Truman State University Press: 145 books

When he assumed the presidency in April 1945, Harry S. Truman inherited various international sources of turmoil, including the ambiguity of American policy toward political Zionism. Three years later, President Truman recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, just 11 minutes after the announcement...

One evening in 1955, Harry Truman came home to find Bess burning her letters to him. “What are you doing? Think of history,” he said. “Oh, I have,” she said and tossed in another stack. Bess Truman thought her business was hers and nobody else’s, so she destroyed her half of the more than...

President Harry S. Truman once said that if he were remembered for anything, it would be for his foreign aid programs. Despite the fragmented appearance of the Truman administration’s various foreign aid programs, they were all inspired by a clear policy “to assist free peoples to work out their...

President Harry Truman identified himself repeatedly as a champion of civil liberties in the American system of government. Although the pursuit of peace topped his agenda, Communist containment and civil liberties were, in his mind, closely linked. The American Constitution's Bill of Rights was a...

Decades before the environmental concerns of the 1960s and long before today’s quest for sustainability, Harry S. Truman’s presidency decisively changed the scope and pace of federal government interaction with the natural world. Determined to extend the prosperity promised by Roosevelt’s New...

This collection of essays examines President Truman’s somewhat contentious relationships with Congress. Authors evaluate Truman’s successes and defeats and measure him against later presidents of the United States. While the Truman era has been perceived as a stalemate between the executive and...

Harry S. Truman oversaw the beginning of a dramatic shift in the relationship between the U.S. government and Native Americans. Not generally associated with Native Americans or Native American affairs, Truman’s presidency marked the end of the Indian New Deal begun under the Roosevelt administration...

The Cold War profoundly transformed American society, perhaps most significantly through the development of national security institutions that are very much alive more than two decades after the end of the Cold War. The essays in this volume explore the highly charged political environment in which...

President Harry S. Truman’s contribution to civil rights is generally viewed as substantial and important. But some historians are inclined to regard his achievement as meager, hesitantly undertaken, polluted by political motives, and inadequate. The essays in this volume include the perspectives of...

Harry S. Truman’s nuclear policies and programs are probably the most significant and controversial aspects of his presidency. The essays in this volume examine Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons against Japan in 1945, one of the most contentious issues in all of American history, and the use...

Michael Frome is the pioneer conservation journalist and the premier environmental muckraker who knows a lot about integrity and dedication. He spent years as a media writer defending the environment, while many of his peers played it safe. Frome named names and pointed fingers, often forcing politicians...

Ghosts, aliens, a time traveler, and a mind-reading dog could be fiction, but Jason Offutt investigates true tales of these and other paranormal events that happened within 100 miles of his home. Offutt introduces ordinary folks who have encountered unexplained phenomena in everyday places and presents...

These essays show President Harry S. Truman made considerable contributions as an “immigration president,” though he generally has not been given credit for immigration policy. Truman pioneered refugee admissions, was the first president to propose eliminating all racial/ethnic bars in immigration,...

Harry S. Truman made decisions as president that would have a decisive impact in determining the course of history in Northeast Asia after World War II. These essays examine how Truman acted to resolve challenges facing the United States from 1945 to 1952 in Japan, China, and the two Koreas. The authors,...