KIND
OF POLITICAL AMBITION.
SHE HAD NO DESIRE TO SEE
HER HUSBAND BECOME PRESIDENT.
SHE CERTAINLY HAD NO DESIRE
TO BE THE FIRST LADY.
SHE DIDN'T LIKE THE LIMELIGH
AND ONE OF THE REASONS THA
THEY DIDN'T WANT THE NOMINATION
WAS A FEAR THAT HER FATHER'S
SUICIDE WOULD BECOME PUBLIC
THAT THE COUNTRY WOULD FIND OU
THAT THIS DISGRACEFUL THING
HAD HAPPENED IN HER PAST.
Narrator:
BUT THE MOMENTUM WAS BUILDING
TOWARD A TRUMAN VICE-PRESIDENCY
AND BESS TRUMAN
WOULD HAVE TO STAND ASIDE.
ON JULY 20, THE PARTY BOSSES
SUMMONED TRUMAN
TO A SUITE
IN THE BLACKSTONE HOTEL
TO LISTEN IN ON A PHONE CALL
THAT, UNKNOWN TO THE SENATOR
THEY HAD REHEARSED IN ADVANCE
WITH THE PRESIDENT.
MY FATHER GOT THE PRESIDEN
HIMSELF, PRESIDENT ROOSEVEL
TO CALL HIM ON THE LINE
AND WHILE HE WAS ON THE LINE,
HE LET TRUMAN LISTEN.
Narrator:
THE PRESIDENT'S VOICE
BOOMED SO LOUD
EVERYONE IN THE ROOM COULD HEAR:
"HAVE YOU GOT THAT FELLOW LINED
UP YET?" THE PRESIDENT ASKED.
"NO," THE PRESIDENT WAS TOLD.
"HE IS THE CONTRARIES
GODDAMN MULE FROM MISSOURI
I EVER DEALT WITH."
"YOU TELL THE SENATOR,"
ROOSEVELT SAID
"THAT IF HE WANTS TO BREAK UP
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WAR,
THAT'S HIS RESPONSIBILITY."
AND THEN HE BANGED DOWN
THE PHONE.
"WELL," TRUMAN SAID
PACING UP AND DOWN THE FLOOR
"IF THAT'S THE SITUATION,
I'LL HAVE TO SAY YES.
BUT WHY THE HELL DIDN'
HE TELL ME IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
Convention announcer:
HARRY TRUMAN HAS RECEIVED
MORE THAN A MAJORITY.
I DO NOW DECLARE HIM TO BE
THE NOMINEE OF THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY FOR VICE-PRESIDEN
AND THE NEXT VICE-PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
( cheering)
Narrator:
ON FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1944
HARRY TRUMAN ACCEPTED
HIS PARTY'S NOMINATION
FOR VICE-PRESIDENT.
Roll:
I THINK HE WAS SOMEWHAT EXCITED.
I DON'T THINK MRS. TRUMAN
WAS HAPPY AT ALL.
I DON'T RECALL HER EVER SMILING
THE WHOLE TIME.
SHE WAS IN A BOX
NOT TOO FAR FROM US
AND I DON'T RECALL ANY SMILES
DOWN THERE.
I THINK SHE WAS
VERY UNHAPPY ABOUT IT.
THERE'S NOT MUCH MORE
THAT I CAN SAY TO YOU
EXCEPT THAT I ACCEPT THE HONOR
WITH ALL THE HUMILITY
THAT A CITIZEN OF
THE UNITED STATES CAN ASSUME
IN THIS POSITION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Narrator:
"AFTER DAD'S SPEECH,"
MARGARET TRUMAN LATER WROTE
"WE WERE BESIEGED BY HORDES
"OF SHOUTING, SWEATING
PHOTOGRAPHERS.
"EVERYONE WANTED TO TOUCH US.
"THANKFULLY, THE POLICE FORMED
A KIND OF PHALANX AROUND US
"AND WE WERE ABLE TO GE
INTO A WAITING CAR OUTSIDE
"WHERE MOM LOOKED AT DAD,
GLARED AT HIM, AND SAID:
"'ARE WE GOING TO HAVE
TO GO THROUGH THIS
FOR ALL THE REST OF OUR LIVES?'"
AS THEY HEADED BACK
TO INDEPENDENCE
BESS TRUMAN REFUSED
TO SPEAK TO ANYONE.
Margaret:
DAD, HERE'S A NICE LETTER
FROM MARION.
THAT'S NICE OF MARION.
SHE HAD A GOOD TIME IN CHICAGO.
HERE'S ONE FROM YOUR TEACHER.
OH, MISS CARR.
MISS CARR.
AND HERE'S ONE
FROM MR. BUDA
FROM ST. LOUIS.
LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAYS.
"PLEASE CONVEY
MY CONGRATULATIONS
TO YOUR LOYAL WIFE
"CHARMING DAUGHTER
AND DEAR MOTHER
"WHOSE GREAT JOY
AND HAPPINESS IS SHARED
BY THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS."
ISN'T THAT NICE?
THAT CERTAINLY IS.
Roll:
ONCE HE WAS IN IT,
HE WAS ALL THE WAY IN IT.
SAY, DADDY, DON'T YOU WISH
YOU'D GONE FISHING LAST WEEK?
WELL, I DID GO
ON A SORT OF FISHING
TRIP TO CHICAGO
OR AT LEAST I
RESULTED THAT WAY.
HE WAS TOO MUCH
OF A POLITICIAN HIMSELF
NOT TO GO FOR IT ALL THE WAY.
Narrator:
TRUMAN CAMPAIGNED WITH HIS
USUAL ENERGY AND DETERMINATION
TRAVELING THOUSANDS OF MILES,
SKIPPING MEALS
WASHING HIS SOCKS IN THE BASIN
OF HIS SLEEPING CAR.
Hamby:
HE'S DESIGNATED
AS THE PARTY WORKHORSE.
"THIS DUTY HAS BEEN INFLICTED
ON ME AND I'M GOING TO DO IT.
BUT I'M APPREHENSIVE
ABOUT THE FUTURE."
Narrator:
THE NIGHT THAT ROOSEVEL
AND TRUMAN WERE ELECTED
HARRY TRUMAN COULD HARDLY SLEEP.
THE SENATE WILL COME TO ORDER.
Narrator:
THE VICE-PRESIDENT,
TRUMAN WOULD SAY
IS A "POLITICAL EUNUCH."
THE SENATE WILL COME TO ORDER.
Narrator:
HE PRESIDED OVER THE SENATE
WRITING LETTERS HOME DURING
THE LONG SENATORIAL DEBATES
DROPPING BY FOR
A LATE-AFTERNOON DRINK
WITH HIS OLD FRIENDS
IN CONGRESS.
HE SEEMED WHOLLY UNAFFECTED
BY HIS NEW TITLE
"HOMESPUN AS EVER,"
ONE SENATOR REMARKED.
ONE AFTERNOON, AT A LUNCHEON
AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB
THE VICE-PRESIDENT SAT DOWN
AT THE PIANO
TO PLAY THE "MISSOURI WALTZ."
Hamby:
SUDDENLY, A YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL
ACTRESS, LAUREN BACALL
PERCHES HERSELF ON TOP
OF THE PIANO
FOR SOME PUBLICITY PORTRAITS
SHOWING A RATHER DARING AMOUN
OF LEG BY 1945 STANDARDS.
TRUMAN DOESN'T QUITE KNOW
HOW TO REACT TO THIS.
HE DOES WHAT IS PROBABLY THE
ONLY INTELLIGENT THING TO DO
WHICH IS TO KEEP SMILING
AND KEEP PLAYING THE PIANO.
Narrator:
FLASHBULBS EXPLODED.
THE AUDIENCE CHEERED.
THE PHOTOS WERE
AN INTERNATIONAL SENSATION.
BESS WAS FURIOUS.
