These interviews were a new special thing. If you're able, chip in to support future historical projects like this: www.patreon.com/williamcfox Features: Associate Professor of History and African American Studies at Duke University, Adriane Lenzt-Smith, New York Times Bestselling Author A.J. Baime, and Clifton Truman Daniel, Honorary Chairman of the Truman Library Association and eldest grandson of President Truman. Thank you SKDK and the Truman Library Institute for help in procuring the interviews.
A cool video! I appreciate your take. Although let me ask this, Truman may have been the most pro. Civil rights president since the end of reconstruction, but what’s it worth to be a good moral leader if you can’t get stuff down? To quote LBJ’s biographer, Robert Caro, LBJ was worse than Truman. He was more corrupt, just as vulgar (although more privately), and was absolutely more in bed with southern Dixiecrats. Yet LBJ Got more done than Truman ever really did. I don’t mean to say lbj was necessarily the god of civil rights (he sure as hell was t), but Caro made a good point. “Rhetoric is good, committees are good, etc but what matters is the power.” Truman simply aside from military desegregation really didn’t do as much. He didn’t excercise power. Truman couldn’t work around the southern democrats. And there is something cynical about desegregating the military where black men can still be a greased and die for a country that didn’t love them versus coming home and face lynching and constant harassment. And yea Robert Caro follows your history critique (the idea that larger forces make the times as he has covered the many ppl who worked for or opposed lbj then goes into who they are and why they did what they did).
You brought up the most important point. Truman nearly lost the election of 1948 because he took a firm stance on civil rights. He could have been like JFK and been less vocal about his support, but he went all in, and that took tremendous courage. This is one of the best examples we have of Truman's greatness as a president.
It only doesn't in a jew controlled system Adolf H. is a political hero, and iconic figure Andrew Jackson is a political hero Alexander The Great is a political hero There aren't too many, but there is a list, there's no reason for there not to be political heroes.
Great video, as always. Your content is so refreshing to watch on RU-vid, since you don't succumb to the clickbait sensationalistic narratives. History is complicated and nuanced, just like Truman and how you portray him. Thank you for making honest and informative content.
I can not express how much I enjoyed this video. I never knew about Truman’s civil rights triumphs and I am glad that I now know a narrative on this chapter of history.
Great video! I want to learn more about both Truman and the Civil Rights Movement, so this is up my alley. You did a great job. I also read in a comment response below that you plan on posting the full interview with with Dr. Lentz-Smith. I look forward to it! :) I also saw your collaboration with Cypher where you discussed the rise of the Third Reich and where Cypher discussed the history of authoritarianism in the U.S. Both are great videos. Keep up the nice work!
@@williamcfox One of the most "no duh" Alternative History things that always makes me chuckle is Wilson ending up as Confederate President in Turtledove novels.
Really well done research end constructed. Very satisfying piece of content. Your conclusion for how to best try to view leading individuals, groups, circumstances, culture, etc, all coming together in one history too large to fully comprehend, all wrapped in one is the best truth.
There are some fascinating stories from black american soldiers interacting with french colonial soldiers - will share the full interview soon with Dr. Lentz-Smith where such anecdotes were shared.
Black Americans were told over and over again that equality wasn't only negative. It was IMPOSSIBLE. That they should never expect or ask for thing to get better because this is just the way things are. Black soldiers finding out how things were in Europe were shown one thing: That was a lie. They COULD ask for better. More, they could DEMAND better, hell or high water.
In a democratic society, those in power will attempt to pander to as many social, political and economic viewpoints as possible, not throwing their lot in entirety with one side because they want to sway the moderate who is, in reality, the majority of the nation. At times candidates will lean more heavily to one side than the other, but they will most often try to portray themselves and amicable and understanding to all the most prevalent viewpoints of the general populace; this is one of the primary factors of electability. In recent history, we've seen a shift away from this, but the fact remains that a politician will very rarely ever be genuine in their viewpoints because the game of politics is one of appeal.
True. That's why it's not THEIR responsibility. It's OURS. We have them at gunpoint, we control their jobs. We have to make it very clear to them that they WILL do as they ask or they will find another job to do. Politicians are swayed by the public zeitgeist. WE are that zeitgeist.
I will just poke at your point in good-faith. Your analysis doesn't leave much room for people with genuine viewpoints (I know you do acknowledge them). your first sentences make politicians into those wind-twisting things at car lots, whereas my perspective nowadays is that there is a certain fluidity between a politicians personal views, interests, and the information they encounter, like activists or professional lobbyists. Thanks for watching.
@@williamcfox pointing out a direct hypocrisy isn't whataboutism. The soviets were famous for pointing out something that the Americans were doing that wasn't as direct.
@@williamcfox if it's relevant it really isn't. It's just exposing hypocrisy. If someone can never challenge things being impossed on others that they themselves don't adhere to with a hand wave of "whataboutism" then you're just trying to control others.
Some start the ball rolling, some carry it forward, some take it back. Don't condemn historical figures because they don't hold your values. You would not have these values without them.
I feel like many use this logic to avoid looking at historical figures with clear eyes. Like yes, historical figures are of their time, but that doesn’t mean we ignore the things that make us uncomfortable today.
@@williamcfox Yes indeed, we should not be afraid to look at history. My point was about jugging them. I really enjoyed this video and learnd alot. Thank you.
Abe Evolute on a few of slavery and racial equality. By the end of the war, he wants black to be free and fully able to vote and hold office. I took the whole class about the civil war and read a lot of his letters for the course.
You have not met many segregationists, my friend. They would shoot themselves in the foot and go down with the ship before they would ever allow black people to contribute to anything.
One interesting thing that's left out is the impact of communism on civil rights. When white veterans came back the found sluggish economy and increased competition for homes and jobs causing labor demonstrations and unrest. Many industrialist's employed black men as strikebreakers to try to combat labor movements, this cause racial anger at black people when they were agitating for more rights in light of their service to the country. On top of all this was developments in Russia. In 1917 the Bolsheviks took over Russia this scared the authority figures in the US who believed black protesters could be subverted to assist in a Bolshevik style coup in the USA. So they Joined hands with white supremacists' in what culminated as the "Red Summer of 1918" which would tip off the 1st Red Scare in the US the following year. The Fear that "black people" were a resource that communist elements could use against the US government persisted through the 1st Red Scare. This same pattern basically repeated in the 2nd Red Scare in the 1940s.
There's a great documentary by Oliver Stone where he shows a clip of Henry S Truman not only saying it with the hard R, but he actually can't stop saying it. Also discussing how his mother wanted a girl and dressed Henry S Truman as a girl throughout his childhood, and basically messed him up completely psychologically. Was messed in the head, even by 1940s ruling class standards from the sound of it.
25:48 An interesting thread to pull on is in the turn-of-phrase, "... the ruin of many a ..." It was used to describe the ruin of a business, "a prince's empire," a man (or men), and just about anything else. The quoted line in the video is from a 1913 letter written by Truman, and by using that phrase, Truman is alluding to the other things that ruin a good man. Truman's quote intersects with the lyric, "... the ruin of many a poor boy..." from "The House of the Rising Sun" as performed by The Animals. The lyrics were adapted from a folk song that was probably around in 1913 but probably with the lyrics, "the ruin of many a poor girl." _Cf._ @polyphonic video id: ahnYw3KmX74. As I mentioned, that turn of phrase was used at the time.
@@samwill7259 So he wasn't really a "civil rights president." I would like to see the argument that one can be both a proud supporter of the klan and genuinely support civil rights based on ideological grounds rather than as a means to fight the Soviets.
