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Harry S. Truman Papers
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| 1922 | Haberdashery business failed as result of business recession | |
| Won election as Eastern District Judge on the Jackson County Court | ||
| 1924 | Defeated for reelction by Henry Rummel | |
| 1925-26 | Worked as a membership salesman for the Kansas City Automobile Club | |
| 1926 | Elected Presiding Judge of the Jackson County Court | |
| 1927, January | Sworn in as Presiding Judge of the Jackson County Court (served two four-year terms, 1927-34) | |
| 1928 | Led successful campaign resulting in approval of a bond issue for $6.5 million to build 224 miles of paved highways in the county, and additional funds for building a county hospital | |
| 1931 | Obtained voter approval of bond issues to complete the road system, build a new courthouse and jail in Kansas City, remodel the Independence courthouse, and construct a detention home | |
| 1933 | Appointed Director of Federal Reemployment for Missouri, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civil Works Administration | |
| 1934, May | Filed as a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate. Undertook extensive campaign trips throughout Missouri by automobile to obtain support for candidacy | |
| 1934, August 7 | Won Democratic primary election with 276,850 votes; John Cochran received 236,105; and Jacob Milligan, 147,614 | |
| 1934, November 6 | Defeated incumbent Republican Roscoe C. Patterson by 262,000 votes | |
| 1934, December 27 | Participated in the dedication of new courthouse in Kansas City | |
| 1935, January 3 | Sworn in as United States Senator (served first six-year term, 1935-1941) | |
| 1940, June 15 | Launched reelection campaign at courthouse in Sedalia, Missouri | |
| 1940, August 6 | Won Democratic senatorial primary election, garnering 268,557 votes; Lloyd Stark received 260,581; and Maurice Milligan, 127,363 | |
| 1940, November 5 | Won reelection to the Senate, with 930,773 votes; Manvel Davis (cont.) received 886,376 (served partial second term, 1941-1945) | |
| 1944, July 21 | Nominated for the office of Vice President at the Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Illinois | |
| 1944, November 7 | Elected as Vice President of the United States | |
| 1945, January 20 | Sworn in as Vice President in inauguration ceremony at White House | |
| 1945, April 12 | Sworn in as thirty-third President of the United States upon the death of President Roosevelt (completed Roosevelt's remaining term of office, 1945- 1949) | |
| 1948, July 15 | Nominated Democratic candidate for President on first ballot at Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia | |
| 1948, Sept. 6-Oct. 30 | Undertook several "whistle stop" campaign trips, traveling about 22,000 miles throughout the country by railway, making 275 speeches | |
| 1948, November 2 | Elected to second term as President contrary to the forecasts of newspapers and poll takers, who had almost unanimously predicted his defeat. Popular vote: Truman, 24,105,812; Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, the Republican candidate, 21,970,065; Governor J. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina running on the States Rights (Dixiecrat) ticket, 1,169,021; and Henry A. Wallace of New York, the Progressive Party candidate, 1,157,172. Electoral vote: Truman, 303; Dewey, 189; Thurmond, 39 | |
| 1949, January 20 | Inaugurated for second term (served second term, 1949-1953) |
The papers of Harry S. Truman as Presiding Judge of the Jackson County (Missouri) Court date from his initial term as Eastern District Judge (1923-1925) through his ascension to the office of President of the United States, with the bulk of the material arising from his years as Presiding Judge and his race for United States Senator in 1934.
The Jackson County (Missouri) Court, as constituted in the mid-1920’s - 1930’s, was comprised of three elected members, a Presiding Judge (four-year term of office) an Eastern District Judge (two-year term of office) and a Western District Judge (two-year term of office), who exercised the corporate powers of the county. These powers included: the management and control of county property, both real and personal; the authority to purchase, receive, lease, sell or convey county property, both real and personal; the appropriation of county funds for use in administering county needs; and the ability to audit and settle all demands made against the county.
Mr. Truman ran for Eastern District Judge in 1922. In the Democratic primary, he was backed by Tom Pendergast’s “goat” faction. After he won the nomination, both the “goat” faction and Joe Shannon’s rival “rabbit” faction, supported him in the general election, which he won. He failed in a 1924 reelection bid, however, because of a split between the two Democratic factions regarding job patronage. After two years working as a membership salesman for the Kansas City Automobile Club, he successfully ran for Presiding Judge of Jackson County, being unopposed in the primary. During his two terms as Presiding Judge, Mr. Truman concentrated on administering county affairs, and spearheaded successful county road and public buildings programs that saw the foundation laid for Jackson County’s public highway system. He also engineered the renovation and construction of the Jackson County Courthouses in Independence and Kansas City. In his second term as Presiding Judge, Mr. Truman also served as the Missouri State Director of the National Reemployment Service, under the auspices of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” Civil and Public Works Administrations. He also undertook his first campaign for federal office, running successfully for the United States Senate in 1934. Mr. Truman’s extensive traveling, criss-crossing the State of Missouri during the 1934 senatorial primary race, in many ways foreshadowed his 1948 cross country “Whistlestop Campaign” during the 1948 presidential race.
Among the significant documents in this collection are copies of county financial records (such as budgets, drafts of budgets, and revenue projections), county department payroll lists, maps and printed materials on highway programs, copies of financial records regarding courthouse construction funding, photographs of Charles Keck’s Andrew Jackson statue, legal opinion letters prepared by the county counselor, outlines of conferences, copies of legislative material, correspondence, speeches and handwritten drafts of speeches, all prepared or utilized by Mr. Truman during his tenure as Presiding Judge. In addition, there are memoranda regarding county employee allotments for, and rules and regulations of, federal programs dealing with public and civil works, utilized during his stint as Missouri State Director of Reemployment. Also of interest in this collection are documents, including speeches and handwritten drafts of speeches, correspondence, business cards, newspaper clippings, adding machine tapes, auto servicing records, printed campaign literature and other items relating, primarily, to Mr. Truman’s 1934 senatorial race. Of particular interest is a copy of his transcribed notes, known as the “Pickwick Papers” because they were written on hotel stationery while he was staying at the Pickwick Hotel, in Kansas City, Missouri. These notes include his reminiscences of his life, both personal and political, on the night before the announcement of his decision to enter the 1934 senatorial race.
The Papers of Harry S. Truman as Presiding Judge of Jackson County (Missouri) are arranged in alphabetical order by folder title, except for the diary/appointment books, which are arranged chronologically.
Other materials at the Truman Library which relate to this collection include the following personal papers collections:
In addition, the following transcripts of oral history interviews relate to this collection:
| Container Nos. | Series | |
| 1-3 | SUBJECT FILE, 1920-1950 | |
| Copies of financial records, such as budgets, drafts of budgets, revenue projections, county department payroll lists, maps and printed materials on highway programs, copies of financial records regarding courthouse construction funding, photographs of Charles Keck’s Andrew Jackson statute, legal opinion letters prepared by the county counselor, memoranda regarding county employee allotments for, and rules and regulations of, federal programs dealing with public/civil works, outlines of conferences, copies of legislative material, speeches and handwritten drafts of speeches, correspondence, business cards, newspaper clippings, adding machine tapes, auto servicing records, printed campaign literature and other items relating, primarily, to Harry S. Truman’s tenure as Presiding Judge of the Jackson County (Missouri) Court and his 1934 senatorial race. Arranged alphabetically by subject. | ||
| 3 | DIARY AND APPOINTMENT BOOK FILE, 1926-1937 | |
| Diary and appointment books, outlining appointments and automobile, lodging and meal expenses arranged chronologically. |
Box 1
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