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Motion Picture MP2006-42

The Man from Missouri: Harry Truman

Administrative Information

Original Format(s)
Motion Picture
Footage
535 feet
Running Time
14 minutes 45 seconds
Film Gauge
16mm
Sound
sound
Color
Black & White
Produced by
Hearst Metrotone News
Restrictions
Restricted
Description

Biographical film about Harry S. Truman, beginning with a description of his childhood through a segment of his farewell address to the nation on January 15, 1953. The film covers the dropping of the atomic bomb, the railroad strike, the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Airlift, the 1948 Democratic convention, the Korean War and firing of MacArthur.

SD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are available for $20, and HD-quality copies of already digitized motion pictures are $50. Copies of motion pictures not already digitized will incur additional costs.

This item does not circulate but reproductions may be purchased.

To request a copy of this item, please contact truman.reference@nara.gov​​​​​​​

Please note that this video belongs to a different video collection than the items available to be borrowed by teachers, from our Education Department.

Moving Image Type
Motion Picture

Shot List

  • Reel 1
     
00:18   A narrator describes Harry Truman’s childhood, military experience, and work in the Senate. Various pictures show what the narrator describes.
01:05   Title: “The Man from Missouri: Harry Truman”
01:27   January 20, 1945: Truman is inaugurated as Vice President. His wife and daughter watch.
01:36   February, 1945: Roosevelt is shown at Yalta with Churchill and Stalin.
01:50   Truman and Roosevelt meet for lunch, then, in April, 1945, Roosevelt dies in Warm Springs, Georgia.
02:20   Truman takes the oath as President, April 12, 1945.
02:40   May 8, 1945: Germany surrenders. Parts of destroyed Germany are shown. In July, 1945, Truman goes to the Potsdam Conference, where he receives the message, “The Baby is born.” The atom bomb is ready to use.
03:12   Japan is warned of impending doom, but the warnings go unheeded. On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay drops the first bomb on Hiroshima.
04:30   On August 9, a second atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki. One week and one day after the first bomb, Japan surrenders.
04:50   1946: The national railroad strike allows Truman to demonstrate his decisiveness in domestic affairs.
05:02   Truman speaks to Congress about the strike, then, after being handed a note, announces that the strike is over.
05:38   Refugees flees Eastern Europe and Communism. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan are created.
06:07   West Berlin is blockaded in 1948. The Berlin Airlift provides for West Berlin for a year by flying in food and supplies every three minutes.
07:05   Truman ended segregation in the armed forces.
07:26   At the Democratic National Convention, thirty-five delegates walk out because of Truman’s stance on segregation. Truman is nominated by the Democratic National Committee, along with Alben Barkley. Thomas Dewey, considered a shoe-in, is the Republican candidate.
08:15   The last great whistle stop campaign took place in 1948. Truman waves from the back of the train.
08:53   February, 19, 1948: Truman speaks at the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner.
09:14   June 24, 1950: North Korea attacks South Korea.
09:28   Truman and Acheson call North Korea’s advance a “threat to peace.” The United Nations Security Council meets and votes to send troops. Russia is absent for the meeting.
09:52   General Douglas MacArthur is made Commander of the UN forces. He attacks North Korea.
10:03   Truman praises MacArthur.
10:13   General MacArthur conflicts with President Truman. He makes military decisions involving political issues without consulting Washington. August, 1950: President Truman flies to Wake Island, where General MacArthur predicts victory. September 26, 1950: North Korea attacks, UN forces are overwhelmed and retreat. It is compared to a “modern-day Valley Forge.”
11:26   April 11, 1951: President Truman fires General MacArthur, and explains his action.
12:20   July, 1951: Korea begins peace talks, but Truman’s term runs out.
12:33   “We Like Ike.” Eisenhower defeats Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson.
12:48   Harry S. Truman and Margaret Truman are shown on a ship. Truman is seen in a parade. He is described as “Everybody’s President.” He is also listed among America’s ten greatest Presidents. Truman and his family are seen in a garden.
13:27   January 15, 1953: Truman gives his Farewell Address.