Mate can you please do a Video un Don Pedro Albizu Campos or Eugenio Maria de Hostos. You will not regret it. They're important to the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic .
"It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." Douglas Adams
Back then a president didn't get all the perks they receive today and I've read stories how Truman had personal financial hardships during his presidency yet didn't get currupted by money.
redsaber12 there was no need to invade japan. They were barely existing. A negotiated peace could have been used to the advantage in of Chang Kai Shek as well.
My father told me a Truman story: On his 80th birthday, Truman was out for his morning walk and some reporters joined him. One asked, "How old do you feel, Mr. President?" "80," Truman answered, dryly.
Actually, Eleanor Roosevelt said "Harry the president is dead." Truman replied "Is there anything I can do for you?" Roosevelt said "No Harry, is there anything we can do for you? YOU'RE the one who's in trouble now."...This is a true story, on what happened after being summoned and his famous run on foot,all the way from Congress to the White House.
actually, upon learning of FDR's death he asked her "Is there anything I can do for you?" where upon she replied...." NO, Is there anything I can do for YOU? You;re the one who's in trouble now...."
I was a young man back in Independence assigned to guard his house and had the privilege to meet and dialogue with Mr. Truman. He was what you saw, a common man who never suffered from hubris. I still have a signed picture from him....by the way, Mr. Truman went to Washington broke and came back to Independence broke.
I grew up in that tiny square, riding my bike around the courthouse, visiting the museum many times, and watching Ford's entourage pull up to give a speech from it's shadows, following Truman's death. Your video is a welcomed tribute to a great man. Thank you.
One thing that has sadly been left as a footnote that deserves to be part of Truman's legacy is the way he dealt with Japanese Americans. He ended internment policy enacted by FDR during the years before Truman became FDRs VP, sought to herald the 442nd division (the single most decorated division of the US Army which then was comprised mostly of second-generation Japanese Americans in WW2) as the dedicated and strong servicemen they were, and spoke about how such internment was done on the basis of racism and not any identifiable indication of Japanese people living in the US being of foreign loyalty. He tried to pass bills allowing compensation for those held in internment including one of the first civil rights bills to go into effect in the 20th century, though sadly little was actually put into effect, especially given the Democrats back then weren't on board that much. On domestic policy at least, Truman may well have been a bit too ahead of his time, given how many troubles he ran into enacting civil rights policy.
Well stated and add to that his executive order that integrated the United States Armed Forces as well as Simon alluded to the Fair Deal which southern Democrats of that era could not stomach. He's underrated severely in my opinion..
@@notforgotten3685 Uh...yeah! Did the little Japanese kids tell that to him as the jelly was leaking out of their eye sockets from the radiation? Or was it some pampered government official who got to sit back safe and sound while thousands of innocent civilians were wiped out?
@@justintay3079 you were born in the wrong time & place. In 1946 Manchuria wasn't crying fake tears over the bombing of Japan. And if war on civilians is murder, Japan is guilty of starting it, & Truman responsible for stopping them.
When my grandfather was a kid growing up in Jefferson City Missouri, he happened to be riding on the same train as Truman, going to the state capital, for some reason or another. After Truman’s presidency, my grandfather wrote to him and recounted the story. Truman wrote a thoughtful letter back, and included a signed photograph. Just a class act
I grew up in Independence, Mo. I attended the same church as the Truman family. Spent many hours at the Truman Library. His daughter was at my confirmation. My favorite quote of Mr. Truman is...”You want a friend in Washington....get a dog.” Bravo Zulu sir on the video sir.
Something that sticks out to me about Truman is one single event that characterised Truman the man rather than Truman the President. Shortly after Truman became Vice President, Tom Pendergast died. Despite having shed the shadow of Pendergast's corruption quite some time before, he attended the man's funeral _knowing_ that he'd be lambasted for it. Inevitably, huge criticism followed his decision to be at the funeral but he replied in a manner that I think speaks volumes about just what type of person he was: "He was always my friend, and I was always his." That. That says it all for me about Harry Truman. To acknowledge the friendship and pay his respects _despite_ knowing the dark side of Pendergast and also knowing that it would risk his own popularity, he still attended... because that's what friends do. Says it all, really.
Trueman was one of the very few of our Presidents who was also a very decent human being... probably because he had never sought the power of US President.
Yeah, I'm sorry, but this opinion is awful. Pendergast was a cancer on Missouri politics, using violence, fraud, and widespread corruption to maintain his empire. Personal integrity isn't thanking the mobster who gave you a cushy job. Going to this funeral was shameful no matter how you cut it.