Hamby:
IT DID HAVE KIND OF
A LOOSE ASSOCIATION
WITH THE IDEA
OF THE VICE-PRESIDEN
BEING THE PIANO PLAYER
IN A HOUSE OF ILL-REPUTE.
Narrator:
THROUGHOUT HIS VICE-PRESIDENCY
TRUMAN WAS ALWAYS KEPT OUTSIDE
ROOSEVELT'S INNER CIRCLE.
F.D.R. NEVER TOOK TRUMAN
INTO HIS CONFIDENCE.
THE VICE-PRESIDENT MET ALONE
WITH THE PRESIDEN
JUST TWO TIMES.
HE COULD NEVER SHAKE,
TRUMAN SAID, THE FEELING
THAT THE ROOSEVELT WHITE HOUSE
CONSIDERED HIM "SMALL POTATOES."
Hamby:
HE HAS WHAT YOU MIGHT ALMOS
CALL A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP
WITH ROOSEVELT BY THIS TIME.
HE ADMIRES HIM ON THE ONE HAND
DOESN'T QUITE TRUST HIM
ON THE OTHER HAND.
AND THE FACT IS THAT ROOSEVEL
DIDN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION
TO HIS NEW VICE-PRESIDENT.
Narrator:
EVEN WHEN THEY HAD ME
FOR A PRIVATE LUNCHEON
AT THE WHITE HOUSE
DURING THE CAMPAIGN
ROOSEVELT TOLD TRUMAN
NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE
POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
AND MAKING SMALL TALK.
McCullough:
AND IT WAS AT THAT POIN
THAT TRUMAN SAW ROOSEVEL
CLOSE UP FOR THE FIRST TIME
AND SAW HOW BADLY HE LOOKED
SAW THE CIRCLES UNDER HIS EYES,
SAW THE DROOP OF HIS SHOULDERS
AND NOTICED THA
WHEN ROOSEVELT WEN
TO POUR HIS CREAM
INTO HIS COFFEE
THAT HIS HAND TREMBLED
SO HE COULD HARDLY DO IT.
Narrator:
"I HAD BEEN AFRAID
FOR MANY WEEKS
THAT SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN,"
TRUMAN ADMITTED
"BUT I DIDN'T ALLOW MYSELF
TO THINK ABOUT IT."
Man:
I THINK TRUMAN AND EVERYBODY
ELSE AT ONE LEVEL KNEW
THAT ROOSEVELT WOULDN'
LIVE OUT HIS TERM.
BUT THERE WAS A SHARED DENIAL
THAT WAS OVERWHELMING.
IT CAME FROM ROOSEVEL
AND FROM TRUMAN.
SO THAT WHAT THE RESULT WAS
WAS THAT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY
NO PREPARATION
OF THE VICE-PRESIDEN
BY A VERY SICK PRESIDEN
FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
AND TRUMAN, HE DIDN'T TAKE
THE MOST MODEST KIND OF EFFOR
TOWARD IMAGINING HIMSELF
AS PRESIDEN
AND PREPARING HIMSELF
FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
Hamby:
HE TELLS A FRIEND OF HIS
IN MISSOURI
THAT ROOSEVELT HAS
THE PALLOR OF DEATH ON HIS FACE.
HE'S VERY WORRIED
THAT HE'S GOING TO HAVE
THE PRESIDENCY THRUST ON HIM
AND THAT IT MIGHT HAPPEN
AT ANY MOMENT.
Narrator:
ON APRIL 12, 1945, TRUMAN
RUSHED TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS DEAD.
VICE-PRESIDENT FOR JUST 82 DAYS
HARRY S. TRUMAN WAS NOW
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE WAS FRIGHTENED AND INSECURE.
"I'M NOT BIG ENOUGH
FOR THIS JOB," TRUMAN SAID.
AFTER TAKING THE OATH, TRUMAN
GATHERED HIS CABINET AROUND HIM.
HE BARELY KNEW THESE MEN.
NOW HE ASKED FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
SECRETARY OF WAR
HENRY STIMSON REMAINED
WHILE THE RES
SILENTLY DRIFTED AWAY.
"HE WANTED ME TO KNOW
ABOUT AN IMMENSE PROJECT"
TRUMAN WROTE LATER,
"TO DEVELOP A NEW EXPLOSIVE
"OF ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE
DESTRUCTIVE POWER.
"THAT WAS ALL HE FELT FREE
TO SAY AT THE TIME
AND HIS STATEMEN
LEFT ME PUZZLED."
HARRY TRUMAN WAS PRESIDEN
AND HE KNEW NOTHING
ABOUT THE ATOMIC BOMB.
Narrator:
THE DAY AFTER
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT DIED
PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN
MET WITH REPORTERS.
"BOYS, IF YOU EVER PRAY,
PRAY FOR ME NOW," HE TOLD THEM.
"I DON'T KNOW
WHETHER YOU FELLOWS
"EVER HAD A LOAD OF HAY
FALL ON YOU
"BUT WHEN THEY TOLD ME YESTERDAY
WHAT HAD HAPPENED
"I FELT LIKE THE MOON,
THE STARS AND ALL THE PLANETS
HAD FALLEN ON ME."
ON HIS FIRST FULL DAY IN OFFICE,
TRUMAN SURPRISED EVERYONE
WITH HIS SHOW
OF ENERGY AND CONFIDENCE.
Hamby:
OUTWARDLY, TRUMAN WORKS
VERY HARD AT LOOKING CONFIDEN
AT SEEMING TO BE IN CHARGE.
PRIVATELY, HE CLEARLY
FEELS QUITE INSECURE
ABOUT HIS NEW ROLE.
HE LETS CLOSE FRIENDS
AND CONFIDANTES KNOW
THAT THIS IS
A TERRIBLE CHALLENGE HE FACES.
Narrator:
"I'M SCARED," HE ADMITTED
TO HIS MOTHER AND SISTER.
"MAYBE IT WILL COME OU
ALL RIGHT."
HIS FIRST CHANCE TO PROVE
THAT HE WAS UP TO THE JOB
CAME ON APRIL 16
WHEN HE ADDRESSED
A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS.
Announcer:
IN JUST A MOMENT SPEAKER RAYBURN
WILL INTRODUCE PRESIDENT TRUMAN.
Narrator:
ANXIOUS TO REASSURE AMERICANS,
AND HIMSELF, TRUMAN FUMBLED.
HE LAUNCHED IMMEDIATELY
INTO HIS SPEECH
AND ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
AMERICANS LISTENING ON THE RADIO
HEARD THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
CORRECT HIM BY HIS FIRST NAME.
Truman:
MR. SPEAKER
Rayburn:
JUST A MOMENT LET ME
PRESENT YOU, WILL YOU, HARRY?
MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS
I HAVE THE GREAT PLEASURE
AND THE HIGH PRIVILEGE
OF PRESENTING TO YOU THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
( applause)
( applause dies down)
IN HIS INFINITE WISDOM
ALMIGHTY GOD HAS SEEN FI
TO TAKE FROM US A GREAT MAN
WHO LOVED AND WAS BELOVED
BY ALL HUMANITY.
NO MAN COULD POSSIBLY FILL
THE TREMENDOUS VOID
LEFT BY THE PASSING
OF THAT NOBLE SOUL.
Narrator:
IN SPITE OF HIS NERVOUS SLIP
THE SPEECH WAS
A RESOUNDING SUCCESS.
AMERICANS EVERYWHERE WARMED
TO THIS SEEMINGLY SIMPLE
STRAIGHTFORWARD MAN
FROM MISSOURI.
HIS SMALL-TOWN, FOLKSY MANNER
STOOD IN STRIKING CONTRAS
TO THE PATRICIAN MANNERS
OF FRANKLIN ROOSEVEL
AND MANY AMERICANS
FOUND THE CHANGE REFRESHING.
"AFTER A DIET OF CAVIAR,"
AN AIDE SAID
"YOU LIKE TO GET BACK
TO HAM AND EGGS."
Donovan:
HARRY WAS FRESH AND FAS
AND DARTING ABOUT.
