Basic Information : Synopsis : Thoughts : Evaluation : Book Group : New Words : Book References : Good Quotes : Table of Contents : References
Basic Information:
Author: A.J. Baime
Edition: Hardback and ebook on
Overdrive both from the Fresno County Public Library
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt
ISBN: 0544617347 (ISBN13:
9780544617346)
Start Date: August 8, 2018
Read Date: August 30, 2018
464 pages
Genre: History, Biography
Language Warning: Low
Rated Overall: 4 out of 5
History:4 out of 5
Synopsis (Caution: Spoiler Alert-Jump to Thoughts):
The Accidental President
takes you from a few days before Roosevelt’s death to just after
the Japanese surrenders. Just the first month in office is enough to
make your head swivel:
- Axis surrender in Italy
- execution of Mussolini
- suicide of Hitler
- Russian capture of Berlin
- Nazi Germany unconditional surrender in Germany
- liberation of death camps
- fire bombings of Japan
- United Nation Conference to start the organization
- the atomic bomb made known to him
Let alone all the other things which happened in the
other three months, including the historic Potsdam conference.. You
get a sense of what Truman went through during this time and how
unprepared he was and how he stepped up to the challenge.
You also get the feel for how Truman did not want the
job, but took it on anyway so that Roosevelt’s legacy would
continue and so the United States would progress along the same path
as Roosevelt set out. At times you get the feeling the Roosevelt
thought he would never die, leaving Truman totally unprepared to take
on the responsibilities of being President.
During the deliberations of whether or not to drop the
atomic bomb, you saw that there was very little feedback not to drop
the bomb, when you considered if it was not used, how many more
Japanese and American people, both soldiers and civilians would die.
You are left with the idea that once developed, its use was a
foregone conclusion.
Thoughts:
Chpt 5
There were no machines in
1884 - no airplanes, no motorcars.
At the start of the book, when I read this statement, I realized that
I had to be careful of Blaine’s flat statements. Yes, there were
machines before 1884. Just not the ones which Blaine talks about.
Chpt 10
He outlined the basis for his
campaign for the 1940 Senate campaign:
-
The Senator will not engage in personalities and asks his friends to do the same. Avoid mentioning the Senator’s opponents in any way.
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Avoid getting into controversial issues (ie, Pendergast). Stick to Truman-his record as a judge, as a Senator, as a military man.
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The press is a function of our free institutions. If they are wrong in their attitude, try to make them see the true light, but under no circumstances attack them.
-
Political parties are essential to our republic, our nation, and we must not attack them. What we’re doing is to show by our actions what we think our Part is destined to do. Provide basic laws for a more abundant life and the happiness and security of our people.
From the oral history of John
W Synder, pages 60-62
I wonder what Truman would
think today. He said that There
is no substitute for a fact. When the facts are known, reasonable men
do not disagree with respect to them.
From Memoirs
by Harry S Truman
Chpt 11
Baime asserts that from about
1943-44 the times changed so that by 1945 America has come of age. It
was now the moral leader and arbiter of the world. Wonder if we still
are or are we retreating from this roll? Is this part of making
America Great Again?
Chpt 13
When running for Vice
President, it was asserted that Truman was just like your neighbor.
He was a bit bewildered and reluctant to run for VP. I wonder if
Truman was so simple as what Baime makes him out to be? What did
people see in him which wanted him to run as VP? Even more so, did
Roosevelt think that Truman would not be a threat to him while others
would be? Is that why Truman was so unprepared to be President upon
Roosevelt’s death?
Chpt 17
Eddie McKim, Truman’s friend
and assistant, notes that there were no minor problems which face
the President. If the problem is minor, it is handled by someone
else. While Truman faced world class problems-the ending of World War
II, the start of the Cold War and, of course, the decision to drop
the bomb, you wonder how that compares to the decisions a President
60 years later faces.