@@JonSmith-hk1bq hate to disagree with such a firmly held opinion, but it doesn't say he went to the funeral because he gave him a cushy job, but because he was his friend. I grasp that some people have loathsome traits & are toxic. I also respect people that think for themselves & stand for their beliefs. If Truman saw some good in the man & went to his funeral to acknowledge that in spite of the public criticism? Give 'em hell, Harry.
@@kerriwilson7732 Many people died violently so that man could maintain his power. No, we're not talking about loathsome and toxic traits. He terrorized the politicians, public servants, and voters of his day into falling in line with his will. A fitting end to his life would have been at the end of a hangman's noose. Not dying of natural causes and graced by a presidential visit.
When Truman desegregated the troops he took an enormous amount of heat for that. He made sure there was a unit in the JAG office set up for the complaints, and was kept informed by the JAG office. Harry Truman was a force to be reckoned with. People didnt like him because he didnt play political ball.
For the few times Truman met Roosevelt, Truman thought Rooseevelt the coldest person he ever met. He also recognized that Roosevelt was on death's door.
In my opinion I would put Harry S. Truman at no.#6 of the greatest American Presidents of all time, just behind George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and both Roosevelts. I rank him higher than Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy.
Didn't make me cry made me laugh bc that lucky bastard only got into power out of luck were as I fought one of the closest campaigns In history to become president it's a 🤣
@@JawaPenguin16 One of the sad things in life. Then again I haven't gone fishing since 1993. I'm just a bit picky on where I like to fish. Best spots I've been to were in Washington state and Tennessee.
This is without a doubt the most beautiful episode! We have him to thank for the fact we don’t talk from bunkers or in a perpetual war... he kept the peace at the cost of his own popularity and that’s the mark of a great man.
In alot of ways you want a leader that doesnt really want to lead. The ones that have no interest in power but just want to help. Obviously there are other factors but not being power hungry is always a plus
Plato said something about being wary of the leader who seeks power. Pierre Trudeau (Justin's father) used to quote it on the election trail early on here in Canada.
Douglas Adams took this argument to a rather hilarious length in HGTTG with the true ruler of the universe being a man who didn’t even know he was in charge (because the only man fit to rule is the one who does not know he is doing it, and even if he did know he would not want to do it)
This story is so inspiring, I've been kicked down by life one too many times in my young age of 24. This actually gives me a drive to keep going and strive for greatness, maybe i won't be a president but i will damn sure make something of my life.
Most of the really great had lives like the Phoenix. From the ashes of failure they are reborn greater. Besides, too much success can leave you chained to the source of that success. Failure frees you to take those life-lessons to new possibilities.
Truman had more integrity in his pinkie than Trump has in his entire body! The only president after Truman that was as honest was Jimmie Carter. Also he left out a statement that Truman made after being sworn in, Truman said to the reporters there "Pray for me boys, I just got the worst job in the world".
Biggus Dickus he had everything a president should have. Bravery. Kindness. Lack of greed. Willingness to do what’s right regardless of backlash. Restraint. It took a brave and noble president to do what he did to MacArthur. He knew it would cost him, but knew it was the right thing so he did it anyway. In the long term, he prevented nuclear winter. Same with pushing for civil rights. It cost him support among the whole south, but he still went with it. He wasn’t a “puppet”.
@@davidmarquardt2445 Like his predecessor, Truman was a just and upright Mason. Much more active in the Craft than FDR, Truman became Grand Master of Missouri in 1940. In 1945, he was made a 33° Sovereign Grand Inspector General and an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council at the Supreme Council A.A.S.R. Southern Jurisdiction Headquarters in Washington D.C.
Footnote regards Berlin airlift, Truman cabled Stalin "If one of our unarmed planes is shot down Moscow will get very hot" that is Harry Truman in a nutshell.
@@concept5631 he said in (i think 1952?) that basically all the good things in american society like social security are socialist according to the right, and that socialism helps people
My sister and I met Harry Truman when he was president. He was driving under escort through our hometown and had his car stop to greet my sister and me.
There’s something about Truman that I love. He nearly completely failed at 40 years old and now is one of the most famous faces in history. I relate a ton with him(not the presidential part and the historical popularity part). Although he did use racial slurs, it felt like he did care about civil rights in a time when that wasn’t really the focus yet. I find inspiration in myself now thanks to Truman.
