Bess Truman
Elizabeth Virginia Truman was First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953 as the wife of President Harry S. Truman. She had previously served as Second Lady of the United States from January to April 1945. At, she was the longest-lived first and second lady.
She was born in Independence, Missouri, where she kept a home her entire life. She had known Harry since they were children, though she did not return his affections until adulthood. She was strongly affected by the suicide of her father when she was 18, which shaped her opinions about privacy from the public eye and the responsibilities of a spouse. Bess and Harry married in 1919, and Bess spent the following years managing the Truman household and working in her husband's offices as his political career advanced. She was apprehensive about Harry running for vice president in 1944, and she was deeply upset when he ascended to the presidency the following year.
As first lady, Bess avoided social obligations and media attention whenever possible, and she made regular excursions to her home in Independence. She chose not to continue in the regular press conferences carried out by her predecessor Eleanor Roosevelt, believing that her responsibility as a wife was to keep her opinions private. Her influence on her husband's presidency came about in their private conversations, as he would consult her about most major decisions during his presidency. She was also prominent in his reelection campaign, making regular appearances for crowds as he toured the United States. She was greatly relieved when Harry chose not to run for another term in 1952. After her tenure as first lady, Bess lived in retirement at her home in Independence until her death in 1982.
Truman was generally popular among her contemporaries, but her lifelong devotion to privacy has allowed for limited historical analysis. She refused to provide information about herself or her beliefs to journalists during her lifetime, and she destroyed many of her letters after leaving the White House. There is no consensus among historians on her performance as first lady or to what extent she influenced her husband's presidency.
Early life
Bess was born as Elizabeth Virginia Wallace on February 13, 1885, in Independence, Missouri, to Margaret or "Madge" Elizabeth Gates and David Willock Wallace. Margaret was the daughter of a businessman, and David was a local politician. Bess was known as Bessie during her childhood, and she had three younger brothers. Her only sister died in infancy. As a child, Bess had a reputation as a tomboy due in part to her propensity for sports, including golf, tennis, horseback riding, shot put, basketball, baseball, and ice skating. She learned dancing and etiquette, and she attended town balls and hayrides of the town's aristocracy.In 1903, when Bess was 18, her father died by suicide. According to the biographer David McCullough, the cause for his suicide is unknown, with speculation ranging from depression to mounting debts. Bess spent the following hours pacing silently in her backyard, first alone and then joined by her closest friend Mary Paxton. Her father's suicide was scandalous, and the family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for a year to avoid the community's attention. Bess later attempted to keep this part of her life a secret. After her father's death, Bess took responsibility for raising her younger brothers, and the family moved into the home of her maternal grandparents. Bess's mother became a lifelong recluse, and the ordeal imprinted upon Bess the belief that a husband and wife should be close partners in everything they do. She refused to speak about her father for the rest of her life.
After graduating from Independence High School she studied at Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls in Kansas City, Missouri. Bess played on the women's basketball team, and she studied literature and French. As a young woman, Bess enjoyed expressing herself through fashion and hats; in the words of a friend, "Bess always had more stylish hats than the rest of us did, or she wore them with more style." After returning from school, she resumed her role as the head of the family, and she became involved with the community through her bridge club and her charity work with the Needlework Guild. It was at this time that she began going by Bess rather than Bessie.
Marriage and family
met Bess soon after his family moved to Independence in 1890, and the two attended school together until graduation. Many factors kept them from forming a closer bond in school, including their differences in social class and religion, Harry's time-consuming job at a drugstore, and Harry's inability to participate in athletics with Bess due to his thick glasses.They sometimes studied Latin together, and he often volunteered to carry her books, but they did not become close friends.Bess had many suitors in the years after high school, but none won her love. In 1910, long after their time in school, Harry volunteered to return a cake plate to the Wallaces as an excuse to speak to Bess. They reconnected and began a courtship. Harry was insecure about his lack of money, and he attempted to impress Bess by purchasing tickets to shows and building her a tennis court. Bess' mother disapproved of the relationship.
Harry proposed in 1911 in a long letter, which he later admitted was clumsily written, but Bess turned him down. He later said that he intended to propose again when he would be earning more money than a farmer. They became informally engaged in November 1913, though Harry still doubted himself regarding his finances. Over the following years, the couple regularly corresponded while Harry traveled throughout the United States for his work in mining and petroleum. Bess wished to marry before Harry departed to fight in World War I in 1917, but he refused to risk making her a young widow. She worked to support the war effort while he was gone by selling war bonds, and she served on a committee for entertaining soldiers.
