by A. J. Baime
“Can you imagine what”: Robert Klara, The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America’s Most Famous Residence (New York: Thomas Dunne, 2013), p. 66.
“In the intimacy of the ship”: Elsey, An Unplanned Life, p. 145.
“The situation is becoming”: “Memorandum for the President: Relief for Arab and Jewish Refugees in the Near East,” undated, Clark Clifford papers, Box 13, Truman archives.
“We have said ‘no’ and we”: Ann Tusa and John Tusa, The Berlin Airlift (New York: Atheneum, 1988), pp. 222–23.
“immediate use”: James Forrestal, The Forrestal Diaries, edited by Walter Millis (New York: Viking, 1951), p. 478.
“Do you think so?”: Abels, Out of the Jaws of Victory, p. 163.
“I’d be much better off”: Harry Truman to Mary Jane Truman, September 2, 1948, Papers of Harry S. Truman Pertaining to Family, Business, and Personal Affairs, Box 20, Truman archives.
The Ferdinand Magellan was the only: Much of the description of this train car comes from photographs on the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum website, such as this one, of the dining compartment: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/photograph-records/68-1588.
“I lived in a little tiny”: Oral History Interview with Clark M. Clifford (transcript), 1971, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 272.
“I was armed with briefcases”: Elsey, An Unplanned Life, p. 166.
“I worked at it night and”: Oral History Interview with Charles S. Murphy, Truman archives, pp. 133–40.
“He was on his own five-yard”: Oral History Interview with Clark M. Clifford, Truman archives, p. 246.
“My, what a wonderful crowd”: Rear Platform and Other Informal Remarks in Michigan and Ohio, September 6, 1948, Public Papers, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/183/rear-platform-and-other-informal-remarks-michigan-and-ohio.
“The record proves conclusively”: Ibid.
Truman was ushered into a special: Detailed schedules and arrangements for Truman’s campaign stops can be found in the Truman archives; the descriptions of the Grand Rapids campaign stop come from “Trip of the President to Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit, Pontiac, and Flint, Michigan,” Clark Clifford Papers, Box 33.
“the first major crisis”: Margaret Truman, Harry S. Truman (New York: Morrow, 1973), p. 20.
“Well, that broadcast is”: Oral History Interview with Matthew J. Connelly, Truman archives, p. 287.
“As you know . . . I speak”: Labor Day Address in Cadillac Square, Detroit, September 6, 1948, Public Papers, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/184/labor-day-address-cadillac-square-detroit.
“Along the highway from”: Oral History Interview with Matthew J. Connelly, Truman archives, p. 287.
“A President can always bring”: Oral History Interview with Jack L. Bell (transcript), 1971, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 55.
21. “The All-Time Georgia Champion of ‘White Supremacy’”
“Yesterday in Detroit . . . the American”: “Test of Stassen’s Reply to Truman,” Los Angeles Times, September 8, 1948.
“the inflationary spiral”: Ibid.
“He said he listened to the speech”: “Dewey Compliments Stassen,” New York Times, September 8, 1948.
“the all-time Georgia champion”: “The Southeast: Klan Openly Backs Talmadge in Georgia Campaign,” New York Times, August 15, 1948.
“Wise Negroes . . . will stay away”: “FBI Probes Georgia Primary As Talmadge ‘Warns’ Negroes,” Christian Science Monitor, July 15, 1946.
“We’re going to have white”: “White Supremacy In Peace or By Force—Talmadge,” Chicago Defender, August 14, 1948.
“I guess I voted for”: “Bullets and Ballot Boxes: The Isaiah Nixon Story,” Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project at Emory University (Note: this article cites FBI documents), https://coldcases.emory.edu/bullets-and-ballot-boxes-the-isaiah-nixon-story/#_ftn23.
“Fall, Isaiah, fall!”: Ibid.
“Herman Talmadge’s victory in”: “Talmadge Victory Boost for Dixiecrats,” Atlanta Constitution, September 12, 1948.
“My mama ain’t going”: “Election Highlights,” Atlanta Daily World, November 3, 1948.
“a weird combination of the”: “Rally Combines Revival, Song-Fest,” New York Times, September 11, 1948.
SAFEGUARD FREEDOM: Ibid.
