1. President Truman
stated that Inauguration Day would be a "good object lesson in
democracy."
Specifically, what civics lesson was he referring to?
2. What was the
purpose of his last Presidential speech?
3. Truman mentioned
places he had visited as President, the transportation modes he had
used,
and the number of miles he had traveled. How would his mileage and transportation
methods
compare with those of the current president?
4. According to
Truman, what occupies most of a president's time? Do you think this
is still true
today?
5. Identify the
slogan associated with Harry Truman, a portion of which, was mentioned
in the
Address.
6. As you listen
to, or read the Farewell Address, list as many significant decisions,
or issues that
Truman had to deal with as President as you can.
7. What did Truman
ask the American people, regardless of their political party, to do?
8. President Truman
stated that history would remember his administration for the beginning
of
the "cold war." What did he mean by "cold war"?
9.What was different,
according to Truman, between the actions of the United States at the
end
WWI and those at the end of WWII?
10.In the aftermath
of World War II, the United States was faced with crisis situations
in several
regions. What were they? What solutions were used to deal with the Soviets?
11. Harry Truman
was, and had always been, a serious student of history. How did he use
the
lessons of history to reach a decision on the situation in Korea?
12. Truman noted
in his Farewell Address that a president does not act alone; he has
others he
can rely on to help him make decisions. Who did Truman consult about
the Korean crisis?
13. The President
mentioned how difficult it was for him to send Americans to fight in
Korea.
Why, from his personal point of view, was this such a tough decision
to make?
14. What was, for
Truman, the real "issue" of Korea?
15. What reasons
did Truman to support his conviction that the United States would prevail
over
the communist threat?
16. How did Truman
say he responded when someone asked why we didn't use the atomic bomb
to end the Soviet threat to other countries and to ourselves?
17. The President
made some predictions that seemed to be impossible to achieve at the
time he
made them. What did he say would happen and has happened?
18. List some of
the things Truman would "dream" of happening in the future.
19. Describe the
mood or tone of the Farewell Address.
20. Why was this
an important speech for President Truman to make?
21. What can you
learn about the character of Truman from his Farewell Address?
Further research:
1. Truman mentioned the meeting in Potsdam, Germany with Churchill and
Stalin. What was the
purpose of this historic conference? What was Truman's "ace in
the hole"? What was the
Potsdam Declaration? What was the response of the Japanese government?
Visit
this section of our site for more information.
2. The President
described the inconvenience of living at Blair House during the renovation
of
White House, and the protectiveness of the Secret Service as he went
between the two sites.
What had occurred that caused the Secret Service to take extraordinary
measures (for the time)
to protect President Truman? See this
section of our web site for help.
3. Truman stated
that history would probably remember his White House years for the Cold
War
and the bomb. How would you rate Truman as a President? Great? Near
Great? Average?
State your reasons with specific examples.
How does history view the Truman Presidency? By what standards do historians
judge a
president? See www.americanpresidents.org/survey/historians/overall.asp
4. The President
devoted considerable time to the cold war which he predicted in 1953
the
United States would win. Have we won as Truman predicted and, if so,
what are the
indicators that we no longer live in the shadow of the cold war?
5. He spoke of his
decision to send troops to Korea as his most difficult and made bearable
because he had the support of the American people. Site an example(s)
of a time when other
presidents have sent troops into combat without the backing of their
constituents.
6. "Starting
a war is no way to make peace", according to Truman. Do you agree
or disagree?
Can you site an instance(s) where the U.S. has been the aggressor? How
important is it to
you that a Chief Executive seek Congressional and/or public approval
for a military action?
