Includes:
•Charles River Editors original biography of Harry Truman
•Truman’s Inaugural Address and all of his State of the Union Addresses
"The people can never understand why the President does not use his powers to make them behave. Well all the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.” – Harry Truman
Among America’s presidents, Harry Truman’s presidency produced some of the nation’s most crucial decisions and left one of the nation’s most unique legacies. When President Franklin Roosevelt died in April 1945, Vice President Truman, somewhat unprepared for the Presidency, now had to fill some of the biggest shoes in American history. Incredibly, Truman had not been informed of the country’s secret attempt to build atomic bombs, confiding in his diary after learning about it, “We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.”
The new president had to usher America through victory in Europe in his first month and decide to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few months later, but the end of World War II produced only the first of many consequential decisions Truman would face during his nearly 8 years in office. As president, Truman would lay the groundwork for the next 50 years of American foreign policy, as the architect of Cold War containment, the man who signed off on the Marshall Plan, and the commander-in-chief during much of the Korean War. He would also be the president who finally integrated the military, a crucial step on the way to full civil rights for the country’s minorities.
These accomplishments have earned Truman admiration and praise from most historians today, but the Korean War in particular made him especially unpopular during much of his presidency. To this day, his most memorable picture was a byproduct of his upset victory over Dewey in the 1948 election, with Truman holding up a Chicago Tribune newspaper incorrectly asserting, “Dewey Defeats Truman.” While Americans today mostly remember that iconic picture and fondly recall “Give Em Hell Harry” and his memorable quotes, Truman would actually finish his presidency with historically low approval ratings.
The Ultimate Harry Truman Collection chronicles the amazing life and career of a Midwesterner with humble roots who rose through party politics to become one of the most important presidents of the 20th century. This collection includes an original biography of Truman, both of his inaugural addresses, all of his state of the union addresses, and pictures of important people, places, and events.