“I can tell you a lot of things”: Ibid.
“They can call us Reds”: “48,000 Hear Wallace Assert Prejudice Will Fail in South,” New York Times, September 11, 1948.
“This is a great American”: “Text of Wallace’s Speech at Yankee Stadium,” New York Times, September 11, 1948.
“We must work”: Ibid.
22. “We’re Going to Give ’Em Hell”
“that he prayed that he would never”: Diary entry of James Forrestal, September 13, 1948, in The Forrestal Diaries, p. 487.
“The situation in Berlin is bad”: Diary entry of David Lilienthal, September 13, 1948, The Journals of David E. Lilienthal, vol. 2, The Atomic Energy Years 1945–1950 (New York: Harper & Row, 1964), p. 406.
“I am appealing to you for”: “Washington Merry-Go-Round: Democrats Hunt Down Money,” Washington Post, September 18, 1948.
“Mr. Truman looked pathetic”: Ibid.
“I have a terrible feeling”: Diary entry of Harry Truman, September 13, 1948, Post Presidential File, Box 643, Truman archives.
“I think I am going to mow ’em”: Numerous accounts of this conversation have the wording slightly different. See “Truman Gay as He Starts Western Trip,” Washington Post, September 18, 1948; Alben W. Barkley, That Reminds Me (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1954), p. 344.
“Daddy, you shouldn’t say”: Barkley, That Reminds Me, p. 203.
“I don’t think I have ever seen”: Rear Platform and Other Informal Remarks in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, September 18, 1948, Public Papers, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/194/rear-platform-and-other-informal-remarks-illinois-iowa-and-missouri.
“Well, those people had to”: William Bray, “Recollections of the 1948 Campaign,” Clark Clifford papers, Box 22, Truman archives. Also: Research Files, 1948 Election Campaign Collection, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research-files/recollections-1948-campaign-william-j-bray.
“It is fascinating”: Diary entry of Margaret Truman, September 17, 1948, Margaret Truman Daniel and E. Clifton Daniel Papers, Box 14, Truman archives.
“Going across the country”: Oral History Interviews with John P. McEnery (transcript), 1970, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 94.
“It was like a traveling circus”: Oral History Interview with Richard L. Strout (transcript), 1971, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 7.
“Nothing in the world is”: “Calling Washington: Strange Ritual,” Washington Post, October 2, 1948.
“The most important function”: Oral History Interview with Clark M. Clifford (transcript), Truman archives, p. 275.
“As an advance man”: Oral History Interview with Oscar L. Chapman (transcript), 1972, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 113.
“They worked like dogs and”: Oral History Interview with George M. Elsey, Truman archives, p. 63.
“When [Truman] would come into”: Oral History Interview with Clark M. Clifford, Truman archives, p. 274.
“He didn’t have time between”: Oral History Interview with Charles S. Murphy, Truman archives, p. 9.
“we developed a pattern for”: Clifford, Counsel to the President, p. 227.
“We’d bring the rope up and”: Oral History Interview with Floyd M. Boring (transcript), 1988, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 50.
“You guys let me down”: Oral History Interview with George Tames (transcript), 1980, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 12.
“Come on, boys . . . you have”: Ibid.
“Despite M
rs. Truman’s reserve”: Elsey, An Unplanned Life, p. 169.
“If it had been left to your”: Margaret Truman, Bess W. Truman (New York: Macmillan, 1986), p. 298.
“wasn’t trying to run the world”: Oral History Interview with Oscar L. Chapman, Truman archives, p. 121.
“The interest the public takes”: “Margaret Truman, Career Girl,” New York Times, September 8, 1946.
“Now don’t get scared”: David McCullough, Truman (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992), p. 567.
Pepsodent Hour with Bob Hope: Correspondence regarding Ms. Truman’s singing invitations are in Margaret Truman Papers, Box 5, Truman archives.
“my greatest asset”: Ken Hechler, Working with Truman: A Personal Memoir of the White House Years (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1982), p. 266.
“Where is Margaret?”: “Truman Gay as He Starts Western Trip,” Washington Post, September 18, 1948.
“the Odyssey of the ‘everyday’”: Jonathan Daniels, The Man of Independence (Port Washington, NY: Kennikat, 1971), p. 9.
