   
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Captain
He was born on May 8, 1884, to John Truman, a Missouri livestock trader, and his wife Margaret, a housewife who appreciated the arts. Harry Truman grew up a weak-eyed, timid child. He seemed ill suited to the rugged frontier town of Independence, Missouri and dreamed of a career as a classical pianist. Young
In 1901, after graduating from high school, Truman went to Kansas City to seek his fortune. He studied business at Spalding's Commercial College and dropped out after one semester. He took a job as a mailroom clerk at the Kansas City Star, a local newspaper, then as a timekeeper at a railroad construction outfit. In early 1903, he moved into banking, and by 1905 he made $100 a month working for Kansas City's Union National Bank. In 1906 the Truman family fortunes changed. John Truman had invested heavily in the grain markets and come out a loser. Harry's father fell back on running the 598-acre family farm near Grandview, Missouri. At age 21, Harry returned to Grandview to help his father run the farm. For eight years, Harry farmed, and year by year, the farm sank into debt. The
On November 2, 1914, John Truman died of cancer. Free from the farm at last, Harry struck out on his own. Like his father, Harry believed in luck and gambled willingly in business. In early 1916, he invested in a zinc and lead mine in Commerce, Oklahoma, hoping to cash in on a rise in metal prices caused by the war. Unfortunately, prices fell, and Truman lost his investment. Later that year, he sank money into Oklahoma oil wells. Again, Truman went broke. In
On July 5, Truman took command of Battery D. The rowdy Kansas City Irishmen of the battery specialized in wearing out commanding officers. Many predicted the bespectacled captain would crumble quickly. Harry Truman, the son of a Missouri mule trader, knew how to handle rowdies. Scared but determined, Truman forced his men to buckle under, rewarding those who obeyed him, punishing those who did not. Within weeks, he transformed Battery D into a disciplined, loyal outfit. The test of combat lay ahead. On August 29, 1918, Battery D fired 500 rounds of artillery at a German position. When the Germans returned fire, some of Truman's men panicked and ran. "My greatest satisfaction is that my legs didn't succeed in carrying me away, although they were very anxious to do it," Harry wrote Bess later. Cursing and yelling, Truman drove his men back to their positions, and successfully repositioned two of his four guns. For the remainder of the war, Truman led Battery D across the French countryside, hammering German positions and never losing a man. On the battlefields of Europe, he experienced the success that had long eluded him. Truman returned from the war as a hero. On June 28, 1919, he married Bess Wallace. The couple lived with Bess' mother. Truman went into business with his army buddy Edward Jacobson. Together they opened a men's clothing store in Kansas City. Although the store went under in 1922, Truman wasn't without a job for long. His leadership on the battlefields of France had captured the attention of another army friend, Jim Pendergast. Their association would change Truman's life. Pendergast's uncle, Tom Pendergast, ran the Kansas City Democratic political machine. Involved in numerous illegitimate activities, from gunrunning and prostitution to bootlegging and narcotics, Pendergast needed a clean-cut candidate to run for commissioner of Jackson County, Missouri. Captain Harry Truman, war hero, fit the bill. In the Democratic primary, Truman balanced his political inexperience with work and determination. The soldiers of Battery D supported their captain, and Tom Pendergast pulled all the strings he could. Truman won the primary by less than 300 votes, and carried the general election by about 3,000. Truman earned a reputation for efficient, honest performance. He undoubtedly made concessions to the Pendergast machine -- and he was rewarded for doing so. In 1934, Pendergast chose Harry Truman as his candidate for U.S. Senate and, in a rigged election, Truman won. United States Senator Harry Truman took office in January, 1935. Just as he had on the battlefields of France, Truman faced challenges, this time fellow senators who resented his association with the Pendergast machine. Using the assets that had served him well on the battlefield -- honesty, hard work and determination -- Truman would struggle to prove himself. Again, he would succeed. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Major funding provided by the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this Web site do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Pledge Your Support
Stories to Go
