Motion Picture MP2002-326
Administrative Information
Merle Miller interviews Harry S. Truman about various subjects. Mr. Truman discusses the development of Grandview, Independence and Kansas City, Missouri. He describes a few of the jobs that he had as a boy and as a young man. Mr. Truman declares the repeal of the Missouri Compromise as the chief cause of the Civil War. He discusses the Border Wars between Kansas and Missouri and his disapproval of the Loyalty Oath imposed after the war. Sound only.
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Shot List
| 0:00 | Merle Miller asks various questions of Harry S. Truman. | |
| 0:15 | Mr. Truman states that there is no formal arrangement for his talks to children at the Harry S. Truman Library. A staff member will suggest that it is usual for the children to stand when he enters the auditorium. Mr. Truman says it is important for children to be allowed to ask questions. | |
| 2:25 | Mr. Truman states that Grandview is called that because it's on a high place and has a "grand view." The town was not there until several years after the family moved to the farm. | |
| 3:55 | Mr. Truman discusses Miss Conway, who was his secretary since 1935 or 1936. She had first been his brother's secretary at Federal Housing. He describes her as reliable and discreet. | |
| 4:55 | Harry S. Truman describes the books in his office library. He describes them as mostly books with information about our presidents, those who left records. He states there was difficulty getting some of the records published. He wants the records available for students to study. | |
| 6:00 | Mr. Truman discusses a globe that was in his Library office. The globe was a gift from when he was President of the United States. He had another globe that was a gift from Gen. Eisenhower from when Mr. Truman was in Potsdam. He later returned it to Eisenhower, with a plaque. He doesn't know where that globe is now. | |
| 6:50 | Mr. Truman speaks of being a timekeeper for a contractor working for Sante Fe Railroad. He was 18 years old, the men were hobos. He states he got along fine with them. "They knew if they didn’t show up, they didn’t get paid." He discusses his job at Clinton Drug Store, which paid $3.00 a week. He was 10 or 11 years old. He tells of customers coming in early to buy whiskey for a dime, not wanting to be seen buying drinks openly at one of the many saloons on the square. They were the "great high hats of Independence." "I got my idea of what a real prohibitionist is." | |
| 12:00 | Mr. Truman says Independence, population 4,000, was a county seat. Later the county had county seats in Independence and in Kansas City. Mr. Truman was at one time President of the County Judges Association, knowing people all over the state. He believed that helped him win election to the United States Senate. | |
| 14:17 | Mr. Truman claims he never ran for a political office he really wanted except for that of Eastern Judge of Jackson County. He discusses his margins of victory in various elections and his one defeat. | |
| 18:06 | "Independence was the center of trails to the West." Mr. Truman says. He states that Kansas City became a great city because it was a railroad center. He claims it should have been named "Westport" because that's where the settlement was. | |
| 22:00 | Mr. Truman states that settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina settled the lower part of the state while those from Ohio, Indiana and Illinois settled the northern part of the state. He notes that Kansas was mostly settled by settlers from northern states. He declares the repeal of the Missouri Compromise as the chief cause of the Civil War. | |
| 24:34 | Mr. Truman discusses Border Wars between Kansas and Missouri (including Quantrill's Raiders and the Kansas Red Legs). He states that both sides were trying to protect their property. He discusses his disapproval of the Loyalty Oath imposed after the war. Mr. Truman discusses the Chile’s family. |