American Experience

Program Summary

Harry Truman was a relatively unknown politician from Missouri who suddenly found himself president of the United States. Of all the men who held the office, he was probably the least prepared. Yet Truman would be the one to lead America during an era of tremendous growth and change, as it emerged from World War II. He ended the war with Germany and Japan, made the decision to use the atomic bomb, confronted the Soviet Union, and waged war in Korea. Truman's tough stand against the Soviet Union engaged the world in a Cold War for decades to come. Although Truman was not a popular president when he left office, his "buck stops here" philosophy made him a hero to many ordinary Americans and his reputation continues to be re-examined today.

Program Segments: The program has been produced for home video use on video cassette and DVD. The total viewing time is 4.5 hours. For your convenience, we have described the program in segments. You may want to use specific segments to focus classroom discussion and activities.

Tape One, Part One -- An Accident of Democracy

Segment 1 (begins at: film of FDR's funeral train)
Length: 4 minutes, 33 seconds
Starting image: film of FDR's funeral train

FDR dies and Truman is sworn in as president; Truman is perceived as incompetent.

Segment 2 (begins at: 4 minutes, 33 seconds)
Length: 8 minutes, 16 seconds
Starting image: atomic bomb explosion

Truman's difficult childhood: he's bookish, loves to play the piano, called a "sissy"; family moves to Independence, Missouri; close to his mother, Martha; exhibits his trademark characteristic -- perseverance -- even as a child.

Segment 3 (begins at: 8 minutes, 16 seconds)
Length: approximately 7 minutes
Starting image: drawing of two men fighting

Truman's young adulthood: idolizes his domineering father, John, who symbolizes integrity and morality; father gambles on grain futures and loses everything; Truman goes to Kansas City to find a job to support his family

Segment 4 (begins at: 15 minutes, 16 seconds)
Length: approximately 5 minutes
Starting image: film of turn-of-the-century Kansas City

Truman enjoys Kansas City; joins the National Guard; gets a good job with a bank; returns home to help his father run the farm; begins writing letters to his high school acquaintance, Elizabeth "Bess" Wallace

Segment 5 (begins at: 20 minutes)
Length: approximately 12 minutes
Starting image: color picture of a house

Bess Wallace's family is wealthy and snobbish; Bess's father is an alcoholic who commits suicide and her mother, Madge, disdains Truman; Bess refuses Truman's marriage proposal; Truman moves to Oklahoma after his father's death

Segment 6 (begins at: 32 minutes, 5 seconds)
Length: approximately 13 minutes
Starting image: farm house

Although not yet married, Truman and Bess invest in an oil company that loses money; Truman fails at every business venture he tries; Truman serves in World War I as captain, commands Battery D; stands tough in battle and earns the loyalty of his men; continues to write Bess; Truman returns to Missouri after the war

Segment 7 (begins at: 45 minutes, 43 seconds)
Length: approximately 11 minutes
Starting image: photograph of a wedding chapel

Truman marries Bess; they move into the Wallace home; Truman fails as haberdasher; daughter, Margaret, is born; political boss Tom Pendergast nominates Truman for county commissioner; Pendergast is associated with mobsters and Truman is involved in a scandal; considers Pendergast the "price to pay" for being in politics

Segment 8 (begins at: 56 minutes, 45 seconds)
Length: approximately 9 minutes
Starting image: film of a parade

Truman is elected U.S. senator; nicknamed the "senator from Pendergast"; Bess returns to Independence; Pendergast is convicted for tax evasion; Truman is re-elected in 1940, without FDR's support

Segment 9 (begins at: 1 hour, 5 minutes, 56 seconds)
Length: approximately 16 minutes
Starting image: film footage of World War II battles

Truman investigates national defense effort in 1941 and moves to stamp out corruption in the "largest war machine ever assembled" in popular hearings; takes on Wall Street and the leaders of industry; rumors begin that Truman will be nominated for vice president

Segment 10 (begins at: 1 hour, 22 minutes)
Length: approximately 9 minutes
Starting image: banner that reads "Welcome Democrats"

Despite failing health, FDR is re-nominated at 1944 Democratic convention but fails to express a preference for vice president; although FDR dislikes Truman, he is nominated as vice president; Bess worries national spotlight will reveal her father's suicide; Truman remains uninformed and unprepared to take over the presidency; FDR dies in 1945 and Truman becomes president

Tape Two, Part Two -- The Moon, The Stars and All the Planets

Segment 1 (begins at: 0:00)
Length: 5 minutes, 27 seconds
Starting image: photograph of White House

Truman takes office under FDR's shadow; dubbed a "man of the people"; press praises his honesty

Segment 2 (begins at: 5 minutes, 27 seconds)
Length: approximately 5 minutes
Starting image: soldier walking past a sign

Truman's style is straightforward and decisive; threats from the Germans and Japanese grow; Truman learns of the atomic bomb

Segment 3 (begins at: 10 minutes, 30 seconds)
Length: approximately 7 minutes
Starting image: swastika explodes

Germany surrenders; Japan refuses to surrender; Truman decides the atomic bomb is a way to end the war and save American lives (Note: This segment contains graphic war scenes. We recommend that you preview it before using it in class.)

