Harry Truman as National Hero

Abstract

David McCullough is a widely admired author and television personality. His five earlier books garnered many honors; his appearances on public television brought him to the attention of an even larger number of people. When he spoke on his new book in Seattle last summer, he attracted a substantial audience that applauded him the moment he entered the hall, well before he had been introduced. Obviously enjoying both his words and his manner, the crowd responded frequently and positively during the talk and then lined up for signatures on copies of his gigantic biography, Truman. They appeared to be as enthusiastic about the author as about his subject, although Harry Truman is now an American hero. That Harry Truman has become a hero would amaze most people who were alive during his presidency, for then most Americans saw him as a failure. Although he had admirers at the time and later, including some historians who regarded him as great or nearly so, he did not move into the arena of national heroes until the 1970s. Several events early in the decade came together to produce this result, including his death in 1972, McGovern's defeat that year, and Watergate-especially Watergate. Merle Miller's Plain Speaking (1973) also helped, offering an image of the man that contrasted sharply with public figures of the day, above all, Richard Nixon. It has been good to think about Harry Truman this spring and summer, the twentieth summer since he left the White House, the summer after his death, the summer of Watergate, Miller began what quickly became a best seller. The memory of him has never been sharper, never brighter than it is now, a time when menacing, shadowy men are everywhere among us (p. 15). By 1976, presidential candidates, Republican as well as Democrat, competed in Truman lookalike contests, as they still do. McCullough's book provides the strongest case so far for Truman's place in the national pantheon. This is not to say that the author is uncritical. His list of Truman's flaws includes his handling of the railroad strike and Henry