THE CONTRAST SORT OF HIT THEM.
TRUMAN WAS PEPPERY,
AND HE'D WALK ALONG THE STREE
AND A TRUCK DRIVER,
I REMEMBER ON ONE OCCASION
SAID, "GOOD LUCK, HARRY!"
Narrator:
THE PRESS WAS SOON
PRAISING HIM FOR HIS CANDOR
AND CABINET OFFICIALS
FOR HIS HARD WORK.
TRUMAN, MANY AMERICANS WERE
SAYING, WAS A MAN OF THE PEOPLE.
Donovan:
THE THING I REMEMBER MOS
IS HIS HANDSHAKE.
I NEVER FELT SUCH A HANDSHAKE.
IT FINALLY DAWNED ON ME,
THIS MAN HAD
WAS A REAL DIRT FARMER.
HE WORKED BEHIND THE PLOW
FOR TEN YEARS.
Hamby:
TRUMAN WAS THE ORDINARY
AMERICAN DEMOCRAT, SMALL "D."
BUT DID THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
WANT SOMEONE WHO WAS
SIMPLY ORDINARY TO LEAD THEM?
DID THEY BELIEVE
THAT SOMEONE OF THAT TYPE COULD?
THIS IS A PROBLEM
THAT TRUMAN WOULD FACE
THROUGHOUT HIS PRESIDENCY.
Narrator:
WHEN TRUMAN TOOK
THE OATH OF OFFICE
AMERICANS WERE FIGHTING
THE GREATEST WAR IN HISTORY.
ALL AT ONCE HE WAS COMMANDER-
IN-CHIEF OF 16 MILLION MEN
AND A TERRIFYING ARSENAL OF
WARSHIPS, TANKS AND PLANES
ARRAYED AGAINST THE JAPANESE
IN THE PACIFIC
AND NAZI GERMANY IN EUROPE.
BUT WHAT HE KNEW ABOUT WAR
CAME FROM HIS EXPERIENCE
AS A SOLDIER IN WORLD WAR I
AND FROM BOOKS
HE HAD READ AS A CHILD.
AMERICANS EVERYWHERE
WONDERED HOW HARRY TRUMAN
WOULD END THE WAR
AND AT WHAT COST.
DURING TRUMAN'S
FIRST DAYS IN OFFICE
ALLIED ARMIES
WERE SWEEPING TOWARD GERMANY
THE SOVIET UNION
CLOSED IN FROM THE EAS
THE AMERICANS FROM THE WEST.
BUT WITH THE NAZIS
ON THE VERGE OF SURRENDER
TRUMAN FEARED THAT THE SOVIETS
COULD NO LONGER BE TRUSTED.
THE WAR-INSPIRED ALLIANCE
BETWEEN RUSSIA AND AMERICA
WAS BEGINNING TO COME APART.
ON APRIL 22, SOVIET FOREIGN
MINISTER VYACHESLAV MOLOTOV
PAID A CALL ON THE WHITE HOUSE.
MOLOTOV WAS A WILY DIPLOMA
A HARDENED VETERAN
OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION.
TRUMAN HAD BEEN PRESIDEN
FOR JUST TEN DAYS.
HE HAD NEVER NEGOTIATED
A TREATY BEFORE
NEVER MET A RUSSIAN IN HIS LIFE
AND KNEW NEXT TO NOTHING
ABOUT AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY.
LaFeber:
TRUMAN WAS INSECURE
AND IGNORANT.
IGNORANT NOT IN THE SENSE
OF BEING UNINTELLIGENT
THE MAN WAS VERY INTELLIGENT
IGNORANT IN THE SENSE OF
NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING ON.
BUT OF COURSE, NOBODY
REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON
EXCEPT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT,
AND HE WAS DEAD.
THE MAJOR PROBLEM
WAS THAT THE RED ARMY OCCUPIED
MUCH OF EASTERN EUROPE
AND WAS DRIVING TOWARDS BERLIN.
AND CONSEQUENTLY, WHA
TRUMAN FACED WAS ESSENTIALLY
A RUSSIAN OCCUPATION OF EASTERN
AND PART OF CENTRAL EUROPE.
Narrator:
SOVIET DICTATOR JOSEF STALIN
SAW THE COUNTRIES
OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE
AS A BAND OF PROTECTION AGAI
ANY ATTEMPT TO INVADE RUSSIA.
TRUMAN FEARED STALIN
WOULD USE THE RED ARMY
TO FORCE THEM
TO BECOME COMMUNIST.
"WHOEVER OCCUPIES A TERRITORY,"
STALIN SAID
"ALSO IMPOSES ON I
HIS OWN SOCIAL SYSTEM
AS FAR AS HIS ARMY CAN REACH."
WHEN TRUMAN AND MOLOTOV
SAT DOWN TO TALK
THE FATE OF EASTERN EUROPE
STILL HUNG IN THE BALANCE.
TRUMAN BELIEVED THE SOVIETS
HAD ALREADY VIOLATED
AN AGREEMEN
NEGOTIATED BY ROOSEVEL
GUARANTEEING FREE ELECTIONS
IN POLAND.
THE NEW PRESIDEN
DIDN'T HESITATE
TO TELL THE SOVIET MINISTER
JUST WHAT HE THOUGHT.
Shulman:
TRUMAN GAVE HIM
A TONGUE-LASHING
"WHY DON'T YOU PEOPLE BEHAVE?
WHY DON'T YOU RESPECT YOUR
OBLIGATIONS?" AND SO ON.
AND, ACCORDING TO CHIP BOLIN,
WHO TOLD ME ABOUT THIS
WHO WAS THE INTERPRETER
AND WAS ON THE SCENE
SAID MOLOTOV, IN HIS STIFF WAY,
DREW BACK AND SAID
"I'VE NEVER
BEEN TALKED TO LIKE THIS."
"WELL, YOU FOLKS BEHAVE AND YOU
WON'T BE TALKED TO LIKE THIS."
TRUMAN THEN
WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM
SAW A TOP STATE DEPARTMENT AIDE
AND SAID TO THE
STATE DEPARTMENT AIDE
"I JUST GAVE HIM
A STRAIGHT ONE-TWO TO THE JAW."
AND THEN HE STOPPED
AND LOOKED AT THIS MAN AND SAID
"DO YOU THINK I DID RIGHT?"
Narrator:
"I'M HERE TO MAKE DECISIONS,"
TRUMAN SAID.
"WHETHER THEY PROVE RIGHT OR
WRONG, I'M GOING TO MAKE THEM."
WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS,
TRUMAN WOULD HAVE TO MAKE
ONE OF THE MOS
TERRIBLE DECISIONS IN HISTORY.
WHILE NAZI GERMANY
WAS CRUMBLING
THE JAPANESE REMAINED
A DANGEROUS, UNYIELDING ENEMY.
( explosion)
THEY HAD ALREADY TAKEN
OVER 50,000 AMERICAN LIVES
AND MORE AND MORE
WERE DYING EVERY DAY.
BUT AMERICA HAD BEEN
DEVELOPING A WEAPON
THAT MIGHT FORCE THE JAPANESE
TO SURRENDER.
JUST 13 DAYS IN OFFICE,
TRUMAN WAS HANDED A MEMORANDUM
BY SECRETARY OF WAR STIMSON.
"WITHIN FOUR MONTHS,"
TRUMAN READ
"WE SHALL IN ALL PROBABILITY
HAVE COMPLETED
THE MOST TERRIBLE WEAPON EVER
KNOWN IN HUMAN HISTORY."
STIMSON WENT ON TO TELL TRUMAN
ABOUT THE SECRET SITE
IN NEW MEXICO
WHERE SCIENTISTS HAD BEEN
WORKING ROUND THE CLOCK
FOR THE PAST TWO AND A HALF
YEARS TO FASHION A WEAPON
OUT OF THE ELEMENTAL FORCES
OF THE UNIVERSE.
