Wayne Ball
Nancy Lewis
Ronnie Moppin
Mark Spaulding

campaign stops

map(click on states)

In September 1948, President Harry S. Truman hopped aboard the presidential railroad car, the Ferdinand Magellan, and began a cross-country campaign odyssey that would take him through 30 states. When his train pulled up at small whistlestops in towns like Trenton, Mo. and Price, Utah, Truman would appear on a platform on the back of his car.

There, to shouts of "Give 'em hell Harry!", the feisty Missourian would lash out at the "do-nothing" 80th Congress and reminisce about his childhood in small-town Missouri and his experiences as a farmer. At the end of his speeches, he would ask the crowd whether they wanted to meet The Boss;as cheers erupted, his wife Bess, and his daughter Margaret would join Truman on the platform.

Though Truman may have considered handing out No. 2 pencils and multiple choice quizzes to his audiences, there is no evidence to suggest that the president ever administered formal pop quizzes to crowds during the whistlestop tour. 1948 campaign dares to do just that. Created by four teachers from the Independence and Blue Springs, Mo. school districts as part of Project WhistleStop, 1948 campaign presents you with excerpts from Truman's 1948 campaign speeches and challenges you to match wits with our quartet of quizmasters. It's armchair time travel at its most inviting. Truman, ever the history buff, would have loved it. Hop aboard, we think you'll enjoy the ride too!