Chpt 22
Why would a person take on the
Presidency if their family does not want to be in the spotlight? What
does it say about ambition, family ties, and loyalty to their
country? Apparently nobody in the Truman family wanted Harry S Truman
to be President. Why did Truman agree to be Vice President of a known
sick person? From Baime’s account, it sounds like Truman did so
without serious consulting with his family. He also felt a sense of
obligation. But I am not sure to whom? Roosevelt? The Country? His
Party?
Later one Baime describes how
Truman’s daughter, Margaret, both enjoyed and chafeed under the
perks of her position. She enjoyed the resources around her, but
living under a microscope with constant attention got to her.
On the other hand, Bess,
Truman’s wife wanted nothing to do with being a public figure. She
retreated and would not hold press conferences or was reluctant to be
photographed.
That first month in office,
Truman had a tiger by the tail. He did about as good as anyone could
have. Maybe the right person for the job. Baime lists the following
events from that month:
-
Axis surrender in Italy
-
execution of Mussolini
-
suicide of Hitler
-
Russian capture of Berlin
-
Nazi Germany unconditional surrender in Germany
-
liberation of death camps
-
fire bombings of Japan
-
United Nation Conference to start the organization
-
the atomic bomb made known to him
Truman knew how to enjoy the
finer things: his family and what he had around him.
Mark Twain’s statement
became Truman’s motto: Always
do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. From
Note to the Young People's Society, Greenpoint Presbyterian Church,
1901
Teamwork and loyalty-people
who could make decisions on their own. Attributes Truman ranked as
high in the people who were responsible to him. Question: Loyalty to
whom? Him? each other? Country?
Truman was more of a down home
person, wanting to know and care about his staff, especially those
who were in the menial jobs-driver, secretary, custodial, …
Chpt 23
Cutting off Lend-Lease from
Russia and England was not a well thought through decision. It was
made because of what Truman sensed was something chafing Americans,
but not with the understanding of what it would do for our allies.
Truman was a lets hear the problem and make a decision type of guy.
Chpt 24
Baime lays out the
understanding that the war against Japan was personified in Japan as
a war against the Emperor. So it was imperative for the Japanese
people that the Emperor was able to continue to rule. This was
unacceptable to the Americans because of Pearl Harbor. The question
for the Americans was, first will Russia come into the war? And
second, will the atomic bomb work?
Chpt 25
Truman was everyman made good.
He was the guy next door. So most people took to him. George Gallop
notes that ...Truman
stepped into the presidency at one of the most critical periods in
world history and followed a man of overshadowing universal fame, he
has so far received both the favor and support of an overwhelming
majority of his fellow citizens.
Chpt 26
The judge Truman appointed to
figure out what to do with the Nazi’s westablished the precident
that everyone deserves to have a fair trial, no matter what they are
accused of. Even in somebody like Goering, that principal holds up.
As the atomic bomb was being
developed, there was the recognition that it was more than just a
weapon to end the war, but a weapon which could change mankind.
Chpt 29
Truman had a certain sense of
humility. When we came into San Francisco for the conclusion of the
United Nations Conference, we was cheered. His response was that they
are cheering the office, not the man. I think they were cheering the
man who held the office who saw the United States rise up to
prominence while trying to take care of the little guy.
Chpt 31
Truman thought when he saw the
destruction which was inflicted on Berlin that That’s
what happens when a man [Hitler]
overreaches
himself. I wonder
what he would think of our current situation.
Truman: I
hope for some sort of peace--but I fear that machines are ahead of
morals by some centuries and when morals catch up perhaps there’ll
[be] no reason for any of it. .. But we are only termites on a planet
and maybe when we bore too deeply into the planet there’ll [be] a
reckoning… From a
note on July 16, 1945.
http://https//www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?documentdate=1945-07-16&documentid=1&pagenumber=1
Chpt 32
At the bomb site in New
Mexico, ...clocks read eight hours earlier than they did in Berlin.
It took me a couple of times to read this statement before realizing
what Baime was getting at.