BUT IT WOULD STILL BE MONTHS,
STIMSON SAID
BEFORE ANYONE WOULD KNOW
WHETHER THE ATOMIC BOMB
WOULD WORK.
( explosion)
Narrator:
ON MAY 8, TRUMAN'S 61st BIRTHDAY
NAZI GERMANY SURRENDERED.
"ISN'T THA
SOME BIRTHDAY PRESENT?"
HE WROTE HIS 92-YEAR-OLD MOTHER.
NOW ONLY JAPAN REMAINED.
THE VICTORY WON IN THE WES
MUST NOW BE WON IN THE EAST.
THE WHOLE WORLD MUST BE CLEANSED
OF THE EVIL
FROM WHICH HALF THE WORLD
HAS BEEN FREED.
Narrator:
BUT TRUMAN FEARED THE JAPANESE
WOULD NOT SURRENDER
WITHOUT A LONG
AND BLOODY STRUGGLE.
ALREADY THEY HAD BEEN
SEVERELY PUNISHED
AND YET SHOWED
NO SIGNS OF YIELDING.
WHILE TRUMAN WAS VICE-PRESIDEN
AMERICAN B-29s HAD RAINED
THOUSANDS OF TONS OF BOMBS
ON THE ISLAND NATION.
FIVE WEEKS BEFORE HE TOOK OFFICE
AMERICAN PLANES DROPPED
2,000 TONS OF NAPALM ON TOKYO
BURNING 16 SQUARE MILES
OF THE CITY TO THE GROUND.
IN A SINGLE DAY,
100,000 JAPANESE WERE KILLED.
Man:
THE FIRE-BOMBING RAIDS
PREPARES THE WAY FOR
EVEN MORE DEVASTATING BOMBING.
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE WAR
IS A REDEFINITION
OF WHAT IS A LEGITIMATE TARGET
LEGITIMATE TARGE
IS NOT SIMPLY A CITY
BUT PEOPLE IN THE CITY
WHO ARE PRIMARILY NONCOMBATANTS
IN WHAT IS A REDEFINED,
VIRTUALLY TOTAL WAR
SO THAT EVERYBODY
BECOMES A TARGET.
Narrator:
THE BOMBING DESTROYED NEARLY ALL
OF JAPAN'S BIGGEST CITIES
AND KILLED MORE THAN
A HALF A MILLION CIVILIANS.
STILL, THE JAPANESE FOUGHT ON.
McCullough:
TRUMAN KNEW THA
THEY WERE DEFEATED.
THEY KNEW THEY WERE DEFEATED;
THAT REALLY WASN'T THE QUESTION.
THE QUESTION WAS,
WOULD THEY SURRENDER?
Narrator:
THE BATTLE
FOR THE ISLAND OF OKINAWA
350 MILES SOUTH OF JAPAN
PAINTED A BLOODY PORTRAI
FOR TRUMAN
OF JUST HOW FEROCIOUS
JAPANESE RESISTANCE COULD BE.
THE FIGHTING RAGED ON
FOR MONTHS.
10,000 AMERICANS WERE KILLED,
27,000 WOUNDED.
AND ENTRENCHED IN THE JUNGLES
AND CAVES OF THE ISLAND
MORE THAN 100,000
JAPANESE SOLDIERS
WERE BURNED OR BOMBED TO DEATH
RATHER THAN SURRENDER.
Lifton:
OKINAWA WAS A BLOODY BATTLE
ONE OF THE BLOODIEST BATTLES
OF A VICIOUS WAR.
AND OKINAWA WAS AN EXAMPLE
OF HOW MUCH OF
A LAST-DITCH BATTLE
THE JAPANESE COULD PUT UP
AND THE KIND OF BATTLE
THEY MIGHT PUT UP
ON THEIR HOME ISLANDS,
IN MAN-TO-MAN COMBAT.
SO OKINAWA COULD BE
TAKEN AS AN INDICATOR
THAT JAPAN NEEDED DIRE
MEASURES TO DEFEAT IT.
Narrator:
ON JUNE 1, WITH THE STRUGGLE
FOR OKINAWA REACHING A CLIMAX
TRUMAN RECEIVED A REPOR
FROM A COMMITTEE
HE HAD APPOINTED
TO STUDY THE ATOMIC BOMB.
THE COMMITTEE URGED THE
PRESIDENT TO USE THE WEAPON
WITHOUT WARNING.
IT DID NOT RECOMMEND
ANY ALTERNATIVES.
Bernstein:
THE USE OF THE BOMB
WAS NOT A TOPIC OF DEBATE.
THE ISSUE WAS NEVER,
SHOULD THE BOMB BE USED?
FOR US, THE BOMB,
WHETHER WE APPROVE OR NO
IS A QUESTION THA
SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED.
FOR THEM, LIVING HISTORY
FORWARD AND NOT BACKWARD
WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND
IS THAT THE USE OF THE BOMB
WAS NOT A QUESTION;
IT WAS AN ANSWER.
IF THE WEAPON COULD
STOP THE KILLING
THEN, IT WAS FELT,
IT HAD TO BE USED.
WAS IT RIGHT?
WAS IT WRONG?
I DON'T THINK
THAT WAS THE ISSUE.
I THINK THEY SAW I
AS NECESSARY.
Narrator:
TRUMAN DID NOT KNOW
THAT SOME OF THE SCIENTISTS
WHO HAD HELPED CREATE THE BOMB
WERE NOW ACTIVELY ATTEMPTING
TO LIMIT ITS USE.
THEY ADVOCATED
A DEMONSTRATION BOMB
THAT WOULD CONVINCE
THE JAPANESE TO SURRENDER.
THEIR PETITIONS NEVER
REACHED THE PRESIDEN
BUT IT IS UNLIKELY THEY
COULD HAVE CHANGED HIS MIND.
I KNOW OF NO OCCASION
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMAN
EVER SPOKE ABOUT DOUBTS
ON ON USING THE BOMB.
ALL HIS ADVISERS,
WITHOUT EXCEPTION
RECOMMENDED THE USE OF THE BOMB
JUST AS SOON AS
IT WAS AVAILABLE.
AND HE AGREED WITH THEM.
Narrator:
BUT THE ATOMIC BOMB
STILL REMAINED UNTESTED.
NO ONE KNEW IF IT WOULD WORK.
JUNE 18, TRUMAN AGREED
TO PLANS TO INVADE
JAPAN IN EARLY NOVEMBER.
TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS
WERE RETURNING FROM
THE BATTLEFIELDS OF EUROPE.
FOR MOST,
IF THE INVASION WENT FORWARD
IT WOULD BE JUST WEEKS
BEFORE THEY WOULD BE
SENT BACK INTO BATTLE
THIS TIME,
FIGHTING THE JAPANESE.
McCullough:
WE WERE GOING TO INVADE
THE HOME ISLANDS
AND THE LOSS OF LIFE
WOULD BE TERRIBLE.
AND FOR TRUMAN
WHETHER IT WAS GOING TO BE
20,000 LIVES OR 100,000 LIVES
WAS NOT REALLY THE QUESTION.
THE QUESTION WAS
TO STOP THE KILLING.
Hamby:
TRUMAN WAS ONE OF THE FEW
PRESIDENTS OF THE 20th CENTURY
TO HAVE ACTUALLY
EXPERIENCED WARTIME COMBAT.
HE HAD SEEN CORPSES STACKED UP.
HE KNEW WHAT WAR WAS LIKE.
HE WAS VERY, VERY ANXIOUS
TO GET WORLD WAR II OVER WITH
AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
Narrator:
ONLY 30 DAYS IN OFFICE,
TRUMAN WAS STILL ADJUSTING
TO THE ANXIETIES
OF BEING PRESIDEN
STILL TELLING HIS ADVISERS
THAT HE DIDN'T WANT THE JOB.
AND BESS NEVER
WANTED TO BE FIRST LADY.
AFTER JUST ONE MONTH
IN THE WHITE HOUSE
BESS AND MARGARE
WENT HOME TO INDEPENDENCE.