I can remember watching Harry on my folks old black & white Admiral TV in 1953 and what stuck me even back then was his honesty which I always felt was legitimate. The small plaque on his desk said it all: "The Buck Stops Here."
Simon, Thank you! You expressed great respect for Harry Truman. He was a great man. One slight error. He was not an accidental president. The party bosses knew FDR was not well; would die in office shortly and they knew the VP they were about to select would soon become president. This is exactly why Truman was selected.
This one hit me in the feels. I’m from Independence and he really is a big deal here. He was an ordinary an in extraordinary circumstances and this video does an excellent job of showing why we’re so proud of him here.
Ron Achten Yeah, it’s pretty great. It’s currently under renovation so when it reopens I expect it to be even better. Check out the National WWI Museum and Memorial while you’re in the area - definitely worth seeing!
Truman's economic policies were really his strong point, particularly the expansion of the Treasury Department's authority and the GSA, Harry had the touch of the common man with the honesty of a clergyman, potent stuff back when Americans were smart enough to respect the truth.
My grandfather was in the Pacific during WW2. He didn't talk much about the war, but we got a few stories from him. What stuck with me was his frustration and anger at people who questioned Truman's decision to use nuclear weapons on Japan. My grandfather was a kindly man, I don't recall ever seeing him angry or even raising his voice, so this response stood out. He served some time on Iwo Jima, and saw first-hand what the Japanese had done; he knew that to take Japan by force would be a slog through fierce resistance. While Japan's resolve was faltering at the end, had we been forced to invade it very likely would have rekindled their spirits. What we did was truly horrific, and I hope to never see nuclear weapons used again, but for my grandfather, who would likely have had to storm the beaches, it was the right decision.
@@Tourak McArthur is the one that dropped the balls, not Truman. Because he didn't listen to him, the Chinese became involved and millions more lives were lost that could have been avoided. This why the President is in charge and the Military is not supposed to involve themselves in politics, only to execute them. McArthur was guilty of insubordination at the highest level, and public opinion aside, the world paid the price for it.
@@Tourak - the Communists won out in China because of American support for Chiang and the Chinese "Christians" who were mostly corrupt. American companies like corrupt foreigners and try to see that they stay bought. The problems happen when real calamities - like WW2 - happen. Chaing took American money and weapons and didn't use them to fight Japan, intending to fight the CCP. Truman had nothing to do with this - but Harry Luce(publisher of Time Magazine and the hugely popular Life Magazine) did. So did many rich American people and companies(AKA the China Lobby). The CCP won because by this time, Chaing was old and senile, but the US support kept coming in, and went in his pocket. The Communists won, and the Chinese Nationalists fled to Taiwan; which was once a part of China. Taiwan is like South Vietnam was, or Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia; they were not natural states, but artificial gatherings of people who didn't get along. All are gone, and Taiwan will, too. And this is the work of American conservative Christians that give money to unscrupulous businessmen. Like the ones who screamed at Truman in 1950, "You lost China for us!" Huh. Anybody remember when the US conquered China? This is why China has built islands close by, and the Japanese are preparing to not rely on the US - who are making the same mistake the Roman and British empires made; and that's trying to run an Empire for less money. Taiwan will be part of China again, whether the US likes it or not. It's ALWAYS funny to watch a right-wing fan blame the whole path of history on one honest guy because he was a Democrat. Simon has said that Truman was a loser, but he was a farmer - not a prestige occupation, to be sure, but not a loser, either. And FDR knew who Truman was; and that he was a good man. Truman was FDR's last dirty trick on the Republicans; he knew that he wouldn't finish his term of office, and made the honest guy who ran the US Senate committee in charge of catching war profiteering and peculation, and made him his vice-president.b Republicans in the US still have colonic spasms when they think of Truman.
He was quoted later(after learning of the destruction caused by the atomic bombings) as saying “I felt like a bale of hay had landed on me.” We need honest and compassionate leadership like that today!
The “Dewey defeats Truman” news papers reminds me of those “Madame president” books they made in 2016 thinking that Clinton had it in the bag. Never believe the polls.
The Chicago Tribune poll was done by calling up subscribers for there opinions. The Tribune was a Republican paper, so no Surprise they had Dewey winning handily. Since then polls have been more careful on the sampling procedures.
I have no idea what the Chicago Tribune was thinking, because the polls showed Dewey getting crushed. He started out with a huge lead and it just steadily evaporated as people began to realize what a boring guy he was. He was a terrible public speaker and didn't seem to care if he won or not. The morning after the election, he opened his hotel room door, saw the Secret Service detail had been pulled during the night, meaning he'd lost, closed the door and went back to bed.
