OFF THE RECORD OFF THE RECORD THE PRIVATE PAPERS OF Harry S. Truman Edited by ROBERT H. FERRELL W HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS, New York j Cambridge; Hagerstown, Philadelphia, San Francisco, 1817 London, Mexico City, Sào Paulo, Sydney While portions of this work created by the editor have been copyrighted, it should be noted that Mr. Truman’s writings have been dedicated to the people of the United States and are therefore in the public domain. OFF THE record: the private papers of harry s. truman. Copyright © 1980 by Robert H. Ferrell. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Harper fit Row, Publishers, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022. Published simultaneously in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, Toronto. FIRST EDITION Designer: Sidney Feinberg Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Truman, Harry S Pres. U. S., 1884-1972. Off the record. Includes index. 1. Truman, Harry S., Pres. U. S., 1884-1972. 2. Presidents—United States—Biography. I. Ferrell, Robert H. II. Title. E742.5.T6 1980 973.918 092*4 [B] 79-3390 ISBN 0-06-011281-6 80 81 82 83 84 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 CONTENTS Acknowledgments A Note on the Editing Introduction 1 1945 : 9 1946 : 77 1947 : 105 1948 : 121 1949 : 154 1950 : 170 1951 : 207 1952 : 223 1953-1971 : 284 Source Notes 413 Index 425 ILLUSTRATIONS All photographs courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Library These photographs follow page 112. Harry S. Truman driving the cultivator on the family farm, about 1911 Clowning with cousins Mary Colgan and Nellie Noland, and James Craig Captain Harry S. Truman in France Harry S. Truman and Bess Wallace Truman, bride and groom, June, 1919 Truman and Jacobson Haberdashery in Kansas City, Missouri Truman’s first political platform, 1922 Senator Harry S. Truman with fellow politicians at the Democratic Na­ tional Convention in Philadelphia, 1936 Truman and President Franklin Roosevelt planning campaign strategy, 1944 Bess and Margaret Truman at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, 1944 Truman and his mother, Mrs. John A. Truman With members of his family listening to the election returns, 1944 Ethel Noland Nellie Noland Rose A. Conway, Truman’s personal secretary At the piano These photographs follow page 208. Harry S. Truman being sworn in as President on April 12, 1945 At Potsdam with Stalin and the American and Russian delegations Triple handshake at Potsdam: Churchill, Truman, and Stalin Announcing the surrender of Japan on August 14, 1945 viii Illustrations Truman awarding a Congressional Medal of Honor With Winston Churchill on the way to Fulton, Missouri, for the “Iron Curtain” speech With James F. Byrnes, former secretary of state and his successor, George C. Marshall Truman displays one of his famous scambled-egg ties At the Little White House in Key West, Florida, with Matt Connelly and Charlie Ross President and Mrs. Truman fishing in Key West Jimmy Roosevelt arriving in Philadelphia for the 1948 Democratic Con­ vention Harry S. Truman and Alben W. Barkley, the Democratic nominees, 1948 Campaigning by railroad Discussing the problems of farmers in Dexter, Iowa Handwritten diary entry, June 15, 1952, page 257. These photographs follow page 304. Harry S. Truman, President in his own right, taking the oath in 1949 Truman and the Shah of Iran at a state banquet Blair House President Truman riding in a heavily guarded limousine after the assas­ sination attempt Marching in the 35th Division reunion parade Truman and General MacArthur meet at Wake Island Former President Truman and family leaving Washington at the end of his term The Truman home in Independence, Missouri Truman walking alone in Independence The former President addressing a high-school audience In San Marco Square, Venice Mr. and Mrs. Truman greet their grandchildren With Mary Jane and J. Vivian Truman at the Truman Library Harry S. Truman and Bess W. Truman on their fiftieth anniversary ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thanks must go to the able director of the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, Benedict K. Zobrist; the equally helpful as­ sistant director, George Curtis; and the wonderful members of the staff —Vicky Alexander, Dennis E. Bilger, Patty Bressman, Mildred L. Carol, Harry Clark, John Curry, Diane Farris, Niel M. Johnson, Philip D. Lager- quist, Warren Ohrvall, Doris Pesek, and Pauline Testerman. Elizabeth Safly, the librarian, produced answers to questions, and gave me books about cats to present to my daughter. And as mentioned below, in thé Introduction, without the help of Erwin J. Mueller the Private Papers would not now be published. Mrs. Howard Carvin most kindly opened her house at 400 North Delaware to me, as she has done for so many library researchers. Corona Machemer, my editor at Harper & Row, compressed my tautologies, curbed my academic tendencies to relate the three sides of the coin, cut out Truman items that were repetitive or too special to be of interest to present-day readers, and called attention to gaps in the introductions, headnotes, and notes. Her help was invaluable. My thanks, too, to Liza Pulitzer, also of Harper & Row, for much assistance, especially with the photographs. Richard B. Morris and Henry Steele Commager have been most un­ derstanding about the publication of the Private Papers, which suddenly took precedence over a project for which I am responsible to them. It is awkward to put together a book from materials in Independence when living in Bloomington, Indiana; for patience during my twenty-six trips from Indianapolis to Kansas City, I am grateful to Lila and Carolyn. R.H.F. Independence, Missouri July 4, 1980