2015 MEDIA KIT
Introduction This straight-talking Midwesterner became one of America’s greatest and most beloved presidents. Today’s politicians still try to compare themselves to Harry. And only in Independence can you learn the real truths about the life behind this incredible man. A failed farmer and haberdasher, a successful artillery officer, and a hometown boy with middleAmerica ideas and ethics, Harry Truman was Independence. And Independence is Harry Truman. Built on a hill overlooking the Kansas City skyline, on land donated by the City of Independence, the Truman Library was dedicated July 6, 1957, in a ceremony which included the Masonic Rites of Dedication and attendance by former President Herbert Hoover, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Here, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare Act in 1965. Since the Library’s dedication in July 1957, the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum has welcomed and inspired millions of visitors from across the globe.
About The museum collection consists of approximately 30,000 objects, including hundreds of Truman family possessions, political memorabilia, diplomatic gifts and 1,300 letters from the Truman courtship and marriage. Most of these objects fall into one of five main categories: • Gifts to President & Mrs. Truman From Foreign Heads of State • • • •
Gifts to the Trumans From Private Citizens Personal Possessions of the Truman Family Political Memorabilia Objects Associated with Truman’s Career
Note: The museum collection is not open for research but can be made available through advanced arrangements with the director.
President Truman donated his papers to the United States government through a letter of gift dated February 12, 1957, and his will of January 14, 1959. The entire collection totals over 7 million pages. Truman’s early life and career in Jackson County as farmer, entrepreneur, soldier, businessman, community leader, politician and local government official is not as well documented in his papers as is his later career. Most of Truman’s senatorial papers from his first term, from January 1935 through January 1941, were presumably destroyed after being removed from Truman’s office and sent into storage somewhere in the Senate Office Building. The papers from Truman’s brief tenure as Vice President are filed with those from his second senatorial term. An important feature of Truman’s papers is a remarkable collection of correspondence with his wife, daughter and other relatives, and of autobiographical and diary-like writings. Truman was throughout his life a prolific letter writer, and his frequent absences from home and family gave him strong reason to write many letters. These are located in the Papers Pertaining to Family, Business and Personal
Affairs. The autobiographical and diary-like manuscripts are for the most part in the President’s Secretary’s Files. TODAY, THE HARRY S. TRUMAN LIBRARY AND MUSEUM HOUSES MORE THAN: • 15,000,000 pages of manuscript materials, of which approximately 6,500,000 are White House files • 100,000 still pictures • 500+ hours of disc and tape recordings • 400 motion pictures • Approximately 500 oral histories • 75 hours of videotape recordings • 30,000 books • 10,000 periodicals • 1,400 microfilm copies of printed materials Together, these historic materials document the remarkable life and legacy of President Truman, and some of the most dramatic chapters from our American story.
“I HOPE THIS LIBRARY
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER
Throughout the exhibition, engaging activities challenge young people to put themselves in Harry Truman’s shoes. Activities include trying on period clothing, sorting mail, writing letters, making campaign buttons and other tasks. One interactive station even allows children to compete to see whether it was faster for young Harry Truman to take the train or his 1911 Stafford car from his farm in Grandview to visit his girlfriend, Bess Wallace, in Independence.
UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRESIDENCY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” HARRY S. TRUMAN
Due to the success of the “Creating a Classroom for Democracy” campaign, the Truman Library and Museum is poised to make a significant difference in how young people feel about and become engaged with American history and their own civic responsibilities. Especially designed to appeal to the elementary visitor, the artifacts, photographs, documents and interactive education discovery areas all combine to make this an outstanding teaching resource. The exhibit targets 4th, 5th and 6th graders, older students will learn about the early influences that shaped Truman’s Presidency. Students will be able to compare the way of life in Harry Truman’s time to their own life today.
Museum Exhibits THE EARLY YEARS The experiences that shaped Harry Truman’s character are the focus of the first part of the exhibition. Sections titled “Boyhood” and “Farm Years” deal with young Truman’s formative years in Independence and on the family farm in Grandview. His early job as a bank clerk and his attempts to be a successful businessman are highlighted in “Becoming a Man.” The experience he gained as a leader of men in World War I can be seen in “Military Service,” while “Home from the War” chronicles his marriage and his start in the haberdashery business.
