Harry S. Truman in the POTUS KO ringHarry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman: the record and the legends

Give 'Em Hell Harry. The 33rd president, 1945-1953, from Missouri. Every story here is tagged Record, meaning it’s documented, or Legend, meaning it gets told a lot and doesn’t hold up. Each one links to its source.

President
33rd
In office
1945-1953
Home state
Missouri
Party
Democratic
Height
5'9"

The record

  • RecordIn 1918 Truman took over Battery D, a rowdy artillery unit in France that had run off its last commander. He whipped it into shape, led it through the Meuse-Argonne, and didn't lose a single man in combat.Source: National Park Service, Captain Harry Truman
  • RecordA childhood illness left Truman with bad eyes, and he failed the vision test for West Point. In 1905 he memorized the eye chart and got into the National Guard anyway.Source: Truman Library Institute, Captain Truman: From Soldier to President
  • RecordThe morning after the 1948 election, a Chicago paper ran the headline Dewey Defeats Truman. Truman won, and he held that paper up for the cameras. It wasn't luck: he'd crossed about 21,000 miles giving speeches from the back of a train.Source: Truman Library Institute, Upset!
  • RecordThe Buck Stops Here sign on Truman's desk was a gift from a friend in 1945. The back said I'm From Missouri.Source: Harry S. Truman Library, The Buck Stops Here Sign

The legends

What he cared about

  • Stopping the spread of Soviet communism. He asked Congress for aid to Greece and Turkey in 1947, and that became the Truman Doctrine.
  • Rebuilding Europe after World War II with the Marshall Plan.
  • Integrating the armed forces. He signed Executive Order 9981 in 1948.

How he fights in POTUS KO

Missouri scrapper, artillery captain

Truman got written off again and again: his eyesight, his failed clothing store, the 1948 polls. Every time, he walked straight in and didn't back up. In the ring he's a scrapper who keeps coming.

See POTUS KO

Questions about Harry S. Truman

What does the S in Harry S. Truman stand for?

People like to say the S in Harry S. Truman stands for something. It doesn't. His parents couldn't choose between two grandfathers whose names started with S, so they gave him just the letter.

What was the Dewey Defeats Truman headline?

The morning after the 1948 election, a Chicago paper ran the headline Dewey Defeats Truman. Truman won, and he held that paper up for the cameras. It wasn't luck: he'd crossed about 21,000 miles giving speeches from the back of a train.

Where did Truman's The Buck Stops Here sign come from?

The Buck Stops Here sign on Truman's desk was a gift from a friend in 1945. The back said I'm From Missouri.