@@iainl9725 lol Biden is the Democratic version of Dewey sleeps in his basement all day till the pollsters tell him Trump has narrowed his lead in the battleground states. Trump is going to win in 2020 because the hoax impeachment has made him keep an eye over his shoulder more than usual he is always doing something tweeting, campaigning, tv interviews, speeches what not constantly engaging his supporters and Americans who can stand him while Biden is a dope who's lead in polls is very fluid it is mostly sentiment expressed by Trump haters.
1:35 - Chapter 1 - The boy from nowhere 4:55 - Chapter 2 - Life during wartime 8:15 - Chapter 3 - The "senator from pendergast" 11:45 - Mid roll ads 13:30 - Chapter 4 - The day the stars fell 16:35 - Chapter 5 - A new war 20:00 - Chapter 6 - "Dewey defeat truman" 22:50 - Chapter 7 - And then there was Korea...
As a Korean American, I owe my life in the States to Truman, MacArthur, and all the military personal who gave their lives for freedom to South Korea. It’s a crying shame the Korean War is nicknamed the Forgotten War.
Both the Berlin airlift in 1948 and the Marshall Plan(the economic rebuilding of Europe after the war), both authorized by Truman saved Europe from Communism and permanent political and economic upheaval. I don't think even Franklin Roosevelt could have done what Truman did after the war.
You forgot to mention that he's the only President with a federally funded scholarship for college kids going into public service from every state and territory. Cheers to any other Truman Scholars who subscribe! I would assume it's pretty much all of us. Great biography of an great man.
I never disliked him of course, but this bio has raised him substantially in my estimation. If nothing else, it's proof that the Democrats were the party of equality even before the 60s.
@@SafetySpooon Really?!!! I guess we missed the part about the Fair Deal Act!!!!! Democrats are HUCKSTERS!!!! Go back to 22:00 and watch it again!!!! There was a Democratic majotity in congress!!!!!
Legend has it that omeone once suggested to Bess Truman that she should teach her husband to say "fertilizer" instead of "manure". Her response: "It took me forty years to get him to say 'manure'!"
If all the Presidents were to fight each other, my money would be on Truman. I am not talking about a wrestling match (Lincoln) or a gun fight (Teddy Roosevelt), but for a knock down, bare knuckles, drag out fight, Harry is the winner imo.
@EmperorJuliusCaesar Wrong. The criminal presidents were Harding, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Jr., and Trump. Hmmm.... What do they all share in common besides thievery? Duh.
@EmperorJuliusCaesar How can I put this nicely....you are an idiot. Truman knew what weaponry the Russians had. He knew they had Nazi scientists working there. He also knew that thus country would not support another war. And that war would have been with Russia, China, North Korea, and Japan. We would have gotten our A$$ handed to us. So under the circumstances he did the right thing.
Excellent video. Simon really captures the man and his times. I recommend any of the major biographies of this incredible American. Even the tomes with an agenda to attack him are important because the criticism actually highlights his virtues. Our nation was fortunate to have him as President and he continues to serves as a beacon of honesty and decency in public service.
22:48 Saying that the Korean War was pointless is quite a hot take. The outcome *wasn’t* that neither side won, so the borders went back to where they had started. The outcome *was* that the Soviet and Chinese-backed invasion of the south by the northern communists failed to conquer the whole of the Korean peninsula. A defensive war maintaining old boundaries is a victory for the defenders, and their continued sovereignty means a whole lot.
In the end I believe a unified Korea is the ultimate victory. I think the south would do a good job in truth and reconciliation. That has always been the impression I get from Korea. I have a lot of empathy for the people of the north. They have truly suffered brutality and repression like few others ever.
*Brian Christopher* If I’m remembering correctly, South Koreans’ support for reunification has been steadily dropping for years. It’ll cost A LOT of money to reunify, and they seem to believe it would be a very violent event. I just don’t think it’s something the coming generations of South Koreans have much of an interest in anymore. North Korea is a wildcard, though; it’s hard to make predictions when the DPRK is in the equation.
Plus it's endlessly fun to point this out to the red Chinese that they intervened and invaded in the Korean war, not the US..... they got some really screwed up thinking regarding the Korean war over there... They call the war to resist american Imperialism and aid Korea... and skip over the north Koreans invading first entirely...
