Missouri Mule: Historian James Currie Reexamines Harry S. Truman’s Legacy
Alexandria, VA – Review: Missouri Mule
Publisher: Academica Press
Author: James Tyson Currie
Zebra Rating–5 Stripes
My recollections of Harry S. Truman took shape in elementary and high school American History classes, and in family conversations. Thought of as an ill-prepared “accidental” president, he took office in April 1945 after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death. Serving 82 days as vice president, Truman was thrust into a global crisis lacking geopolitical experience. As president, he didn’t shy away from responsibility, making that clear with his desk sign, “The Buck Stops Here.” What this plain-spoken, down-to-earth Midwesterner lacked in education (last president without a college degree), and meaningful management experience (ran a failed haberdashery), he made up for in stubbornness, common sense, and determination.
Historian and author James Tyson Currie, in his book Missouri Mule, sheds a brighter light on Truman’s importance at a crucial time in history. Currie converted massive research of Truman’s value to the country into a well-written account that reads like a novel. “Truman’s leadership of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program (popularly known as the Truman Committee) launched a totally improbable rise to country-wide fame,” Currie added.
Truman’s political career was launched and sustained by Missouri’s powerful and corrupt Democrat political machine led by Tom Pendergast of Kansas City. While Truman relied on this political juggernaut for his political rise, he built a reputation for honesty by refusing any direct bribes or bending rules to curry favor with supporters, or building personal wealth. Pendergast referred to Truman as a sucker. A bulldog in the Senate, he supported U.S. preparation for involvement in WWII. And as a member of the Military Affairs and Appropriates Committees, pushed to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in military spending and defense contracting. An effort that upended political machines like Pendergast.
The presidential decision to involve our country in a global war is a very tough one. With WWII raging, Truman’s decision to end the war was unimaginably tougher. Perhaps requiring more bravery than Truman was credited with. Currie said, “Ending the war with Japan by authorizing the dropping of the two atomic bombs. I realize that some folks today don’t believe the bombs were necessary, but as a military historian who has studied the political/military state of mind in Japan even after we captured all of those islands in the Pacific, I believe they were completely necessary. Hard-liners in Japan wanted to fight to the death if we invaded their home islands. Estimates at the time were 1,000,000 U.S. casualties (killed, wounded, captured) if we had invaded; upwards of 3,000,000 Japanese casualties. Yes, we would have eventually won the war, but at what cost? Truman had the guts and courage to authorize the bombs.”
Truman’s resolute determination moved America forward after WWII. His 1948 Executive Order desegregating the U.S. armed forces, an action taken without full support of his advisors, was a bold and necessary step for military advancement.
Colonel James T. Currie served over 30 years in the U.S. Army (active and reserve). He earned a PhD from the University of Virginia. James served as a professor of national security studies at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, as press-spokesman for the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, and as host and moderator for “America’s Army.” Currie lives with his wife, Janis, in Fairfax County.
Missouri Mule is a very informative read, especially for those curious about history. A president above reproach who got things done: Europe’s reconstruction, NATO and Israel established, and more, most without caustic dissent. ZEBRA RATING 5 STRIPES
Elaine’s Literary Salon Nov 26
Thursday, November 5, 6-9 p.m., Red Wine Dinner. Reservations required; tickets, $149
Saturday, November 7, 12-3 p.m., Timothy Trainer (The China Dilemma)
Sunday, November 8, 12-3 p.m., Quillen deBruney (Devils of Forsythe)
Thursday, November 12, 6-9 p.m., Edna Solis (The Secret Earth Society)
Sunday, November 15, 12-3 p.m., Solveig Eggerz (Sweet Potato)
Saturday, November 21, 12-3 p.m., Dr. Alecia R. Jones (30 Minutes to London)