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE Truman’s brief 82-day Vice Presidency is the focus of “From the Senate to the White House.” “Living in the White House” chronicles the personal side of life in the Executive Mansion, a period during which the White House itself was completely rebuilt. Truman’s many trips as President back home to Independence, to his vacation spot in Key West, Florida, and to other parts of the country and the world are the focus of “The Traveling President,” which includes his final trip back home to Independence at the end of his Presidency in January 1953.
FAMILY Harry Truman’s personal life revolved around his family. His long love affair with his wife Bess, and the joy he experienced with his daughter Margaret are critical to understanding the life of Harry Truman. This section of the exhibit examines the relationship among what some people called “The Three Musketeers.” The love letters between Harry and Bess Truman, Margaret Truman’s singing career, and the family’s love of music are just a few of the topics covered.
MR. CITIZEN From 1953 until his death in 1972 Harry Truman remained active. The final section of the exhibition deals with his retirement years in Independence. Much of his time was devoted to developing the Truman Library and exposing young people to the importance of knowing their history and government. But he also traveled, dabbled in politics as an elder statesman, and wrote his memoirs.
POLITICAL CAREER Harry Truman first entered politics in 1922 with his election as a Jackson County judge. The section titled “Public Service” examines Truman’s years in county politics, including his successful public works programs and the doubts he had about his association with the Kansas City political machine. “Senator” deals with what Truman called his “happiest ten years” serving in Washington as one of Missouri’s senators.
White House Decision Center The White House Decision Center is a nationally recognized hands-on history lab where participants step into the roles of President Truman and his advisors, work with formerly classified primary source documents, and collaborate to tackle some of history’s greatest challenges. The White House Decision Center provides a unique setting to enrich course content and practice historical methods including: •
Close reading and information gathering
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Primary source analysis
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Comparing and contrasting multiple points of view
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Synthesizing complex information
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Group cooperation and communication
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Speech writing and public speaking
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Crafting evidence-based solutions for a complex problem
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Simulations -Ending the War with Japan -Addressing Postwar Civil Rights in the U.S. Armed Forces -Reacting to the Soviet Blockade of Berlin -Responding to the Communist Invasion of South Korea
More than 71,000 have experienced The WHDC. 2015 marks the 15th year of educating the next generation of citizens and leaders.
Temporary Exhibit TILL WE MEET AGAIN: THE GREATEST GENERATION IN WAR AND PEACE April 4, 2015 - January 3, 2016 Included with Museum admission This exhibition commemorates the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and Harry Truman’s elevation to the Presidency. Set in the tumultuous year of 1945, the exhibition uses the history of the war as a backdrop to the momentous events of that year - the violent battles in the Atlantic, Europe, and the Pacific, the Yalta Conference, the death of President Roosevelt and elevation of Harry Truman to the Presidency, the surrender of Germany, the founding of the United Nations, the Potsdam Conference, the use of the atomic bomb, and the surrender of Japan.
gle to survive the war and look ahead to the uncertainty of their new lives in a land forever altered by the world conflict. The German surrender document will be displayed from Monday, April 20th through Monday, May 18th. Emperor Hirohito’s Rescript (the order he gave to the Japanese people and military to lay down their arms and surrender to the Allies) will be displayed from Friday, August 14th through Friday, September 11th.
Told through iconic artifacts and history-shaping documents, supplemented by memorable video clips, letters, diary entries, and personal mementoes, the exhibition follows a new President wrestling with decisions that will affect the future of the world, while ordinary Americans of the Greatest Generation strugTAMMY LJUNGBLAD The Kansas City Star
Museum Photos
Visit CONTACT Telephone: 816-268-8200
Groups of 15 or more are eligible for a group discount; guided tours may be requested with a four-week advance reservation. Learn more
Toll free: 800-833-1225 Emai: Truman.Library@nara.gov HOURS Open daily Exceptions: New Year’s, Thanksgiving & Christmas Day. Monday – Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. MUSEUM ADMISSION Free: Members and children 5 and younger $8: Ages 15 and older $7: Adults 65+ $6: Students (with valid I.D.) $3: Youth (ages 6-15)
School groups may qualify for transportation and/ or admission scholarships. For more information, please contact Mark Adams, Truman Library Education Specialist, at mark.adams@nara.gov or 816-268-8236. PARKING Parking is free for Museum visitors. Free motorcoach parking is also available. ACCESSIBILITY The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum is wheelchair accessible. For your convenience, wheelchairs and strollers are available on a first come, first served basis.