“Hardly any other President”: Ibid., p. 19.
“Judging by his appearance”: Donovan, Conflict and Crisis, p. 4. (Note: Donovan was a political reporter on the campaign trail in 1948.)
“He had a tremendous veneration”: Oral History Interview with George M. Elsey (transcript), Truman archives, p. 33.
“You know the issues in”: Rear Platform and Other Informal Remarks in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, September 18, 1948, Public Papers, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/194/rear-platform-and-other-informal-remarks-illinois-iowa-and-missouri.
“While I knew that the”: Harry S. Truman, Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 209.
“This was another blistering”: Oral History Interview with Robert G. Nixon (transcript), 1970, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 624.
“You know farmers tend”: Oral History Interview with Leonard Miall (transcript), 1964, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 47.
“I have my own airplane”: Oral History Interview with Robert G. Nixon (transcript), Truman archives, p. 626.
“Now the farmers need such”: Address at Dexter, Iowa, on the Occasion of the National Plowing Contest, September 18, 1948, Public Papers, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/195/address-dexter-iowa-occasion-national-plowing-match.
“There was not much of a”: Oral History Interview with James J. Rowley (transcript), 1988, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, p. 50.
23. “The Presidency of the United States Is Not for Sale!”
“the most intensive in the modern”: “Intensive Tour Set for Dewey,” Boston Daily Globe, September 16, 1948.
“The FBI helped Dewey during”: McCullough, Truman, p. 673.
“the most news-covered”: “State of the Nation Dewey Train Doesn’t Muffle Its Whistle,” Christian Science Monitor, September 21, 1948.
“as momentous as any which”: “Matter of Fact: Nothing Succeeds Like Success,” Hartford Courant, September 22, 1948.
“spoke with special”: “Dewey and Truman: The Contrast in Iowa,” Los Angeles Times, September 23, 1948.
“Caravans from out in the state”: “Nothing Succeeds like Success,” Washington Post, September 22, 1948.
“Tonight we enter upon”: “Dewey’s Opening Speech: Republican Candidate Expounds Philosophy and Aims,” Washington Post, September 21, 1948.
“the unity that binds us together”: “Dewey Urges Firm Foreign Policy by U.S.,” Boston Daily Globe, September 22, 1948.
“unity among our people”: “Text of Dewey Speech,” Boston Daily Globe, September 23, 1948.
“spoke the language of Robespierre”: “Dewey and Truman—Contrast in Iowa,” Los Angeles Times, September 23, 1948.
“You really have to get to know”: Robert Schnakenberg, Distory: A Treasury of Historical Insults (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2004), p. 70.
“The Truman show was threadbare”: “Matter of Fact: Nothing Succeeds Like Success,” Hartford Courant, September 22, 1948.
“Life begins at nine o’clock”: Frank McNaughton to Don Bermingham, “Dewey XXI—Campaign Train,” October 1, 1948, 1948 Election Campaign Collection, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research-files/frank-mcnaughton-don-bermingham-dewey-xxi-campaign-train.
“And now, I want to introduce”: Numerous examples found in Series 2, Box 117, Thomas E. Dewey Papers, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester.
“Things are looking good”: Barak Mattingly to Thomas Dewey, April 26, 1948, Thomas E. Dewey Papers, Series 10, Box 28.
“I had hoped”: “Thurmond Headed Here for Press Talk,” Washington Post, September 29, 1948.
“the white man’s party”: Joseph Crespino, Strom Thurmond’s America (New York: Hill and Wang, 2012), p. 73.
“The Democratic South finally”: “Truman Hit in Tennessee: Nashville Paper Comes Out for States Rights Ticket,” New York Times, September 18, 1948.
“the Southern Democratic Revolt”: “Analysis of the Southern Democratic Bolt,” undated, Research Files, 1948 Election Campaign collection, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/research-files/memo-analysis-southern-democratic-revolt.
“the Republicans [have] an excellent”: Ibid.
“A grass roots sentiment against”: Ibid.
“spreading like wildfire . . . dishonest”: “Rivals Branded as ‘Traitorous’ by Thurmond,” Washington Post, October 2, 1948.
“In their traitorous bids”: Ibid.
“All agree that the Russians”: “False War Scares Seen by Wallace,” New York Times, September 18, 1948.
