Public Program: Truman and Eisenhower Presidents of the Heartland

The 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, and the 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, grew up 150 miles apart in western Missouri and eastern Kansas. In 1947, President Truman urged his fellow Midwesterner to seek the Democratic presidential nomination with Truman as his vice-presidential running mate. Instead, Ike won the 1952 presidential election as a Republican and the bitter election campaign soured the once friendly and close working relationship between the two men, whose careers and decisions shaped world events. In a special virtual event, Tim Rives, deputy director at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum, and Sam Rushay, supervisory archivist at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, discussed these two remarkable presidents from America’s heartland, including their united principles and divided politics. This program was presented virtually on January 14, 2021.