Independence, MO

From Nebraska City we headed south to Blue Springs Campground in Lees Summit, MO, which is right outside Independence. Blue Springs is one of three campgrounds operated by Jackson County. Blue Springs Campground has some campsites with full hookups, some with water and electric only, and some with electric only. Most of the full-hookup sites have 30/50-amp electric, but a few have 30-amp. All the rest of the sites have 30-amp electric. Most of the sites are back-ins, but there are a few pull-throughs that are parallel to the road. None of the pull-throughs have full hookups.

The roads are paved, and the pads and patios are fresh gravel. Quite a few of the sites are "buddy" sites, which are two adjacent, closely-spaced sites so you and your buddy can stay right next to each other without having to share a site. When we made our reservations, we were more concerned about satellite reception, so we didn't realize we had reserved a "buddy" site. However, even the "buddy" sites were spaced farther apart than the sites in most commercial campgrounds. The next photo shows our site at Blue Springs Campground.

The next photo is a view down the road past our campsite. The campground wasn't full, even on the weekend.

Independence, MO, was the home of President Harry S. Truman. Since we have enjoyed our visits to several other presidential libraries, we decided to stop at the Truman Library.

The Truman Library and Museum is dedicated to preserving documents and artifacts relating to Harry S. Truman, who was the 33rd President of the United States from 1945 to 1953. The Truman Library opened in 1957 and was the first of the presidential libraries built under the 1955 Presidential Libraries Act.

Inside the lobby is a mural depicting Missouri pioneer life. Many pioneer wagon trains left Independence headed for the west.

One of the first displays inside the library is a replica of the Oval Office as it appeared in 1950.

After seeing the Oval Office, we watched a movie about Harry S. Truman's early life and start in politics. There are also displays on the lower level with more details about his boyhood, marriage and politics.

Harry Truman was born in 1884 in Lamar, MO, about 100 miles south of Independence. The "S" is his name doesn't stand for anything - he had no middle name. It's just an initial to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shippe and Solomon Young.

When Truman was 6, his family moved to Independence. After graduating from high school, Truman worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and in several other clerical jobs. In 1906, he went to Grandview a few miles south of Kansas City to work on his grandparents' farm where he stayed until 1917 when he went into military service. Truman, who had served in the National Guard from 1905 to 1011 while in Grandview, re-enlisted in the Guard with America's involvement in WWI. Truman served as a battery commander and fought in France.

After the war, Truman returned home to Independence and married Bess Wallace whom he had met earlier. He opened a haberdashery which failed during the recession of 1921. In 1922, with the help of "Boss" Tom Pendergast and the Democratic machine, he was elected a county judge. This was an administrative rather than a judicial position. Truman would have needed a law degree for a judicial position, and he never went to college.

With Pendergast's backing, Truman was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1934. In 1943, his success as head of a committee to investigate military waste, fraud and mismanagement and his common-sense cost-saving measures thrust Truman into the national spotlight.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president at the time. Roosevelt's health was failing, and the Democratic National Committee felt Roosevelt would not live through another presidential term. They were opposed to then Vice President Henry Wallace becoming President, so they replaced Wallace with Truman on the ticket for the 1944 election. Roosevelt won an unprecedented 4th term as President (Congress voted in term limits after Roosevelt's death) with Harry Truman as Vice President.

Roosevelt died of a massive stroke on April 12, 1945, and Harry Truman was sworn in as President. The exhibits on the main floor of the Truman Library begin with Truman's swearing in and they follow some of the issues and decisions he faced. Truman, who was relatively unknown and untried, would face some of the most difficult decisions any president would ever have to make.

About two months after Truman took office, Germany surrendered, but Japan remained defiant refusing to even consider terms of surrender. President Truman was briefed on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb on the day Roosevelt died. Truman ordered an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on the morning August 6, 1945, and a second bomb dropped on Nagasaki two days later. On August 9th, Japan surrendered.