McCullough:
BESS DID NOT LIKE
LIVING IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
SHE FELT VERY UNCOMFORTABLE,
VERY ILL AT EASE
WITH ALL THE FANFARE AND
THE ATTENTION OF THE PRESS.
PARTICULARLY WHEN PHOTOGRAPHERS
PRESSED IN AROUND HER
SHE WOULD FREEZE AND BECOME
KIND OF "OLD STONE FACE"
AND GET AN EXPRESSION THA
LOOKED AS IF HER FEET HURT.
THE SPOTLIGHT, THE LIMELIGH
DID NOT APPEAL
TO BESS TRUMAN, EVER.
AND SHE WOULD RETURN HOME
TO INDEPENDENCE
AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE
LEAVING THE PRESIDENT FEELING
VERY ALONE, OFTEN DESOLATE.
IT'S HARD FOR SOME
PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT SHE WAS LIKE AND WHY THE
PRESIDENT WAS SO DEVOTED TO HER.
BUT HE ADORED HER.
THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
Roll:
I THINK SHE WAS
A VERY SHY PERSON
VERY ILL AT EASE IN
THAT KIND OF AN ENVIRONMENT.
WHEN SHE WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE
SHE USED TO HAVE HER OLD BRIDGE
CLUB FROM MISSOURI COME UP.
AND I THINK PROBABLY
THAT'S THE ONLY TIME
SHE WAS REALLY COMFORTABLE.
THERE REALLY WAS
NOT A GOOD NICHE FOR HER.
AND I DON'T THINK SHE EVER
REALLY ENJOYED THE PUBLIC EYE.
( fanfare plays)
Narrator:
BESS TRUMAN'S
FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE
CONFIRMED HER WORST FEARS.
Newsreel announcer:
AT THE NATIONAL AIRPORT,
AMBULANCES WITH WINGS
ONE EACH FOR NAVY AND ARMY
READY TO BE CHRISTENED
BY MRS. HARRY S. TRUMAN
IN HER FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE.
BUT MRS. TRUMAN IS
IN FOR A SURPRISE.
OH, DEAR!
( Mrs. Truman
and crowd laughing)
( more laughter)
Announcer:
REFUSING TO BE RATTLED
THE NEW FIRST LADY JOINS
IN THE CROWD'S LAUGHTER.
BY AN OVERSIGHT, THE CHAMPAGNE
BOTTLE, UNLIKE THIS ONE
HASN'T BEEN PROPERLY PREPARED
ETCHED TO BREAK
THE GLASS ON IMPACT.
( laughter)
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.
( cheering and applause)
Narrator:
TRUMAN SMILED WHEN
HE SAW THE NEWSREEL
AS DID MOST OF AMERICA
BUT BESS IS SAID TO
HAVE TOLD HER HUSBAND
SHE WISHED SHE HAD
SWUNG THE BOTTLE AT HIM.
ON JULY 7, THE START OF
HIS FOURTH MONTH IN OFFICE
TRUMAN STEAMED
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
ON THE UNITED STATES
CRUISER AUGUSTA.
DESTINATION: POTSDAM, GERMANY.
"DEAR BESS,
I SURE DREAD THIS TRIP
"WORSE THAN ANYTHING
I'VE HAD TO FACE.
BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE."
WITH SCIENTISTS AT LOS ALAMOS
POISED TO TEST THE ATOMIC BOMB
TRUMAN WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN
A SERIES OF NEGOTIATIONS
THAT WOULD DETERMINE THE
FATE OF THE POSTWAR WORLD.
HE HAD BEEN
TO EUROPE ONLY ONCE BEFORE
AS A SOLDIER ON
THE WESTERN FRONT.
NOW HE WAS PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
PREPARING TO MEET TWO OF THE
LEGENDS OF THE 20th CENTURY
WINSTON CHURCHILL
AND JOSEPH STALIN.
"MR. GREAT BRITAIN" AND "MR.
RUSSIA," TRUMAN CALLED THEM.
McCullough:
TRUMAN HAD TO STEP
ONTO THE WORLD STAGE
WITH TWO OF THE MOS
COLOSSAL FIGURES OF THE CENTURY
TWO CONSUMMATE PERFORMERS,
CONSUMMATE ACTORS
WHO ARE VERY ACCUSTOMED
TO COMMANDING THE STAGE.
AND WHO IS HE?
Narrator:
"DEAR BESS, THE PRIME MINISTER
CAME TO SEE ME THIS MORNING."
McCullough:
TRUMAN IS SUFFERING
FROM A CONSIDERABLE
AMOUNT OF STAGE FRIGHT.
HE KNOWS THAT CHURCHILL HAD
BEEN FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY
WHEN HARRY TRUMAN WAS STILL
PLOWING FIELDS BACK IN MISSOURI.
HE KNOWS ALSO
THE AFFECTION, THE BOND
BETWEEN ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL
AND WONDERS IF EVER HE CAN
ATTAIN THAT KIND OF RESPECT.
Narrator:
CHURCHILL LIKED TRUMAN
BUT THE MAN FROM MISSOURI
WAS NOT IMPRESSED
BY THE PRIME
MINISTER'S FLATTERY.
"CHURCHILGAVE ME
A LOT OF HOOEY"
TRUMAN WROTE IN HIS DIARY.
"WELL, I'M SURE WE CAN GET ALONG
IF HE DOESN'T TRY
TO GIVE ME TOO MUCH SOFT SOAP."
FOLLOWING CHURCHILL'S VISIT,
TRUMAN ASKED TO SEE BERLIN.
FOR MONTHS,
THE GERMAN CAPITAL HAD BEEN
THE TARGET OF ALLIED BOMBS.
TRUMAN RECORDED HIS
REACTIONS IN HIS DIARY.
"I NEVER SAW SUCH DESTRUCTION.
"I THOUGHT OF CARTHAGE
"ROME
BABYLON."
"WHAT A PITY THE HUMAN ANIMAL
"IS NOT ABLE TO PUT HIS MORAL
THINKING INTO PRACTICE.
I FEAR THAT MACHINES ARE AHEAD
OF MORALS BY SOME CENTURIES."
Man on intercom:
Eight, seven, six
Narrator:
WHILE TRUMAN WAS TOURING BERLIN
THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB
WAS EXPLODED
OVER THE DESERTS OF NEW MEXICO.
Man:
now.
TRUMAN RETURNED FROM HIS TOUR
OF A DEVASTATED BERLIN
TO FIND SECRETARY OF WAR
STIMSON, WITH A CODED TELEGRAM.
"OPERATED ON THIS MORNING,"
IT READ.
"DIAGNOSIS NOT YET COMPLETE,
BUT RESULTS SEEM SATISFACTORY
AND ALREADY
EXCEED EXPECTATIONS."
THE PRESIDENT NOW KNEW THA
THE ATOMIC BOMB WOULD WORK.
PLANS WERE ALREADY IN MOTION
TO DROP A SECOND BOMB
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
THIS ONE ON JAPAN.
THE NEXT DAY,
STALIN CAME TO CALL.
"A FEW MINUTES BEFORE 12:00,"
TRUMAN WROTE
"I LOOKED UP FROM MY DESK
"AND THERE STOOD STALIN
IN THE DOORWAY.
"I GOT TO MY FEE
AND ADVANCED TO MEET HIM.
HE PUT OUT HIS HAND AND SMILED."
ONE DAY, TRUMAN AND STALIN WOULD
CONFRONT EACH OTHER AS ENEMIES
IN THE MOST DANGEROUS
IDEOLOGICAL CONFLIC
IN ALL OF HISTORY.
BUT ON JULY 17, THE UNITED
STATES AND THE SOVIET UNION
WERE ALLIES WHO HAD JUS
DEFEATED A TERRIBLE ENEMY.
BOTH MEN WERE
CORDIAL AND FRIENDLY.
Hamby:
TRUMAN WAS RATHER
IMPRESSED BY STALIN.
