Motion Picture MP2002-320
Administrative Information
Harry S. Truman responds to questions posed by Merle Miller, detailing his campaign for reelection in 1948. He discusses campaigns of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and William Jennings Bryan. He discusses how the press was against him as they were against Grover Cleveland and Andrew Jackson. Sound only.
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Shot List
- Reel 1
| 0:00 | Unidentified voice says "Scene 79, take 1, sound 63." Merle Miller asks questions to which Harry S. Truman responds. | |
| 0:54 | Harry S. Truman states that he decided to run for reelection at the end of the first term came because he wanted the endorsement of the American people. He had carried out provisions of the party's 1944 platform. When he was elected in 1948, he wanted to carry out a program that would be for the welfare and benefit of the country and the world. He did not view it as a "Truman Administration." | |
| 3:22 |
Mr. Truman details his campaign in 1944, stating that Franklin D. Roosevelt asked him to go by train and not by plane. He discusses a headline by the Chicago Tribune saying "Truman Belongs to the Ku Klux Klan." He says "It was a damn lie." President Roosevelt expressed pleasure with Mr. Truman's campaign. Mr. Truman details how Franklin D. Roosevelt was reelected, how Mr. Truman became vice-president, and how he got the news in April of President Roosevelt's death, making Mr. Truman President. |
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| 7:32 | Mr. Truman states that when asked to speak on an unfamiliar topic, he researches the topic, takes notes, has material typed, reads it, then ends up speaking off the cuff. He discusses a speech prepared for newspaper editors after the 1948 election. | |
| 9:12 | Mr. Truman states he always had butterflies before giving a speech, but was all right once he began. It's a common experience for which he has no explanations. He declared he could tell by looking at his audience if he had been successful. He claims he had spoken to many hostile audiences. After I tell them what I stand for "they don’t stay hostile." | |
| Unidentified voice says "Scene 80, take 1, sound 64." | ||
| 11:40 | Mr. Truman says in the 1948 campaign he never had audiences under 5 or 10 thousand people; he discusses campaigns of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and William Jennings Bryan. Mr. Truman traveled over 31,000 miles by train. | |
| 14:49 | Mr. Truman discusses Margaret and Mrs. Truman’s involvement in the 1948 Campaign. He said Margaret did a good job, that Bess had a good time, and "wanted to see the old man elected." He speaks movingly of Margaret as his only child, who was wonderful. Mr. Truman cries a little and his voice is filled with emotion during this segment where he discusses Margaret and Bess's support of him during the campaign. | |
| 16:09 | Mr. Truman discusses George Washington, how he succeeded in establishing a free government under the Constitution "he helped write" as President of the Constitutional Convention. He campaigned by horseback and stage coach. | |
| 17:17 | Mr. Truman says he watched the Republican convention in 1948, the first televised convention, and saw all the mistakes they made, took advantage of them "and it worked." When asked if he heard a lady speak who was later an ambassador to Italy, Mr. Truman said he didn't hear her. | |
| 19:00 | When asked what percentage of the press were for him, Mr. Truman says you "don’t have to worry about the percent that was for me . . . it wasn’t there." Mr. Truman says the press is always for special interests. The press had been against Grover Cleveland, but he was elected twice. The press was also against Andrew Jackson. | |
| 20:00 | Mr. Truman tells the story of the managing editor of the New York Times who informed the Pope that the occupant of the White House could not be elected. The Pope later asked the editor how it came about that Mr. Truman was elected. The editor told him the pollsters had polled each other instead of the public. | |
| 22:28 | Mr. Truman states he made his last speech of the 1948 campaign "right here in Independence, Missouri." |