The Political Education of Harry Truman - Trinity Episcopal Church

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• The  Trinity  Episcopal  Church  was  built  back  in  1881  and  that’s  where  Harry  and  Bess  got  married  in  1919.    This  building  is  about  trying  to  be  the  kind  of  person  that  you  know  you  ought  to  be.  Here’s  the  situation:    Harry  Truman  was  a  decent  man  who  wanted  to  stay  that  way,  but  who  decided  to  get  involved  with  politics,  along  with  all  its  moral  challenges  and  temptations.    To  really  understand  Truman’s  commitment  to  do  the  right  thing,  it’s  really  important  to  know  how  much  he  wanted  to  look  good  to  Bess.    
  The  best  evidence  for  this  are  in  the  letters  he  wrote  to  her  over  the  years.    These  are  some  of  the  things  he  wrote  to  her  :    
  
  I’m  horribly  anxious  for  you  to  suffer  from  an  excessively  good  opinion  of  me!    04/08/12
  Since  I  can’t  rescue  you  from  any  monster  or  carry  you  from  a  burning  building  or  save  you  from  a  sinking  ship  –  simply  because  I’d  be  afraid  of  the  monsters,  couldn’t  carry  you,  and  can’t  swim  –  I’ll  have  to  go  to  work  and  make  money  enough  to  pay  my  debts  and  then  get  you  to  take  me  for  what  I  am;  just  a  common  everyday  man  whose  instincts  are  to  be  ornery,  who’s  anxious  to  be  right.    11/19/13
  I’ve  wanted  so  badly  to  make  good…so  you  and  my  sweet  baby  [Margaret]  wouldn’t  be  ashamed  of  me.    05/01/42
  I’ve  never  cared  for  social  position  or  rank  for  myself  except  to  see  that  those  dear  to  me  were  not  made  to  suffer  for  my  shortcomings.    06/29/49
  
  Harry  Truman  spent  his  life  trying  to  be  the  type  of  man  he  thought  his  wife  deserved.    
  Independence  was  a  small  town  and  everyone  knew  each  other.    And  also,  everybody  knew  what  was  going  on  over  in  Kansas  City;  people  knew  who  Pendergast  was  and  people  knew  the  type  of  people  who  associated  with  Pendergast.  So  what  Truman  learned  here  was,  if  he  was  to  retain  his  good  reputation  and  not  embarrass  his  family,  and  yet  succeed  in  a  career  as  a  politician,  he  would  have  to  walk  a  fine  line.  And  the  place  where  that  political  career  began  is  only  a  couple  of  blocks  from  here.    Walk  on  to  the  next  stop,  number  205.
  

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