HE THOUGHT THA
HERE WAS A TOUGH GUY.
STALIN STRUCK HIM
AS FRANK AND STRAIGHTFORWARD
A SORT OF POLITICAL BOSS TYPE
WHO WOULD KEEP HIS WORD
ONCE HE GAVE IT.
Narrator:
TRUMAN SAID LATER
THAT STALIN REMINDED HIM
OF THE MISSOURI KINGPIN
TOM PENDERGAST.
McCullough:
JOSEPH STALIN WAS
NOTHING LIKE TOM PENDERGAST.
THIS WAS ONE OF
THE MOST BLOODTHIRSTY,
MURDERING, EVIL MEN OF OUR TIME.
BUT TRUMAN HAD
THAT VERY AMERICAN IDEA
THAT OLD AMERICAN IDEA
THAT IF HE COULD
JUST MEET THE FELLOW
SHAKE HIS HAND, LOOK HIM
IN THE EYE, SIZE HIM UP
THAT THEY COULD WORK
TOGETHER, WORK THINGS OU
AND EVERYTHING WOULD BE OKAY.
Narrator:
"I CAN DEAL WITH STALIN,"
TRUMAN WROTE.
"HE IS HONES
BUT SMART AS HELL."
STALIN WAS LESS SANGUINE.
HE TOLD AN AIDE
THAT TRUMAN WAS WORTHLESS.
THE SOVIET DICTATOR
HAD ALREADY DETERMINED
THAT HE WOULD SURRENDER
NOTHING OF ANY CONSEQUENCE
WHEN THE BARGAINING BEGAN.
THAT EVENING, JULY 17, TRUMAN,
STALIN AND CHURCHILL SAT DOWN
TO DISCUSS
THE FATE OF EASTERN EUROPE.
LaFeber:
THE SOVIET ARMY IS OCCUPYING
EASTERN EUROPE AND
PARTS OF CENTRAL EUROPE
AND THE QUESTION IS:
HOW DO YOU NEGOTIATE
THE RUSSIAN ARMIES
OUT OF CENTRAL
AND EASTERN EUROPE?
Narrator:
OVER THE NEXT 17 DAYS, TRUMAN
WOULD TRY TO CONVINCE STALIN
TO WITHDRAW HIS ARMIES AND ALLOW
THE COUNTRIES OF EASTERN EUROPE
TO HOLD FREE ELECTIONS.
"DEAR BESS,
THE FIRST SESSION WAS YESTERDAY.
"IT MAKES PRESIDING OVER
THE SENATE SEEM TAME.
"THE BOYS SAY
I GAVE THEM AN EARFUL.
"I HOPE SO.
"I WAS SO SCARED.
"I DIDN'T KNOW
WHETHER THINGS WERE GOING
ACCORDING TO HOYLE OR NOT."
WHILE TRUMAN WAS
NEGOTIATING IN GERMANY
THEENOLA GAY, A SPECIALLY
MODIFIED, LIGHTWEIGHT B-29
WAS SOARING HIGH ABOVE
THE ISLAND OF TINIAN
FAR AWAY IN THE PACIFIC
REHEARSING MANEUVERS
TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB.
A LIST OF FOUR TARGET CITIES
HAD BEEN PREPARED.
IT WAS NOW ALL BUT CERTAIN
THAT THE BOMB WOULD
BE USED ON ONE OF THEM
WITHIN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS.
Elsey:
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INEVITABLE.
IT WAS A WEAPON
THAT COULD BRING THE WAR
TO AN EARLY AN IMMEDIATE END.
AND IN MY VIEW,
HAD ANY PRESIDENT
TRUMAN OR ANYONE ELSE
NOT USED THE BOMB
THAT MAN WOULD HAVE BEEN
SUBJECT TO IMPEACHMENT.
HERE'S A DEMOCRATIC PRESIDEN
AND THE PLAN IS ABOU
TO MOVE ALL OUR ARMY NOW
INTO THE PACIFIC
TO INVADE JAPAN WITH
WHO KNOWS WHAT CASUALTIES
AND YEARS LATER, THE PUBLIC OR
A FEW MONTHS LATER OR SOMETIME
IT LEAKS OU
THAT THE PRESIDENT HAD
A BOMB THAT WOULD
HAVE ENDED ALL OF THA
WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED
TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY?
WHAT WOULD HAVE
HAPPENED TO TRUMAN?
LaFeber:
IT WAS QUITE CLEAR THAT THE BOMB
WOULD NOT ONLY SHORTEN THE WAR
BUT IT COULD BE
THE KIND OF WEAPON
THAT THE OTHER POWERS WITH
WHICH TRUMAN HAD TO DEAL
WOULD BE IN AWE OF.
CONSEQUENTLY,
THERE WAS NO QUESTION
ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TRUMAN
WAS GOING TO USE THE BOMB.
THE QUESTION WAS
WHEN AND HOW AND WHERE.
Narrator:
AT POTSDAM, THE NEGOTIATIONS
WERE GOING NOWHERE.
THE FIRST THREE SESSIONS
HAD ENDED IN STALEMATE.
ON JULY 19, IN THE SPIRIT OF
THEIR WAR-INSPIRED PARTNERSHIP
TRUMAN THREW A PARTY
FOR CHURCHILL AND STALIN
AND FLEW IN TWO YOUNG
AMERICAN G.I.s TO ENTERTAIN:
PIANIST EUGENE LIS
AND VIOLINIST STUART CANIN.
Canin:
I WAS SO NERVOUS
WHEN I STARTED TO PLAY.
I THINK I WAS SHAKING.
NOW, I'VE BEEN A PROFESSIONAL
VIOLINIST FOR 50 YEARS
AND I HAVE NEVER PLAYED
FOR AN AUDIENCE LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, I COULD BARELY
HOLD THE BOW ON THE STRING.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE EVER
SEEN A LITTLE UPRIGHT PIANO
BUT IT HAS KIND OF
A BUM PIANO RACK
AND THE MUSIC WAS NO
STAYING PUT VERY WELL
AND TRUMAN LEAPED UP
AND HE JUST TURNED
THE PAGES FOR GENE
WHICH WAS
QUITE EXCITING TO HAVE
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES TURN PAGES FOR YOU.
( playing classical
music on piano)
Narrator:
ONE NIGHT, THE PRESIDEN
SAT DOWN AT THE PIANO
AND PLAYED FOR CANIN AND LIS
A PIECE HE HAD PRACTICED
FOR LONG HOURS
AS A BOY
IN INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI.
Canin:
THE MAN HAD
GREAT FEELING FOR MUSIC.
HE DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE THE
TECHNIQUE TO DO WHAT HE WANTED
BUT THE FEELING WAS THERE
AND YOU COULD SENSE
THAT HE REALLY LOVED MUSIC.
HE SAID, "I WONDER
"HOW MUCH BETTER OFF
THE COUNTRY WOULD HAVE BEEN
IF I HAD BECOME
A CONCERT PIANIST?"
AMAZING FOR
A PRESIDENT TO SAY THAT!
McCullough:
HE TOOK MUSIC
VERY MUCH TO HEART.
HE ADORED GOOD MUSIC.
HE ONCE WROTE TO BESS
"DID YOU EVER HEAR AN OVERTURE
PERFORMED BY A FINE ORCHESTRA
"AND IMAGINE THAT THINGS
WERE AS THEY OUGHT TO BE
INSTEAD OF AS THEY ARE?"
Narrator:
ON JULY 21
TWO DAYS AFTER TRUMAN'S PARTY
FOR CHURCHILL AND STALIN
THE PRESIDENT RECEIVED
A DESCRIPTION OF THE TES
OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.
FOR THE FIRST TIME
HE BECAME FULLY AWARE
OF ITS AWESOME POWER.
