We are visiting Missouri and Kansas next month as part of our Civil War study. I have found visiting historical sites really solidifies our studies, and we are so looking forward to our visit.
We will be visiting Independence, MO. President Harry Truman grew up on his parent’s farm in Independence, MO and he is said to have worked at a little soda shop called Clinton’s Soda Shop when he was young. We plan on visiting some of the landmarks, including the soda shop, while we are there visiting other Civil War Battlefields.
Growing up in the Denver Public School system, we learned VERY LITTLE about history. I was an A student, worked hard in school, but history was just not something that was widely taught in our system. I knew little about Truman, so I set out to prepare for our family discussions.
In light of the last four years, and the constant mainstream media insistence that Presidents of the past were upright citizens with only kind words to say, I thought this little tidbit was very interesting. Truman’s daughter had been performing for several years, and this critic had said she should “learn to sing properly.” He went on to say after a particular performance in 1950 that she was flat, had not improved in the last several years, and the best part of her performance was that it ended. President Truman was not happy with the critic’s public writing and proceeded to write a letter to Hume threatening to cause bodily harm upon meeting him. I suppose it’s only okay to be a rowdy man if you are a certain political party protected by the very paper playfully describing the incident. You can read the entire article about the threat HERE.
I knew that Truman was in office when we dropped the Atomic Bomb, but I did not realize it was his doctrine that effectively created the “COLD WAR.” Though many are against the idea of imperialism, or colonialism, much like Wilson and his desire to spread “democracy” by establishing military bases all over the world, Truman’s doctrine would now effectively establish what Wilson had desired.
Truman is also known for establishing the CIA. Many critics have said that this establishment has now created a government by a permanent class of professional bureaucrats and military intelligence officers, to who no real restraints apply, instead of a civilian government of citizens.
Much like Roosevelt, who tried to fix the falling prices of commodities by slaughtering six million young pigs (effectively taking over the market and making decisions outside of the actual owners), Roosevelt tried the same with the steel industry. In 1952, with Truman’s war in Korea into its second year, the steel industry faced increasing labor costs and entreated the government for higher steel prices that were currently subjected to government’s wartime price control regime. Just hours before a strike, Truman announced he would seize control of the steel mills as necessary to resist the “thoughtless and unpatriotic greed” of the steel industry. It ended up in court (Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co v Sawyer) and the court found that the administration had violated the constitutional systems’ separation of powers. The President was shocked the Supreme Court would rule against him.
It seems like seizure of industries and government control has been creeping into our country for a century. This is why–even as an adult–history is more important than ever before. I constantly hear how certain political groups are “for the little guy” while at the same time, creating wars, actions, taking over industries, and creating price controls over private industries continues to be the political action most cheered for if it’s the “right” political party.
The more you know….because “democracy” dies in darkness.
P.S. Journalism has already died in the darkness, much to the slogan of a particular newspaper that willingly participates in the lies and slander and darkness.