Baime is getting to the start
of the Cold War-the fear of what the Soviet Union would do in the Far
East. Would they try to take over sections of the Far East like they
were doing in Eastern Europe? This is the context of the Potsdam
summit.
Chpt 33
At Potsdam, the difference
between Roosevelt and Truman was on display. Roosevelt improvised and
could ramble. Truman was tight and to the point.
Getting frustrated, Truman
wrote I’m not
going to stay around this terrible place all summer just to listen to
speeches. I’ll go home to the Senate for that.
Note in diary from July 18, 1945
Chpt 36
The start of the Cold War
began as World War II ended. Some felt that we should have dealt with
the Russians right then, but it would not have gone over well on all
fronts.
Baime sums up the weakness of
the Potsdam agreement. It did nothing about the Eastern Europe
situation. The question concerned Truman’s performance-what
agreement would Roosevelt have come up with? Was Truman’s
experience and personality a major cause for the weakness of the
agreement?
Chpt 37
Upon the winding down of the
War, Truman started to address domestic issues. He had a 21 point
plan called the Fair Deal:
-
Major improvements in the coverage and adequacy of the unemployment compensation system.
-
Substantial increases in the minimum wage, together with broader coverage.
-
The maintenance and extension of price controls to keep down the cost of living in the transition to a peacetime economy.
-
A pragmatic approach towards drafting legislation eliminating wartime agencies and wartime controls, taking legal difficulties into account.
-
Legislation to ensure full employment.
-
Legislation to make the Fair Employment Practice Committee permanent.
-
The maintenance of sound industrial relations.
-
The extension of the United States Employment Service to provide jobs for demobilized military personnel.
-
Increased aid to farmers.
-
The removal of the restrictions on eligibility for voluntary enlistment and allowing the armed forces to enlist a greater number of volunteers.
-
The enactment of broad and comprehensive housing legislation.
-
The establishment of a single Federal research agency.
-
A major revision of the taxation system.
-
The encouragement of surplus-property disposal.
-
Greater levels of assistance to small businesses.
-
Improvements in federal aid to war veterans.
-
A major expansion of public works, conserving and building up natural resources.
-
The encouragement of post-war reconstruction and settling the obligations of the Lend-Lease Act.
-
The introduction of a decent pay scale for all Federal Government employees—executive, legislative, and judicial.
-
The promotion of the sale of ships to remove the uncertainty regarding the disposal of America’s large surplus tonnage following the end of hostilities.
-
Legislation to bring about the acquisition and retention of stockpiles of materials necessary for meeting the defense needs of the nation.
From Wikipedia on the Fair
Deal
Chpt 38
Truman felt he had
accomplished what he needed to with the first two atomic bombs. He
ordered the stop of additional bombing. He felt he could not kill
more kids. Wonder if he thought he was justified in the previous two
bombings? In a letter to Hiroshima he puts his defense of the
bombings to Hiroshima about why he ordered them and that the blame
could also be put on the Japanese people. This was in response to the
city council of Hiroshima approving a resolution condemning the
bombings. You can read the resolution and Truman’s thoughts at the
Truman Library (pdf).
Also at the Truman Library is
a collection
of material
which centers on the decision to drop the atomic bomb.
Baime notes that the pace of
the rise and fall of empires occured much faster in World War II than
anytime in history. Why? What does this have to say about how the
United States has risen? When it will fall?
Baime notes that seldom has a
war ended leaving the victors with such a sense of uncertainty and
fear. He also notes that upon the surrender of Japan, it was the
United States finest hour which it achieved its highest level of
prestige. He also speculates it would never again recieve that level
again.
Chpt Epilogue
Truman’s greatest strength
was what was perceived to be his greatest weakness upon entry into
the office: his ordinariness. Baime quotes Jonathan Daniels Americans
felt leaderless when Roosevelt died. Truman taught them, as one of
them, that their greatness lies in themselves.
