Truman: The Rise to Power

by Richard Lawrence Miller

Containing previously unknown and unpublished information about his years before the White House, this extensive biography offers a fresh perspective by disputing many widely held beliefs and dealing candidly with his controversial political connections

Genres: History

536 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1986

About the author

Richard Lawrence Miller is an author and broadcaster who writes on American historical topics.

Reviews

[Gannon Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid novel on pre-presidency Harry S. Truman. This book is ideal for people Interested in Truman’s personal affairs and how they influenced his then presidency. You would likely want to pair this book with another book that discusses Truman’s presidency only. The author mainly focuses on events and things that happened around or too Truman more than an introspection on his character. Quite a lot of financial and business lingo since most of Truman’s pre-political activity was business related. That stuff I found hard to follow was specially since I’m not well versed in business and finance. The most interesting parts in the book to me were his activities in the senate from his views on race to anti-big business(sort a).And knowing Truman’s presidency his views on the matters seemed to translate. The book is at its most I rerating when focusing on the character progression of Truman, not when it’s discussing random and trivial business ventures. I would focus on his morals and ideologies in this book rather than his financial events.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harry Truman’s pre-presidential career usually is covered fairly quickly in his biographies but it is the sole focus of “Truman: The Rise To Power”. It covers the whole story from the Missouri frontier to school days, on the farm and through the War, the establishment and failure of his haberdashery and the beginnings of his political career up to the day of his presidential oath.

It is quite a saga with a few surprising twists. It is the story of a boy whose glasses kept him out of the rough and tumble and drove him into the library where he read every book. Inspired by tales of great lives he sought military training in the Missouri National Guard that took him to France and World War I. Having found a partner in Eddie Jacobson and experience with a successful regimental canteen they opened a haberdashery in downtown Kansas City catering to young men on the move and army buddies. His dabbling in oil exploration and Savings & Loans and banks gave him contacts and life lessons and some money, but not enough to capture his career. When all else had failed he was approached by the Pendergast machine to whom he represented a clean farmer with a sufficient network of connections weaving through work, the Masons, Battery D vets, relatives and friends to make him the ideal candidate to win the Eastern District judgeship on the Jackson County Court. Although he recognized that Pendergast men overcharged on county projects and collected pay that they did not earn, he was an exceptionally good judge, building a road system that helped make Jackson County a model for the nation. After disappointling his ambitions for Governor or Congress, Pendergast found him to be an acceptable candidate to take a U.S. Senate seat for the organization. Upon arrival in the capitol the “Senator from Pendergast” gradually earned respect through hard work and his committee’s exposure of waste in war contracts until he became the Democratic nominee for Vice-President.

Author Richard Lawrence Miller takes a different approach from the accepted Truman legend, that of the honest businessman who paid off his creditors even when he did not have to and the politician who, though surrounded by crooks, never used his position for personal gain. While recognizing Truman’s personal integrity, this work presents a man who had more obligations for his business debts than is generally recognized, who settled for fractions of amounts owed, relied on the fact that his salary as county judge could not be garnished for debt and who got some help in managing his loans but who, in the end, could not prevent foreclosure on the family farm.

I have read several books by and about Harry Truman. I value this one for its emphasis on his pre-presidential life and the realistic assessment of a businessman and politician who tried to advance and make ends meet while doing some things that might have been avoided by one anticipating a presidential run. Like any book, its facts and conclusions are subject to scrutiny. Contrary to everything else I have read on the subject, Miller concludes that FDR brought Truman up to date on the atomic bomb project when they met for lunch during the 1944 campaign. I also question whether Truman really planned the quiet campaign for the vice-presidency that this book suggests. Those misgivings aside, I think that it provides the reader with a well-researched introduction to the rise of a most significant character in the American Pageant.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of writing a review of this book is daunting - I had to set it down for two months while I took a class, and it so informationally dense, that I'm certain I didn't retain enough to do it justice. So let me instead make some remarks which may prove useful.

This is a warts-and-all depiction of pre-presidential Truman. Being myself from Independence, I'd grown up with the standard image of the smiling, outgoing, little dynamo. Miller's depiction adds new dimension to our popular impression of Truman - his ethical, financial, functional, and philosophical constants and inconsistencies, while plumbing his personality and circumstances to show how he made it work for himself, his allies, and the citizens he served.

I'd suggest keeping notes while reading this: there is a vast array of names and organizations, and it's tricky keeping track of how they fit into the big picture. There is an index which may be sufficient if one's willing to keep referring to it.

The extensive footnotes and citations take up pages 402 to 515.

Two Americans: Truman, Eisenhower, and a Dangerous World makes reference to this book a number of times.