Bess and Harry married on June 28, 1919, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Independence. The newlyweds honeymooned in Chicago and Detroit and then moved into Bess's childhood home so she could care for her mother. During their marriage, Bess tried in vain to teach her husband the etiquette with which she had been raised. Their only child, Margaret, was born in 1924. Bess's two previous pregnancies had ended in miscarriages. Bess became the primary authority figure in Margaret's life, while Harry would spoil her.
Bess held several jobs working with her husband, which provided more income for the Truman family. She was accounts manager at Truman-Jacobsen Haberdashery from 1919 to 1922, when the business went bankrupt. After Harry was elected county judge in the eastern district of Jackson County, she worked as his aide from 1922 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1934. Corruption and violence were prominent in Jackson County politics at the time, and working with her husband in his early political career caused her great distress, including when they feared a plot to kidnap their young daughter. In addition to helping Harry in his political work, Bess also managed the family's household and finances. As part of her social life, Bess helped found the Junior Service League of Independence and a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Move to Washington, D.C.
When Harry was elected as a senator from Missouri in 1934, Bess stayed in Missouri with her mother for the first year. After visiting Harry, she decided to stay, and the family moved to Washington, D.C. While Congress was in session during the first half of each year, they would live in rented apartments in Washington. When the session ended, they would return to Independence for the rest of the year. While her husband was in the Senate, Bess became a member of the Congressional Club, the P.E.O. Sisterhood, the H Street United Service Organization, and the Red Cross work of the group informally known as the "Senate Wives". She joined her husband's staff as a clerk, answering personal mail and editing committee reports when he became chairman of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. She developed relationships with the wives of senators and cabinet members, though she did not attend the meetings of senators' wives, as she found them boring. During her husband's political career, she helped him write his speeches, though she refused to give any of her own.In 1944, Harry was offered the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States. He had not sought the position, and it was a surprise to the Trumans when it was offered. When the position had previously been suggested to him, he had dismissed the idea out of concern for Bess and Margaret. When Harry accepted the role of vice president to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bess was not entirely pleased. She wanted to return to their life in Missouri, and she also feared that Roosevelt would die, which would make her husband the president. Bess's position on Harry's staff was controversial during the campaign, but he retained her during the campaign and during his vice presidency. After the Democratic ticket won the election and Harry was sworn in as vice president, Bess became Second Lady of the United States. She found herself saddled with the associated social responsibilities, attending many events as a representative of the Roosevelts, often multiple times in one day. Bess served as second lady for 82 days before President Roosevelt died and her husband ascended to the presidency.
First Lady of the United States
Social role
President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, immediately making Harry Truman the president of the United States and Bess Truman the first lady of the United States. Bess reportedly wept when she first heard the news. After making arrangements for her mother, Bess' first act as first lady was to give her condolences to the widowed Eleanor Roosevelt shortly before attending her husband's inauguration. They moved into Blair House on April 16, allowing Eleanor time to vacate the White House, and they occupied the White House on May 7. Bess had only limited social responsibilities during her first months as first lady, as the nation was in the midst of World War II and in mourning of President Roosevelt. She stayed in the White House until the end of the month before making her first return trip to Independence.After the end of World War II, Bess was responsible for restoring the White House social season, and she organized the White House's receptions and events. She was inspired by the history of the White House and that of the Monroe administration in particular. She chose to host a more limited social season in response to postwar food shortages, replacing large dinners with informal luncheons. She emphasized courteousness and respect for all of her guests, including political opponents and others that she disliked. Bess received about one hundred letters each day, and she spent much time replying to each one. She also maintained some social obligations in Washington society, including regular attendance of luncheons in her honor.
Bess felt great anxiety at public events and wished to avoid being the center of attention. She underwent a humiliating experience a few weeks into her tenure as first lady when she was asked to christen airplanes by striking champagne bottles against them. The first bottle had not been scored to allow for an easy break, causing Bess to ineffectually strike the bottle against the plane's hull several times amid a crowd of spectators and reporters. Harry would tease her about this event, and she would eventually join the family in laughing at the footage.
Bess found the White House's lack of privacy distasteful. As her husband put it later, she was "not especially interested" in the "formalities and pomp or the artificiality" that surrounded the presidential family. Though she steadfastly fulfilled the social obligations of her position, she did only what she thought was necessary. She resisted any changes to her lifestyle, often handling bookkeeping, dusting, and other chores on her own, though she did enjoy having domestic servants. She dressed simply, preferring conservative gowns and suits rather than more elaborate dresses. When the White House was rebuilt during Harry's second term, the family lived in Blair House and kept their social life to a minimum. The responsibility of finding new venues for larger events fell to Bess.