Harry S. Truman became president in one of the most critical moments in history. He started his journey of life on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He was the son of John Anderson and Martha Ellen Truman. His family moved to Cass County, then to a farm in Grandview in 1887. In 1890 they moved again to Independence, Missouri. When he was little he had to perform daily chores and to help on the farm. In 1901 he graduated from high school in Independence, Missouri, at age 17. After high school he worked briefly as a timekeeper for a railroad construction contractor and the obtained work in nearby Kansas City. The family moved to Kansas City in 1902.55 years of employment in the city, first as a clerk at the National Bank of Commerce and later as a bookkeeper at the Union National Bank, he returned to his father’s farm and joined the Missouri National Guard. Truman was discharged as a Corpal in 1911.After the war, he joined the reserves and was commissioned a major. Truman was promoted to a coloner on June 17, 1932. After the armistice and upon his return to the U.S., Truman married Bess Wallace on June 28, 1919. She was Truman’s childhood sweetheart. Truman was unwilling to return to farming, he and an army associate, Eddie Jacobson, set up a haber dashery in Kansas City. It failed in the Great Depression of 1972. The store was in debt about $20,000. Truman stubbornly refused to file bankruptcy proceedings and insisted upon repaying his creditors, which took him more than 15 years to accomplish. On February 17, 1904, Truman and Bess had one daughter Mary Margaret Truman. A few years later Truman was approached by Thomas J. Pendergast, boss of the Democratic machine that ruled Kansas City, and Later Missouri, politics. Field Artillery- appointed Truman to a Jackson County position as an overseer of highways. He held this post for a year. Regarding Truman’s Baptist, Masonic, and American Legion connections, and war record as political assets, Pendergast chose Truman to run for the position of county judge for Jackson County. Truman was elected as one of three judges in an administrative rather than judicial body. Truman served there from 1922 to 1924, but was defeated when he ran for a second term. Truman came in 1926 and was elected as presiding judge, a post that he held until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934. He was determined to measure up to his new title and although Missouri law did not require that a county judge be a qualified lawyer, he studied law in a Kansas City night school from 1923 to 1925.
During Truman’s 8 years as presiding judge, he had the chief responsibility funds and bond issues in Jackson County. Truman established a reputation for personal honesty that overcame the negative implications. When Truman ran for the Senate in 1934, he won by about 40,000 votes and later won the general election.
In 1940 Truman came up for re-election, his defeat was predicted by most observers.
Truman won the primary and the regular election; his record and support for Roosevelt’s merits helped him win in the public mind.Truman made people believe that the common man could, indeed, become president.
Truman was nominated for the vice presidency. Truman seemed very comfortable in a world of political patronage. In July 1944, Truman was nominated as the vice presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention to run with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Elected in November, he served as a vice president only 83 days, succeeding to the presidency on April 12, 1945 upon Roosevelt’s death. After leaving office, he returned to Independence, Missouri, and devoted his time to writing, lecturing, and continuing to try to influence the politics and policies of the nation. Truman died on December 26, 1972, in Kansas City, Missouri.
During Truman’s 8 years as presiding judge, he had the chief responsibility funds and bond issues in Jackson County. Truman established a reputation for personal honesty that overcame the negative implications. When Truman ran for the Senate in 1934, he won by about 40,000 votes and later won the general election.
In 1940 Truman came up for re-election, his defeat was predicted by most observers.
Truman won the primary and the regular election; his record and support for Roosevelt’s merits helped him win in the public mind.Truman made people believe that the common man could, indeed, become president.
Truman was nominated for the vice presidency. Truman seemed very comfortable in a world of political patronage. In July 1944, Truman was nominated as the vice presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention to run with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Elected in November, he served as a vice president only 83 days, succeeding to the presidency on April 12, 1945 upon Roosevelt’s death. After leaving office, he returned to Independence, Missouri, and devoted his time to writing, lecturing, and continuing to try to influence the politics and policies of the nation. Truman died on December 26, 1972, in Kansas City, Missouri.