The decision to drop the atomic bombs was controversial to say the least. Supporters maintain hundreds of thousands of lives were saved, both American and Japanese, that would have otherwise been lost in an invasion of Japan. Opponents maintain the use of such terrible weapons was immoral and that Japan could have been defeated without an all-out invasion. However, the good news was the war was finally over.

During WWII, millions of Jews had been displaced. Although millions were killed, some were deported by Germany, and others fled. Jewish refugees scattered all over the world. After the end of the war, President Truman pressured Britain, which controlled Palestine at the time, to admit Jewish refugees. Britain submitted the issue to the United Nations, which recommended partitioning Palestine into two states - one Jewish and one Arab. This was a decision Jewish leaders accepted and Arab leaders rejected even to this day. Nevertheless, the formation of the state of Israel was announced on May 14, 1948.

Against the recommendations of his advisers, President Truman recognized Israel on May 25, 1948, and he was the first world leader to do so. The Torah in the photo below was presented to Truman by the first president of Israel in appreciation of America's recognition and support.

President Truman oversaw the transition to a peacetime economy. Many feared a return to the tough times of the Depression that preceded the war, but the poor economics of the Depression and the rationing during the war created an unprecedented demand for goods. Although there were shortages, threats of labor strikes and inflation shortly after the war ended, all the pent up demand for goods generated immense investments in manufacturing, and the economy began to boom. New industries like television sprang up. Homes were filled with air conditioners, TVs, electric clothes dryers and consumer goods of all kinds.

The Cold War also started shortly after the end of WWII. The Soviets, fearing a German resurgence, established absolute control over East Germany and eastern Europe, and they imposed their system of Communism. The United States and its European allies wanted more self determination and free markets. Fearing the Soviets were out to grab more territory for Communism, Truman took a hard line to contain the Soviet Union.

With all the turmoil, Truman was not expected to win reelection in 1948.  There is even a famous photo of Truman holding a newspaper with headlines saying his opponent, Thomas Dewey, had won; but Truman pulled out a last-minute, come-from-behind win to serve another term.

The museum has on display a 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan limousine that was one of a fleet of specially-designed cars leased to the White House for use by high government officials. This was before the time of special, armored Presidential limos. The car has a V-8 engine, two heaters - one in front and one in back, hydraulically-operated windows, two radios, and four cigarette lighters.

In 1950 during Truman's second term, the North Korean People's Army invaded South Korea. Truman proposed a naval blockade of North Korea, but found out there were no longer enough U. S. warships to enforce a blockade following military cutbacks after WWII. Truman urged the United Nations to step in, and the UN authorized a multi-national military defense of South Korea. The Korean Conflict, as it was called, remained more or less a stalemate for two years with over 30,000 Americans killed before an agreement finally re-established borders and restored peace.

Congress had already passed term limits for the office of president that would prevent a president from serving a third term or from serving a second term if he had served more than two years of a previous president's term. The latter part of that law would have applied to Truman except that the law contained a grandfather clause exempting the current president. However, in early 1952, Truman's approval rating stood at a dismal 22%, and Truman lost the New Hampshire primary. Truman canceled his plans for re-election.

President Truman left office in early 1953 and returned to Independence to live in the Wallace house that had become his home after his marriage to his wife Bess. The house, now called the Truman Home, is a National Historical Site and is normally open for tours. Unfortunately, it was temporarily closed while we were there to repair damage to the home's electrical system caused by a storm. We did, however, drive by for a photo.

 

After his presidential library opened in 1957, Truman maintained an office there and often worked 5 or 6 days a week until a fall in his bathroom in 1964 limited his physical capabilities which ultimately forced him to stop spending time in his office. His office has been preserved as it was when he left it.

President Truman died in 1972 from complications from pneumonia. Bess died ten years later in 1982. Both are buried on the far side of the museum courtyard shown in the photo below. The Flame of Freedom in the foreground was placed by the American Legion. The Truman's daughter Margaret and her husband are also buried in the courtyard.

As with the other presidential libraries we visited, we enjoyed learning more about the history of our great country. We still have another report from the Kansas City/Independence area, so stay tuned.