I got to shake Harry Truman's hand on my second grade field trip in 1962. We had toured the Truman Library and our bus stopped in front of his house. He came right out to greet us. That was a big deal to us wide eyed kids and I'll never forget it. I grew up in nearby Raytown.
truman is all of us: just a regular person, buoyed by their relationships and propelled by circumstance. you're still capable of greatness, no matter how often it's eluded you so far
I grew up with Truman as President. I saw Douglas MacArthur speak in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Texas, and always thought as a child that Truman 'done him wrong". I finally learned the truth while in college in the mid 1960's and realized how very wrong I had been. I truly respected this man and feel he was one of the best Presidents we ever had. When I see the turd we have in the White House now doing his best to ruin the entire legacy of America, I grow very sad indeed.
*darter9000* Memorable! Truman also had an understanding of certain classes and occupations and could sum them up, such as, "If you laid all the economists up end-to-end, they'd point in all directions." (You can probably see that it's true of many groups.) Stay safe.
I heard a Paul Harvey bit once that was about a couple of young fellas. One was a farm boy. He graduated high school and moved to the greater Kansas City area. He got a job at a local bank, as a teller trainee. The manager paired him up with a trusted, experienced teller for training. The job didn’t last long, as this farm boy from Abilene, Kansas was on his way to West Point. That farm boy was Dwight D Eisenhower. The trusted teller that became his friend for the rest of his life, who also passed on tips for success at another job, the Presidency, was Harry S Truman. Now you know, the REST of the story. Good...Day...
That handshake at 15:49 says a great deal about how the person swearing in President Truman feels about who he’s swearing in. Watching it at .25 speed says even more
I only know of 2 US Presidents who were honest with the nation - Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter. Both had the nerve to tell America that the state of the union was not strong in dark times. Remember, also, that this is the man whom had super weapons to use at a whim. While the USSR's testing of a nuclear weapon probably played a role in his decision to not use the device, Truman must have realized the power he had. His decision to use the bombs in 1945 may have saved more lives than they took as did his decision in 1951 to not use the bombs.
There's no maybe about it, 120k dead and two cities destroyed vs the Japanese committing mass suicide to kill a couple million allied soldiers and, after some 50 million dead, the Japanese home islands would be desolate, unpopulated, possibly colonized some time later by the US and UK and used as a base to guard against the soviets and Japanese culture would be condemned to the history books.
The Japanese were already sending out peace feelers and were willing to end the war on the condition that the emperors position would remain. Which we refused, then eventually gave them anyway. The bombs didnt end the war. It was the Soviet Union declaring war on japan that forced their hand. We knew this, the bombs were used to test affect on cities and civilian populations and as a show of force to the soviets, helping to shape post war policy. They were a political tool to attempt to bully Stalin.
@@overwhelmingapathy721 It was the right call. The Japanese government was a fascist regime responsible for genocide (or rape or whatever you want to call it) in Nanking. An event that the Japanese government still denies till this day. The United States dropped pamphlets over Japanese cities saying they have a weapon cable of total destruction and warned the Japanese to settle with their own conditions which they refused even after the first atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima. On top of that, Russia was getting ready to join in the war against Japan and if they were to reach the island first, I think Japan as a country wouldn't have a future. You'd probably see something similar to how Berlin was invaded by the Russians but without the Americans being able to do anything about it. McArthur Edit: Dammit, the rest of the comment was to lazy to show up. I'm to lazy to rewrite the rest. So I'm just going to sum the rest up like this.... McArthur restructured Jap gov by making one influenced by British Parliament which = good. The atomic bombs acted as a detergent from the USSR wanting the fight against "capitalist" societies. And instead of using nukes on each other, we repurposed it in the name of science, to allow us to progress into space.
I was hoping you would add the conversation between elenor and harry after she told him fdr died. Elenor: Harry, the president is dead Harry: Oh my god, is there anything I can do for you? Elenor: The question is, is there anything I can do for YOU, because you're president now Harry:...Pray for me
And she did! She was a big support and help; like she did for FDR, Eleanor did so much behind the scenes, so much that we still don't know how much. I know she was against her husband's signing of the Japanese Internment Camps, and she was also speaking for Civil Rights. Doing that, and being a woman made FDR's staff and other dems nervous and they begged him to silence her and to stop letting her interfere. He knew that was never going to happen and rarely (like with the camps) went against things that Eleanor was extremely passionate about. (Like, she is the one who INSISTED FDR approve the immigration boats filled with Jewish refugees from Germany and Poland. We don't talk about that, but because of her making her husband see sense, she saved thousands and thousands of lives!)