Segment 4 (begins at: 17 minutes, 47 seconds)
Length: approximately 3 minutes
Starting image: photograph of Truman

Bess dislikes the national spotlight and life in the White House; spends most of her time in Independence

Segment 5 (begins at: 20 minutes, 37 seconds)
Length: approximately 19 minutes
Starting image: footage of cruiser Augusta on the Atlantic Ocean

Truman meets with Churchill and Stalin; U.S. scientists test the atomic bomb; Truman tries to a Soviet retreat from eastern and central Europe; Potsdam Declaration is rejected by Japan; Truman must decide whether to drop the atomic bomb

Segment 6 (begins at: 38 minutes, 19 seconds)
Length: approximately 8 minutes
Starting image: film of the sun and then the take-off of the Enola Gay

Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima; when Japan still does not surrender, a second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki; the Japanese surrender, ending the war (Note: This segment contains graphic images. We recommend that you preview it before using it in class.)

Tape Three Part Three--Hell

Segment 1 (begins at: 0:00)
Length: 2 minutes, 23 seconds
Starting image: film of a victory parade

Introduction and overview of Truman's life; his status at the end of World War II

Segment 2 (begins at: 2 minutes, 23 seconds)
Length: approximately 11 minutes
Starting image: soldiers coming home from World War II

U.S. postwar economy is in turmoil; rail strike; Truman loses the support of the unions when he proposes drafting striking rail workers, but strike is settled

Segment 3 (begins at: 13 minutes, 52 seconds)
Length: approximately 14 minutes
Starting image: photograph of Truman sitting at a desk

Inflation threatens the economy; disastrous Democratic campaign in 1946 allows Republicans to gain a majority in Congress; Bess still unhappy in the role of first lady; communism spreads throughout Eastern Europe; conflict with communists in Greece and Turkey; Truman gains support by scaring the American people about the communist threat; the Truman Doctrine is adopted

Segment 4 (begins at: 27 minutes, 42 seconds)
Length: approximately 7 minutes
Starting image: archival film of winter in Europe

Starvation and poverty leave western Europe vulnerable to communism; U.S. responds with the Marshall Plan which also boosts U.S. economy; "loyalty program" is instituted to deal with communism in the U.S.; the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the CIA, and NATO are established

Segment 5 (begins at: 34 minutes, 27 seconds)
Length: approximately 10 minutes
Starting image: Truman in parade

Truman campaigns vigorously for re-election in 1948; addresses the NAACP, supporting equality for all Americans; calls for anti-lynching laws, abolition of poll taxes, desegration of armed forces; establishes the Commission on Civil Rights

Segment 6 (begins at: 44 minutes, 10 seconds)
Length: approximately 18 minutes
Starting image: civil rights political cartoon

Civil rights divides the Democratic party; Truman recognizes the new Jewish state of Israel; Dewey runs against Truman, who campaigns with the "Give `em Hell, Harry" slogan; Henry Wallace is the Progressive party candidate; Truman wins the election despite polls that predicted his defeat; is shown holding up the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman"

Segment 7 (begins at: 1 hour, 2 minutes, 33 seconds)
Length: approximately 37 minutes
Starting image: fireworks above Washington, D.C.

Congress won't pass Truman's "Fair Deal" (high minimum wage, civil rights, aid to education, national health insurance); Truman learns the Soviets have nuclear weapons; China falls to Mao Zedong; Truman begins Berlin airlift; the U.S. becomes involved in the Korean War; defense budget rises despite Truman's desire to curtail military spending; General Douglas MacArthur convinces Truman to continue fighting in Korea; the Chinese enter the war, damaging the U.S. effort

Segment 8 (begins at: 1 hour, 29 minutes, 44 seconds)
Length: approximately 11 minutes
Starting image: photograph of the snow-covered Capitol

Truman reacts angrily to critical reviews of his daughter's concert; the unpopular Korean War continues; hostility between Truman and General MacArthur escalates and MacArthur is relieved of his command; despite criticism Truman stands by his decision

Segment 9 (begins at: 1 hour, 41 minutes, 7 seconds)
Length: approximately 15 minutes
Starting image: photograph of Truman reading

Truman decides not to run for re-election; Eisenhower wins; Truman leaves office with the lowest approval rating of any president ever; Bess and Truman return to Independence and remain there for the rest of their lives