( explosion)
TRUMAN WAS TOLD THAT 13 POUNDS
OF EXPLOSIVES HAD EVAPORATED
A STEEL TOWER 60 FEET HIGH
LEFT A CRATER IN THE NEW MEXICAN
DESERT MORE THAN TWO MILES WIDE
KNOCKED DOWN MEN
10,000 YARDS AWAY
AND WAS VISIBLE
FOR MORE THAN 200 MILES.
TRUMAN WROTE IN HIS DIARY
"WE HAVE DISCOVERED
THE MOST TERRIBLE BOMB
"IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.
"IT MAY BE THE FIRE DESTRUCTION
PROPHESIED AFTER NOAH
AND HIS FABULOUS ARK."
"I HAVE TOLD THE SECRETARY
OF WAR, MR. STIMSON
"TO USE IT SO THA
MILITARY OBJECTIVES
"AND SOLDIERS AND SAILORS
ARE THE TARGE
AND NOT WOMEN AND CHILDREN."
Hamby:
HE TELLS HIMSELF IN A DIARY
ENTRY THAT HE WROTE AT THAT TIME
THAT, "OF COURSE,
THE BOMB WILL BE USED
"AGAINST A MILITARY TARGE
"BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW BAD
THE JAPANESE HAVE BEEN
WE CAN'T KILL
WOMEN AND CHILDREN."
BUT HE HAD TO HAVE SOME
UNDERSTANDING AT POTSDAM
THAT HE WAS KIDDING HIMSELF.
IT WAS WISHFUL THINKING.
Lifton:
HE'S AWARE THAT IT'LL BE MUCH
MORE THAN A MILITARY TARGET.
IT'LL KILL LARGE NUMBERS
OF ORDINARY CIVILIANS.
BUT YOU MUST REMEMBER
HE, LIKE ALL OTHER AMERICANS,
SAW THIS AS A WAR AGAINST EVIL
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF
EVIL OUT THERE, REAL EVIL
ON THE PART OF THE NAZIS AND
JAPANESE MILITARISM AND FASCISM.
IN THAT SENSE, HE CAN BELIEVE
THAT THE BOMB IS JUSTIFIED
AND THAT THIS GREATEST WEAPON
EVER DEVELOPED HAS A PLACE
IN OVERCOMING OR COMBATING EVIL.
Narrator:
THE DAY AFTER TRUMAN
LEARNED OF THE BOMB'S POWER
HE CONFRONTED STALIN
WITH NEW CONFIDENCE.
SECRETARY OF WAR STIMSON
WROTE IN HIS DIARY
THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS
"TREMENDOUSLY PEPPED UP."
IN HIS HIGH-STAKES GAME
WITH THE SOVIET DICTATOR
TRUMAN NOW HAD
A NEW CARD TO PLAY.
LaFeber:
AND CHURCHILL LATER SAID
THAT TRUMAN
ONCE HE HEARD THE NEWS
THAT THE ATOMIC BOMB WORKED
WAS "A CHANGED MAN."
IT WAS QUITE CLEAR
TO TRUMAN NOW THAT HE HAD
AS HE WOULD LATER SAY, "AN ACE
IN THE HOLE AND AN ACE SHOWING."
THAT IS TO SAY, THE ACE IN
THE HOLE WAS A ATOMIC BOMB;
THE ACE SHOWING WAS AMERICAN
ECONOMIC AND MILITARY POWER.
Narrator:
ON JULY 24,
TRUMAN ROSE FROM HIS CHAIR
AND WALKED SLOWLY
AROUND THE TABLE
TO HAVE A PRIVATE WORD
WITH THE SOVIET DICTATOR.
"I CASUALLY MENTIONED TO STALIN
THAT WE HAD A NEW WEAPON
OF UNUSUAL DESTRUCTIVE FORCE"
TRUMAN LATER WROTE.
"ALL HE SAID WAS THAT HE WAS
GLAD TO HEAR IT, AND HOPED
WE WOULD MAKE 'GOOD USE
OF IT AGAINST THE JAPANESE.'"
Elsey:
STALIN WAS SO BLAND AND
SEEMINGLY UNCONCERNED ABOUT I
THAT, ON THE AMERICAN SIDE
THERETHE IMPORT OFSTION
AS WHAT TRUMAN WAS SAYING.OOD
LaFeber:
WHAT WE KNOW NOW
IS THAT STALIN KNEW
EXACTLY ABOU
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BOMB
BECAUSE OF SOVIET SPIES
AT LOS ALAMOS, IN NEW MEXICO.
WE ALSO KNOW THAT AS SOON AS
STALIN WALKED OUT OF THAT ROOM
STALIN IMMEDIATELY GO
IN TOUCH WITH THE MAN
WHO WAS THE DIRECTOR OF
THE SOVIET ATOMIC BOMB PROJEC
AND SAID THAT HE MUST GET TO
WORK AND ACCELERATE THE PROJECT.
Narrator:
MEANWHILE
THE PREPARATION TO BOMB JAPAN
MOVED INEXORABLY FORWARD.
TWO ATOMIC BOMBS
WERE NEARLY READY.
SEVEN MORE WERE ON THE WAY.
ON JULY 25, TRUMAN GAVE CONTROL
OF THE BOMBS TO THE MILITARY
AND ORDERED THAT THEY BE USED
AS SOON AS
THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE WAS OVER.
THE NEXT DAY
THE JAPANESE WERE GIVEN
ONE LAST CHANCE TO SURRENDER.
"WE CALL UPON THE GOVERNMEN
OF JAPAN TO PROCLAIM NOW
THE UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF
ALL THE JAPANESE ARMED FORCES"
IT WAS ANNOUNCED FROM POTSDAM.
"THE ALTERNATIVE FOR JAPAN IS
PROMPT AND UTTER DESTRUCTION."
THE ULTIMATUM WAS CALLED
THE "POTSDAM DECLARATION."
TWO DAYS LATER,
THE JAPANESE REJECTED IT.
Bernstein:
THE UNITED STATES WAS DEMANDING
AN UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER
AND IN PARTICULAR THAT IMPLIED
THAT THE IMPERIAL SYSTEM
NAMELY THE EMPEROR,
WOULD BE TERMINATED.
TRUMAN HAD BEEN INFORMED
BY A NUMBER OF HIS ADVISERS
THAT THE UNCONDITIONAL
SURRENDER DEMAND
MIGHT MAKE IT MORE DIFFICUL
TO ACHIEVE PEACE.
TRUMAN RECEIVED ADVICE, ON
VARIOUS OCCASIONS, TO PROVIDE
AN EXPLICIT PROVISION THA
THE EMPEROR COULD BE MAINTAINED.
TRUMAN DECIDED NOT TO
INCLUDE THAT PROVISION.
Lifton:
UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER HAD BEEN
A CENTRAL THEME
INHERITED FROM ROOSEVELT.
IT EVOKED THE AMERICAN SPIRI
OF FIGHTING AND WINNING
THIS WAR AGAINST EVIL
SO HE HELD TO IT.
Narrator:
JULY 31: THE ATOMIC BOMB
WAS NOW FULLY ASSEMBLED.
THE MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON
ON EARTH
WAS WAITING TO BE RELEASED.
THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE
LASTED 17 DAYS.
AS THE NEWSREEL CAMERAMEN
TOOK THEIR FINAL SHOTS
TRUMAN SMILED.
THE PRESIDENT REMAINED
FOND OF STALIN.
HE WOULD LATER WRITE, "I LIKED
THE LITTLE SON OF A BITCH."
BUT NOTHING
HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.
LaFeber:
I THINK THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE
CAN BE SEEN
AS THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF
THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP.
TRUMAN AND STALIN DON'T HAVE
A WHOLE LOT TO SAY
TO EACH OTHER ANYMORE.
THEIR ARMIES ARE ESSENTIALLY
DOING THE TALKING.
Narrator:
THE ALLIES AGREED TO DIVIDE
A DEFEATED GERMANY
INTO JOINT ZONES OF OCCUPATION
BUT STALIN REFUSED TO WITHDRAW
HIS TROOPS
FROM EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE
AND PERMIT FREE ELECTIONS.