This story makes me proud to be an American. It is the American dream to make something out of nothing and his life story nearly brings tears to my eyes
A couple of things I would like to point out Supposedly, While he was a judge in Missouri he was approached by the Klu Klux Klan to join. Becoming a member of the Klan would have secured him more votes in order to keep his job next election. He did sigh up, and paid a 10$ fee, but then when he was told he would have to disassociate himself from friends of his who he had fought with in WW1 because they were Irish-Catholic, as well as from his friend and former business partner Eddie Jacobson who was Jewish. He refused to join and demanded his 10$ back. Also, I would like to point out he desegregated the military 5 months before an election, knowing it could quite possible cost him the election, knowing it cost him the southern vote.
You know, I have watched damn near all your videos on your thousands of channels over the last 6 months and...this may be your best of them all. You really did old Harry proud here sir. Good on you. We could sure use a few like him these days over here.
FUN FACT,The BUCK Truman is refering to is a part of POKER . A marker or button that indicates the dealer or defacto BOSS...FOR WORLD DOMINATION HE PLAYED NO LIMIT but for cash he preferred low stakes...pretty good in both
Jody Owen Whatever her and FDR’s personal lives were, it doesn’t seem to affect any of their life’s work. Eleanor was as interested in the US as much as her husband was. I’ve read some books stating at how FDR was being unfaithful at several times in his life, but that doesn’t seem to stop him from leading the country. Nor has it stopped Eleanor from her pet project of women’s rights, human rights, and civil rights for blacks. And that’s what makes them two very admirable leaders. Good leaders don’t let their personal lives interfere with what they see as the common good. It allows for more objective judgment and decision making.
I come from the small town of the Truman family farm in Grandview, MO. I am a true fan of Harry S. Truman. He was an amazing man. You did an amazing Bio of the man. Proud to know he is looked at as one of the most favorite president's in our history.
When I was little, I was at a park & in the rocks of the playground, I found this Harry Truman coin. I’ve never seen a presidential coin like it & it definitely isn’t currency. It looks like it was just a collectable coin that was made after he died to honor him. It’s just a coin with his name & face & years he was president on the front & then on the back was a little biography of his presidency. I don’t remember who I was with (either my dad, mom or grandma) but I think I was with my dad cause I remember showing it to him & him be so astonished at what I’d found. He then had this sudden memory of the day Truman died & told it to me. He said he came home from school & found his mom crying because she’d just heard the news Truman had died. Apparently she had loved Truman & was devastated when he died. I still have that coin in a little collection of weird things I found as a kid lol it’s one thing I never want to lose & will never willingly give away unless it’s to my future children & even then I might not lol I love that coin. It was how I found out who Harry S Truman was cause when I found it, I didn’t know who he was, all I saw was the word president & I was like “oooooooooooo” 🤣 now Truman is one of my favorite presidents 😊
I would have preferred "an accidental president" because, in my opinion, "the" accidental president was Gerald Ford; he was never elected to neither the vice-presidency nor the presidency.
As someone of high school age when that went down, Ford saved years of partisan rancor over pointless trials that would only have further destabilized the economy due to inaction by a revenge driven Democratic Party. After two years of doom trials the people were exhausted. Yes Nixon was guilty of dushbaggery. But no way in hell was McGovern going to win the election of 72. He only carried Massachusetts. It cost Ford the election of 76. But the country moved on. Nixon went into isolation and his health crashed. Karma took its toll.
The telegram was actually intercepted by the British but I must say I didn't know much about Truman and it's kind of cool to see that he basically came from nothing stuck to being honest and accidentally became president
This biography was pretty well done over all. However, the only important thing to add was Harry Truman was a voracious reader of history and biographies of important men in history. Truman read a whole lot about Andrew Jackson and the presidents before Abraham Lincoln whom he called the five weak presidents before Lincoln. Anyway, Harry Truman had more than an equivalent four year degree in history. He also studied law for a time while the judge of Jackson County although he never got law degree. He still had strong foundations in history, law and biographies of important historical men. He also mastered much mathematics like logarithms, trigonometry and algebra used in artillery as a captain of artillery. Also, Harry Truman's musical training on the piano expanded his mind to be able think outside the box when necessary. His historical knowledge was self taught but Harry Truman did a damned good job of teaching himself history. This knowledge of history helped him become an expert judge of men. He quickly appreciated George Marshall but also Dean Acheson and other smart good men were kept on in his cabinet. Truman read his policy papers and policy books meeting with his staff in the Oval office and his private office in the White House 18 hours per day. This same work ethic had propelled him during his Senate committee days too. Harry Truman came in early and worked late. He was always well read, well prepared and proved to be an excellent administrator in foreign policy during a turbulent time forming the United Nations, Nato, the Berlin airlift, and the Marshall plan.