WHY NOT CONDEMN RUSSIAN: Photographs in “Old Parties Leading Us to War, Wallace Says,” Boston Daily Globe, September 19, 1948.
“enemies”: “Wallace Marks 60th Birthday with Attack on Administration for Activities Outside U.S.,” Washington Post, October 8, 1948.
“Their real intention is to”: Ibid.
“live in history as the worst”: “Progressives Plan to Boost Radio Speeches by Wallace,” Christian Science Monitor, October 12, 1948.
“Wallace did not come without”: Abt, Advocate and Activist, p. 147.
“to talk about the emanations”: Ibid.
“Of course. Didn’t you”: Ibid.
“It could reasonably be”: Devine, Henry Wallace’s 1948 Presidential Campaign, p. 154.
“There was no secret about”: Abt, Advocate and Activist, p. 165.
“Why shouldn’t the Communists”: Ibid.
“She has always been very”: Oral History of Henry A. Wallace, Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library, p. 5142.
“Mrs. Wallace was particularly”: Abt, Advocate and Activist, p. 154.
“I am now ready . . . to take”: “A Couple More of the Guru Letters,” Atlanta Constitution, September 21, 1948.
“I have hard fighting ahead”: Ibid.
24. “You Will Be Choosing a Way of Life for Years to Come”
“It was a typical Truman family”: Dialogue from Margaret Truman, Harry S. Truman (New York: Morrow, 1973), pp. 1–2.
“We arrived in Denver”: Diary entry of Margaret Truman, September 20, 1948, Margaret Truman Daniel and E. Clifton Daniel Papers, Box 14, Truman archives.
“Election day this year”: Address at the State Capitol in Denver, September 20, 1948, Public Papers, Truman archives, https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/199/address-state-capitol-denver.
“Today . . . I want to talk”: Ibid.
“We shall have to fight”: Ibid.
“It is difficult to see”: “Taking the Campaign to the Lowest Level,” Los Angeles Times, September 21, 1948.
“Thomas E. Dewey is almost”: “Poll Reveals Dewey Holds Wide Lead,” Hartford Courant, September 9, 1948.
“Nowhere is there any”: “The South, Dewey and Truman,” Atlanta Constitution, September 14, 1948.<
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“President Harry S. Truman will get”: “Big Labor Vote for President Will Not Win Larger States,” New York Times, October 11, 1948.
“One can reasonably deduce”: “Senate Seat Fight Big Worry,” Atlanta Constitution, September 13, 1948.
“famous divorce city”: Diary entry of Margaret Truman, September 22, 1948, Margaret Truman Daniel and E. Clifton Daniel Papers, Box 14, Truman archives.
“I was besieged by an attack”: Oral History Interview with Clark M. Clifford (transcript), Truman archives, pp. 272–73.
“What weeks of travel can”: Margaret Truman, Souvenir: Margaret Truman’s Own Story (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956), p. 236.
“When to get our laundry done”: Clifford, Counsel to the President, p. 227.
“My mother and I love to”: Margaret Truman, Harry S. Truman (New York: Morrow, 1973), p. 3.
“The thing I remember most”: Oral History Interview with Jack L. Bell (transcript), Truman archives, p. 67.
“Many of the reporters who”: Alfred Steinberg, The Man from Missouri: The Life and Times of Harry S. Truman (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1962), p. 328.
“I’m just telling the truth”: George McKee Elsey, An Unplanned Life: A Memoir by George McKee Elsey (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2005), p. 170.
“We had tremendous crowds”: Harry Truman to Mary Jane Truman, October 5, 1948, Papers of Harry S. Truman Pertaining to Family, Business, and Personal Affairs, Box 20, Truman archives.
“I never saw anything in my”: Oral History Interview with Robert L. Dennison, 1971 (transcript), Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, pp. 43–44.
“Even after twenty-five years”: Oral History Interview with Robert G. Nixon (transcript), Truman archives, p. 948.
“He fought, and fought”: Oral History Interview with Clark M. Clifford (transcript), Truman archives, p. 327.
“You know, sometimes India”: Oral History Interviews with India Edwards (transcript), 1969 and 1975, Oral History Interviews, Truman archives, pp. 48–49.