THE ISSUE WAS TABLED
FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
AT LAST, TRUMAN WAS HEADING HOME
TRYING TO RELAX AFTER THE
GRUELING ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS.
HE STROLLED THE DECK,
ATTENDED CHURCH SERVICES
ENJOYED A CONCER
BY THE SHIP'S BAND.
ON HIS FOURTH DAY AT SEA
THE MISSION WHICH WOULD FOREVER
MARK HIS PLACE IN HISTORY BEGAN.
AUGUST 6, 2:45 A.M.
THEENOLA GAY,
CARRYING A FOUR-TON ATOMIC BOMB
WAS HEADING OUT OVER
THE PACIFIC OCEAN TOWARD JAPAN.
SOME WOULD LATER ARGUE THA
JAPAN MIGHT HAVE BEEN FORCED
TO SURRENDER WITHOUT THE BOMB;
THE PRESIDENT MIGHT HAVE WARNED
THE JAPANESE
WITH A DEMONSTRATION BOMB;
MIGHT HAVE BLOCKADED THEIR
ISLANDS UNTIL THEY SURRENDERED;
MIGHT HAVE ASSURED THE JAPANESE
THAT THEY COULD KEEP
THEIR EMPEROR.
TRUMAN WOULD LATER SAY
THAT TO END THE WAR QUICKLY,
WITHOUT INVADING JAPAN
THE BOMB HAD TO BE USED
AND HE USED IT.
8:15 A.M.
THE ATOMIC BOMB DROPPED CLEAR
OF THEENOLA GAY.
43 SECONDS LATER,
IT EXPLODED OVER HIROSHIMA.
( explosion)
HARRY TRUMAN WAS EATING LUNCH
WHEN HE WAS HANDED
A DECODED MESSAGE.
"RESULTS: CLEAR-CUT.
SUCCESSFUL IN ALL RESPECTS."
TRUMAN REACTED IMMEDIATELY.
"THIS," HE SAID, "IS
THE GREATEST THING IN HISTORY."
Elsey:
THE CREW BURST INTO APPLAUSE
AND CHEERING
WHEN HE ANNOUNCED
THIS WILL END THE WAR.
SINCE MOST OF THE CREWMEN
WERE ANTICIPATING
THAT THEY'D HAVE TO GO OU
AND ENGAGE WITH THE JAPANESE
YOU CAN SEE WHY THERE WAS GREA
GLEE ON THE PART OF THE CREW
THE OFFICERS, EVERYONE
EVERYONE PRESENT.
Narrator:
THAT AFTERNOON,
TRUMAN ISSUED A WARNING
TO THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT.
Truman:
IF THEY DO NOT NOW ACCEP
OUR TERMS
THEY MAY EXPECT A RAIN OF RUIN
FROM THE AIR
THE LIKE OF WHICH HAS NEVER
BEEN SEEN ON THIS EARTH.
Narrator:
TWO DAYS LATER,
SECRETARY OF WAR STIMSON
SHOWED THE PRESIDEN
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIROSHIMA.
TRUMAN DID NOT YET KNOW
THAT THE ATOMIC BOMB HAD KILLED
MORE THAN 80,000 MEN, WOMEN
AND CHILDREN
AND THAT TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE
WOULD DIE
FROM RADIATION SICKNESS
IN THE DAYS AND YEARS TO COME.
Hamby:
YOU SEE THESE PICTURES
OF HIROSHIMA
JUST LEVELED FOR ALMOS
AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE.
CLEARLY, HE'S DISTRESSED
BY THAT.
Narrator:
HE TOLD STIMSON
"THIS PLACES A TERRIBLE
RESPONSIBILITY UPON MYSELF
AND UPON THE WAR DEPARTMENT."
THREE DAYS AFTER THE ATOMIC BOMB
WAS DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA
THE SOVIET UNION DECLARED WAR
ON JAPAN
BUT STILL THERE WAS NO WORD
OF SURRENDER.
( explosion)
AUGUST 9, 11:00 A.M.
A SECOND ATOMIC BOMB WAS DROPPED
ON THE JAPANESE SEAPOR
OF NAGASAKI.
IN ONE-TENTH OF ONE-MILLIONTH
OF A SECOND
THE CITY WAS DESTROYED.
ANOTHER 40,000 PEOPLE
WERE KILLED.
Hamby:
TRUMAN HAD NO
PUT ANY LIMITATION
ON THE USE OF THE SECOND BOMB.
ESSENTIALLY, AFTER HE SIGNS
THE ORDER AT POTSDAM
IT'S ALL ON AUTOMATIC PILO
AND UNLESS HE CHANGES HIS MIND,
UP TO THE MILITARY.
Narrator:
THE DAY AFTER
NAGASAKI WAS DESTROYED
TRUMAN TOOK THE AUTHORITY
TO USE THE ATOMIC BOMB
BACK FROM THE MILITARY
AND PLACED IT ONCE AGAIN
IN HIS OWN HANDS.
( crowd cheering)
AUGUST 14.
THE SIMPLE REASON TRUMAN ALWAYS
GAVE FOR USING THE ATOMIC BOMB
WAS TO END THE WAR
AND SAVE LIVES.
NOW, AFTER NEARLY FOUR YEARS,
JAPAN SURRENDERED.
THE WAR WAS OVER.
YEARS LATER,
TRUMAN WOULD OFTEN SAY
THAT HE NEVER BROODED OVER
HIS DECISION TO DROP THE BOMB.
"ONCE THE DECISION WAS MADE,"
HE WROTE LATER
"I DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT I
AFTERWARD."
Hamby:
TIME AND AGAIN, TRUMAN CLAIMED,
"I NEVER LOST A MINUTE'S SLEEP.
"I NEVER FELT ANY REGRET.
I DID WHAT HAD TO BE DONE."
BUT, CLEARLY, THIS WAS A
SOMEWHAT MORE UPSETTING EVEN
THAN HE LET ON.
Narrator:
THE DAY AFTER THE BOMB FELL
ON NAGASAKI
TRUMAN HAD TOLD HIS CABINE
THAT "THE THOUGHT OF WIPING OU
ANOTHER 100,000 PEOPLE
WAS TOO HORRIBLE."
HE HATED THE IDEA OF KILLING
"ALL THOSE KIDS."
Bernstein:
YOU CAN NEVER FEEL COMFORTABLE
ABOUT KILLING 100,000
OR MORE PEOPLE.
AND I'M SURE THAT WAS TRUE
FOR HARRY S. TRUMAN
WHO FOUGHT VIGOROUSLY
ALWAYS TO DENY IT.
Lifton:
HE WASN'T A MAN WHO COULD ALLOW
SELF-QUESTIONING.
HE WASN'T A MAN
WHO COULD ALLOW REFLECTION.
HE COULD NEVER REALLY TAKE IN
FULLY WHAT HE HAD DONE
AND WHAT THAT MEAN
FOR THE WORLD.
HERE WAS A GOOD MAN,
A LOVING MAN
WHO MADE A DECISION TO USE THE
CRUELEST WEAPON IN HUMAN HISTORY
ON A DENSELY POPULATED CITY
AND SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE
JUSTIFYING THAT DECISION.
Narrator:
"I MADE THE ONLY DECISION
I EVER KNEW HOW TO MAKE,"
TRUMAN WROTE.
"I DID WHAT I THOUGH
WAS RIGHT."
NEXT TIME ON
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
HE WOULD END
THE GREATEST WAR IN HISTORY
ONLY TO FIND
THAT PEACE WAS HELL.
HE WOULD HAVE TO CONTEND
WITH AN AGGRESSIVE STALIN
AN UNCOOPERATIVE CONGRESS
AND A DISTANT WIFE.
McCullough:
AND THE PRESIDENT WAS BEING
BESIEGED ON ALL SIDES.
HE HAD TO BLOW HIS STACK
ABOUT SOMETHING.
THE CONCLUSION OF "TRUMAN"
NEXT TIME
ON AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
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