So did mine. My Dad said he was ready to be shipped out to the Pacific theater, when the bombs were dropped. I might not be on this earth if it wasn't for Harry Truman. That he did all that he did in less than two terms was amazing. The Berlin Airlift, The Marshall plan, the creation of the CIA, recognition of Israel, the Pentagon, the United nations, The Truman Doctrine, desegregation of the military, the A bombs... To me he is the 3rd greatest president behind Washington and Lincoln.
And who knows what might have happened if he'd approved a war with China? The slightest things can change the course of history! Truman's decision might have avoided something very nasty later down the line.
Mine too. He told me in the 50's that posterity would hold him in higher esteem than when he left office. He was right. The Berlin Airlift was one of America's noblest acts.
Marshall Wallace “Consistently rayed as one of the best Presidents ever” is not true at all though. Most historians do not have a particularly positive opinion of Truman.
Luigi Cadorna Well, historians aren’t all right in their assessment, after all. Given how the final months of WW2 and postwar situation ended up to be, Truman drew the best option. Nuking Japan made sure the US don’t need to send so many soldiers to their deaths, young men that are useful either as soldiers for the Cold War or as citizens that returned to civilian life. It also helped deter the USSR from advancing into Japan, guaranteeing the US to have a say in Japan’s recovery (meaning that Japan can embraced the free market and suppress any possible Communist sympathy during the crisis that is wartorn Japan). Not handing MacArthur the nukes in Korea and his subsequent sacking not only ensured that the Cold War didn’t go hot, it also set some important precedent. As someone mentioned before, it made sure that nuclear weapons would not be deployed as some other kind of big conventional weapon, but merely as a weapon of deterrence. This helped reduce the risks of nuclear conflict emerging from smaller conflicts where the Cold War definitely took a hotter turn like Vietnam or Afghanistan. It also establishes the superiority of the civilian government (the President) over the military (represented by MacArthur). So many republics since the days of Ancient Rome had fallen when the generals became more powerful than the civilian government. Truman told MacArthur to know his place: to serve the interest of the people of the United States. It’s evident that in the 1950s, no American was ok with the idea of a hot war against the Soviet Union, especially with nukes being an option.
I live in his hometown independence, Missouri. His granddaughter still gives tours of the house he went to after his presidency. He would walk around the town and enjoyed talking to the townspeople
The last good Republican president was Eisenhower but even then that was before they began to appeal to southern conservatives as the democrats also wanted him
Funny when you think about it, we had back to back Presidents that are seen in a positive light by both political parties. Also, fun fact: Truman was the first of 9 straight Presidents to have served in the Armed Forces. This streak ended with the election of Bill Clinton. Truman: WWI (Army) Eisenhower: WWI and WWII (Army) JFK: WWII (Navy; only President to receive the Purple Heart) LBJ: WWII (Navy) Nixon: WWII (Navy) Ford: WWII (Navy) Carter: WWII and Korean War (Navy) Reagan: WWII (Army Air Forces; precursor to the Air Force) Bush Sr.: WWII (Navy; only President to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross)
You need to do SCOTT JOPLIN hands down the most influential songwriter in American history, first to sell 1 Million prints with his most famous song; Maple Leaf Rag (1899)
@@HongTran-be8up Germany had sued for peace in 43 to Britain. But they were told by their spies that this was essentially a trick to allow the Germans to re-organise, resupply and redeploy into better positions. Churchill told FDR and Stalin about this and I'm sure Truman knew about it too. Unless a draft of a peace treaty is sent then nothing is certain to military high command. Japan had attacked Pearl Harbour unprovoked, the idea that they could be trying to use a similar tactic that Hitler attempted was not only possible but considered the most obvious probability.
@@HongTran-be8up Japan was actively preparing their people to fight to the death. This included teaching children to make suicide bombs out of themselves. They were not seeing for peace.
