Harry Truman

In 1884 Harry Truman was born.His first name would be Harry after his Uncle Harrison. Harry S Truman would finally be. Harry Truman liked to say in later years that he had the happiest childhood imaginable . Most of his childhood included his grandfather taking him riding side in a horse drawn cart, and hunting for bird nests while gathering wild strawberries. While in school kids made fun of his glasses as most kids do. These occurrences probably didn't have a lot to do with him becoming president but it is important to see that he had a normal life as a child. His family wasn't rich, he didn't receive the best schooling, but he had love from his family and siblings and that might have been a important factor. As a boy the first and most memorable political event for young Harry was the day of Grover Cleveland's second victory, in 1892. As Truman grew older his father john decided that it was about time Harry started to concentrate on his studies. He grew dutifully, conspicuously studious, spending long afternoons in the town library watched over by a white plaster bust of Ben Franklin.... The library contained two thousand volumes, Harry and his friend Charlie Ross vowed to read all of them . The influence of his teachers on his life, Harry later said was second only to that of his mother . Unlike Harry Vivian Harry's brother was a strong ox of a boy with a good sense of selling cattle, and therefore John Truman made him a partner. Where Harry and his father did find common ground was in the sociability and excitement of politics. Some of the happiest of Harry's memories was when he and his father attended the big democratic picnics. Harry' s life was well on its way to college until tragedy struck. John Truman's run of luck on wheat futures had ended, and began to loose heavily that same summer of 1901. To recover his losses he kept risking more money until they had lost 40,000 dollars in cash, stocks, and personal property. At age 51 John Truman was wiped out. And so weren't Harry's chances of going to college. The Truman's never gave up though, Harry realized that he wouldn't go to college at this time so he went to work. He did everything from a mail clerk to a bank vault clerk. Until 1905 when he joined the National Guard. This was Truman's break he had always wanted to join the military and he was moving quickly in the ranks. Soon he was named corporal, " the biggest promotion I had ever received". While in the National Guard He learned to be a leader and allocate responsibility. After his stint in the National guard he went back to work on the farm where he met an intriguing young women that shared many of Harry's interests. After countless love letters and many trips to the theatre Bess finally said yes. They were engaged in 1913. The year is now 1917 and the Wilson had asked congress to declare war. It was a decision that would affect Harry Truman's life forever. He had been out of the National Guard for 6 years now and his eyesight was anything but keen, but he still believed that it was " a job somebody had to do. Harry was stepping onto a battlefield with the machine gun, automatic rifles, tanks, poison gas and flame-throwers. He had little trouble rejoining the National Guard and went immediately to work organizing a new artillery battery. He expected to be made a sergeant, instead he was elected first lieutenant. He was never elected anything until now. Later he was sent over sees and wrote to bess, his mother and sister religiously. He quieted their fears and told them he was happy wherever he was. He soon made captain and was becoming quite proud of his work with the soldiers. In the time allotted, captain Truman had transformed what had been generally considered the worst battery in the regiment to what was clearly one of the best . When he returned home from the war he and Bess finally got married and the first chapter of his great adventure was over. On the trip home from France Harry wrote to bess... Well be married anywhere you say at any time you mention....and if you want only one person or the whole town I don't care as long as you make it quickly after my arrival .

After the war and the marriage Harry went into business with Eddie Jacobson. They set up a men's clothing shop that would fail miserably. Harry blamed the republicans in Washington. During the war Harry made many acquaintances one of them was a young man named Jimmy Pendegast. Jim Pendergast was a part of the huge Pendergast political machine. The family offered Harry a run at his first political job. The job was a judges position in Jackson county. Harry accepted without hesitation. Truman won the office convincingly. The victory was overshadowed by the influence of the Ku Klux Clan. The group was growing and it was in the best interests if Harry join. At first Truman accepted the advice and gave the membership fee of ten dollars. In a meeting with the clan organ izre Truman learned that he would never be allowed to hire Catholics. Truman cut the meeting short stating that he commanded a mostly Catholic battery, and he would give jobs to who ever he believed deserved them. Truman was then ten dollars richer. This just comes to show how ethically bound Truman was and that he would never allow politics and the power it brought get in the way of his own values. Harry won the position without having support of the Ku Klux Clan. In 1924 Harry faced his first defeat and then one of his greatest victories. When Harry Truman ran for reelection it was a dismal time for democrats, and especially for the pendergast machine. Truman ran up against a republican named Henry Rummel, an old harness maker. While the two factions of the democratic party were fighting with each other rather than trying to win the election, the republicans took the office without a problem. The second greatest day of Truman's life was the arrival of his daughter in the midst of a snowstorm on February 17, 1924. The first being his wedding day. In 1926 he ran for presiding judge, and since pendegrast and Shannon had patched up their differences Harry one by a huge margin, 16 thousand votes to be exact. And in 1930 he ran again and won by 58 thousand votes. Harry Truman was on his way. During his years of service to Jackson County Harry Truman was partly respondsible for many big events in his county. A hospital was built for the aged and infirm, a girls home for Negroes, a new Kansas City courthouse, and a new Independence Courthouse.

After his long reign of public service in Jackson county ran out there was little Truman could do other than go into another business. One option was to find another political office one that was preferably higher. Fortunately a very large opportunity opened up for Truman, a seat in the U.S. Senate. The Republican incumbent Roscoe Patterson,