Reading Notes From Truman by David McCullough

• Great quote from Roosevelt mentioned in the book: “To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected.” About sums up my feelings about the baby boomers and younger generations.
• Upon leaning that Roosevelt had died as Truman was being introduced to Mrs. Roosevelt they had this exchange: Mrs Roosevelt stepped forward and gently put her arm on Truman’s shoulder. “Harry the president is dead.” Truman was unable to speak. “Is there anything I can do for you?” he said at last. “Is there anything we can do for you,” she said. “For you are the one in trouble now.”
• Truman really hated J Edgar Hoover, though he was plagued by Senator McCarthy and Hoover and their red scare. He wrote privately to his wife “If I can prevent it, there’ll be no NKVD [Soviet Secret Police] or Gestapo in this country”, “Edgar Hoovers organization would make a good start toward a citizen spy system. Not for me….”
• Truman didnt come from money and his wife and himself really had to pinch pennies to make ends meet. He made $75,000 a year as president but half of that went to taxes and the president and family had to pay for all of the food and meals for themselves and guests. After taxes and expenses they managed to save about $4200 a year.
• During the Democratic convention that was going to presumably nominate him there was a major fight between the southern democratic coalition and Hubert Humphrey. Humphreys more liberal side endorsed Trumans candidacy and he said this during his acceptance speech “There are those who say to you - we are rushing this issue of civil rights. I say we are a hundred and seventy-two years late…. The time has arrived for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.”
• During the inauguration parade after his upset of Dewey, Truman is having a great time and only twice does he register disapproval. When Governor Strom Thurmand rode by waving happily Truman gives him the cold shoulder, and when Governor Herman Talmadge of Georgia another white supremacist drives by Truman turns his back.
• Interesting fact about the 38th parallel. It had no basis in Korean history, geography or anything else. It had been settled on hastily in the last week of World War II as a temporary measure to facilitate the surrender of Japanese troops. Those north of the line surrendered to the Soviets, those south to American forces. The decision on this had been made one night at the Pentagon by then Colonel Dean Rusk and another young Army officer named Charles Bonesteel, who picked the line of latitude at 38 degrees north because it had the advantage of already being on most maps of Korea.
• General MacArthur called on the administration to drop fifty atomic bombs on Manchuria and the mainland cities of China after Chinese troops entered the Korean war.
• Truman as president walked two miles every morning, his diet was one piece of toast at breakfast, no butter, no sweets. Fruit, one egg, a strip of bacon and a half glass of skim milk. Liver and bacon or sweet breads or ham or fish and spinach and some other vegetable for lunch, for dinner a fruit cup, a steak and couple of vegetables and an iced fruit cup for dessert. He also had a morning bourbon of Old Granddad or Wild Turkey!