Evaluation:
The
Accidental President is a rendering of the
first four months of the Truman presidency. It covers from the time
Roosevelt died to just after the surrender of Japan. The events which
happened in between changed the world. From the start of the Cold War
to the dropping of the atomic bomb, Truman faced it all.
Baime does a good job of telling this story and the
background to Truman’s life. Through his telling, you understand
how little Truman was prepared for the task of assuming the
Presidency after Roosevelt’s death. Baime uses and references many
of the sources of the time-those people knew how to write journals
and letters then.
I have not decided if this is a fault of the book, or
the author letting us have our own opinion. There is little of the
authors opinion overtly shown, even as controversial as the dropping
of the atomic bomb. On one hand, Baime gives us the information to
form our opinion. On the other hand, he does subtly guide us to form
that opinion. Either way, Baime provides us with a good and thought
provoking read.
Notes from my book group (Osher):
Did Baime’s sometimes
erroneous fact statements bother anybody? Did they take away from the
presentation which Baime did?
Chp 5: There
were no machines in 1884 - no airplanes, no motorcars.
A thought question. If
Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb was different, such as
not drop it, how would the American people have reacted to the
carnegie of invading Japan? How would they have reacted to knowing
that Truman could have avoided that? If there was that kind of US
carnegie, would the US have been receptive to having Japan rebuild?
Second thought question: If
Truman decision had been not to drop the atomic bomb, would we have
know the capacity of what the bomb would do? Would we have been as
afraid of another atomic bomb? Would we or other countries have been
as reluctant to use it?
Some scientists wanted a
demonstration of the bomb, rather than as a weapon of war.
Third thought question: What
culpability does the Japan government have in the United States using
the atomic bomb? Why did they bomb Pearl Harbor? Why did they not
accept the choice of surrendering when told that something
unimaginable was on its way? Why did they not evacuate Nagasaki after
seeing the bomb go off on Hiroshima?
On board the ship returning
from Potsdam, Truman briefs the press about the atomic bomb. He
indicates this is a state secret and it was expected to keep it a
secret. The press honored that. How would that briefing gone over
today? Would today’s press be able to hold the secret? Should it?
It appears that once the atomic bomb was developed, the
question was not whether it should be used, but how should it be
used. What does that say about how we run our experiments? We
sometimes hear that science should not be stopped, but we can control
what will happen later.
Many of these questions are
either from or adapted from LitLovers.
-
Why the title of Accidental President?
-
Does this story work as a good historical account of Truman’s first four years?
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Which person did you want to hear more of? That you identified with?
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Did you come away with a better understanding of Truman’s first four years?
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Every story has a world view. Were you able to identify this story’s world view? What was it? How did it affect the story?
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Why do you think the author wrote this book?
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What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
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What “take aways” did you have from this book?
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Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
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What was memorable?
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New Words:
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opprobrium (26): harsh criticism or censure; the public disgrace arising from someone's shameful conduct.
Book References:
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O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
-
Rise to Globalism by Douglas Brinkley
-
Mr. Citizen by Harry S Truman
Good Quotes:
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First Line: Few American presidents have left such a polarizing legacy as Harry Truman.
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Last Line: If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right won’t make any difference.
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Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain, Note to the Young People's Society, Greenpoint Presbyterian Church, 1901
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The President has to look out for the interests of the 150 million people who can’t afford lobbyists in Washington. Harry S Truman. Address at Memorial Hall in Buffalo, NY, October 9, 1952
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Introduction
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Timeline
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April 12, 1945
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The Political Education of Harry S Truman
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April-May 1945
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June-July 1945
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Little Boy, Fatman and Potsdam
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Epilogue
References:
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Author's Web Site
-
Wikipedia-Author
-
Amazon-Book
-
Amazon-Author
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GoodReads-Book
-
GoodReads-Author
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Kirkus review
-
Washington Post review
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Presidential History review
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PBS Chicago video
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Smithsonian review
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CSPAN Baime interview
-
eMissorian review
