The Rise of Harry S Truman

The "S" in Harry S Truman's name doesn't actually stand for anything. It was given to him as a sort
of "compromise," representing the initials of both his maternal and paternal grandfathers (Solomon
Young and Anderson Shippe Truman, respectively).
Born in Lamar, Missouri in 1884 to a modestly successful farming family. They moved to
Independence, Missouri (which was thereafter always considered to be Truman's "home town")
when he was six.
Truman's First Employment Experiences
Unlike most future Presidents of the United States, Harry Truman did not seem driven by great
aspirations as a young man. He did not begin attending school until the age of eight, and graduating
from Independence high school in 1901, at the age of 17.
Truman was the last President to date to have never received a college degree (though he would
much later attend two years of law school), his life after high school being mainly filled with various
types of work, including for the Santa Fe railroad (which saw him living in hobo camps), and other
menial jobs in Missouri.
In 1905, Truman returned home to work on the family farm for the next dozen years. Farming, in
fact, would become his chief occupation prior to entering politics.
Also during this post-high school time, Truman joined up with the Missouri National Guard. He had
actually dreamed of attending West Point after high school, but his terrible eyesight had prevented
this. Truman's enlistment in the guard ended in 1911, though he rejoined in 1917 with the onset of
World War I.
Truman as Soldier and Businessman
Harry Truman's entry into the Great War (it is said that he was able to pass his military eye exam by
secretly memorizing the eye chart) saw him train in Oklahoma, where he met James Pendergast,
nephew of Tom Pendergast, the "Boss" of Kansas City politics. This would be profoundly important in
Truman's later life.
From Oklahoma, Truman's artillery unit (in which he would be promoted to Battery Commander)
was sent to France, where it participated in several key battles without losing a single man. Truman
achieved a war record which would enable his later popularity as a politician.
Returning from war in 1919, Truman married his longtime love interest, Bess Wallace (who had
previously rejected a proposal from young Harry in 1911) and, together with his army friend Edward
Jacobson, went into business and opened a Haberdashery in downtown Kansas City.
This business venture began successfully, but, partly as a result of the declining midwest economy
due to recession within the farming communities, the business went bankrupt after a few years, and
Truman http://filippositaliano.com/blog/2015/08/18/key-advantages-utilizing-two-way-radios/ was left
in debt.

Truman as Part of the Political Machine

The good fortunate of Truman to have befriended James Pendergast during his military training led
him during the mid-1920's to a relationship with Tom Pendergast himself - the man who practically
ran all of Missouri politics.
With the help of Pendergast (whose corrupt practices would both hurt and help Truman in his
political career), Truman was, in 1925, able to be elected judge in the Jackson County court, despite
his rather limited training in law.
For the next nine years, Truman's relationship with the Pendergast machine tightened, and he was
elected to several local judicial positions of prominence, which allowed him to engage in efforts to
transform Kansas City into a modern big city of national prominence. With the onset of the Great
Depression and President Roosevelt's New Deal program, Truman was put in charge of the local
Federal Re-Employment program as a patronage position which was intended to thank the
Pendergasts for delivering Kansas City to Roosevelt in the 1932 election.
Truman in the Senate
In 1934, Tom Pendergast reluctantly supported Truman's election to the U.S. Senate (he did not
think Truman was ready for national politics). Truman won the election handily, despite many claims
of voter fraud and improper practices on election day by the Pendergast machine.
As Truman entered national politics, the Pendergast connection turned from a benefit to a liability.
He was known as the "Senator from Pendergast," and as such it took him time to actually be taken
seriously in national politics. In his first term, however, he spoke out openly for Roosevelt's New
Deal and against the corporations and Wall Street speculators the President so opposed.
Despite a large amount of political opposition at home, Truman was able to eke out a reelection win
(thanks in part to a split ticket by the Missouri Republicans) and begin his second term in the senate
in 1940.
It was in this second term where Truman achieved his greatest success in the Senate. In heading up
the Preparedness Committee (which would become known as the "Truman Committee"), Truman
made a name for himself in congress by rooting out military wastefulness and corruption as America
entered into World War II.
Vice Presidency
So successful was Truman's committee (saving the military an estimated $15 billion), that the
previously unknown Senator's name earned recognition and popularity, finally bringing him out of
the Pendergast shadow.
This all played a role in the decision by the Democratic party, in the election of 1944, to choose the
popular Truman as Vice President as President Roosevelt vied for his unprecedented fourth term in
office. Little did the nation know that even then, as they handed the incumbent victory in the
election, Roosevelt's health was dramatically declining, and the national icon entered into his final
months of life.
By the following June, Truman would become President.

For more information:

Harry Truman's First Term
Harry Truman's Second Term
Recommended Reading:
Truman, by David McCoullough
References:
"Harry Truman." American Presidents: An Online Reference Resource.
McCoullough, David. Truman. Simon and Schuster. 1993.