Truman was damn right to use the bomb on hiroshima. It was done to end the war quickly and to protect further loss of american troops. And Truman was also commander in chief of the armed forces. He cannot be allowing more casualities. The second bomb on nagasaki was the fault of the Japanese army. Truman would Not have dropped the second bomb if Japan had surrenderred after hiroshima. Yacine, please do not turn history on its head.
i had accidentally closed my tab after finishing this, but i just want to say, i re-opened it. watch the video again, and thumbed it up. i enjoyed that. and i learned something i did not know
I studied history back in college and have a degree to match but ended up in the IT industry. But I do remember American history as it pertains to Truman as having been very unfortunate. Thank you Simon for presenting Truman in this light! You are such an awesome storyteller!
With the lockdowns happening again, it has given me a bit more time to brush up on some history. Thanks for doing this informative piece. I am proud to be a Harry.
Suggestion for new video: Johan Cruijff, maybe an odd one, but he was a one of a kind genius who created the foundation of modern football while also influencing the independence of Barcelona under rule of Franco. His endless supply of one-liners are classic also, never a dull moment when Johan was speaking. RIP Johan.
I never like videos. I liked this video. This was a moving look at one of the best Americans to have held high office, and it was incredibly well done.
There's a good book about Truman's retirement years called 'Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure'. He and Bess decided to hop in the Chrysler and go on an extended road trip. Well worth reading.
Other political leaders who could get a bio; Alexander Hamilton, Sir John A Macdonald, Jean Chretien, and Magaret Thatcher. Awesome job as always Biographics Edit: please stop hating on political figures. Also Chretien is still alive, so he's not eligible yet for a bio, since they said only deceased individuals after I forgot when
Had MacArthur gotten his nuclear bombs to drop across the China-Korea border, the cold war probably would have turned very hot... In this context, Truman's actions were remarkable to say the least. Instead of taking the easy route of giving way to MacArthur's cult, he chose the hard route because it was right. I've been in this kind of situations on a much smaller scale, and let me just say that doing the right thing can be very difficult.
Chameleon Sceimong - It's hard to tell what would have happened if Truman had let MacArthur nuke China. China didn't get its first nukes until 1966 and, although it pretended to be close friends with the USSR, the reality was that Stalin and Mao loathed each other so it's not really clear that Stalin would have used his A-bombs against America's H-bombs. But, of course, the USA and USSR had large conventional forces and Stalin could have threatened Europe very convincingly with those forces if he wanted to.
@@hughmungus1767 The point was not that China or USSR was going to immediately retaliate with nuclear force. It was that using nuclear weapons on such a minor proxy war would have normalised their use. Had the US shown the willingness to use nuclear weapons as simply bigger conventional weapons, there would have been much less restraint on both sides to use them in later years than was historically the case. There were several times when the world came to the brink of nuclear annihilation - it really didn't take much to push us over the line.
Chameleon Scheimong There Would Have Been No North Korea 🇰🇵, Only One ☝️ Democratic Korea Across The Whole Korean Peninsula And A Severely Weekend Communist Party In Mainland China & And A Weakened Soviet Union That Would Be A Lot Easier To Deal With , If Not For Truman’s Horrendous Decision , He Is Wholly Responsible For The Spread Of Communism In The Far East
@@hughmungus1767 Both u and Chameleon have good counter arguments. Macarthur was thinking from a strategic point of view and was thinking from his beliefs even back then already knowing and saying that the future conflict lies in the orient and not in europe. He was right, look at what we have now with China and Nokor. Macarthur was ahead of his time, when everyone still had that racist view of thinking europe was the center of the world he thought otherwise. Mac and his dad toured asia after world war one and had great respect for its peoples.
@@scheimongAs i mentioned you and HUGH have good counter arguments. Your point of view in the use of the BOMB as "simply bigger conventional weapons, there would have been much less restraint on both sides to use them in later years than was historically the case", is all I can say really very good!
Bravo, Simon. Having just recently fished reading his biography, you've summarized this man's amazing journey with a keen eye on detail while offering your characteristic and appropriate injection of humor...
You want to remember that at that time, and in this part of the country, being appointed a "judge", meant being appointed a county road commissioner, not what we ordinarily think of as a judge.
You seemed to ignore how he was able to get into the military, He was denied because of his near-sightedness, so he memorized their sight test so he could pass.
That was SO GOOD! I love your commentary so much! You have a special gift of bringing to life these historical events, seemingly w/o looking like you try hard at it. You’re just a natural story teller, & I LOVE listening to your commentary’s. Yes, I’m spreading the word around to other history buffs about your account
