Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter on Harry and Bess Truman: A 1991 Oral History

President Carter with Bess Truman's nurses and aides in the Truman Home's living room, 1980, during his visit to Mrs. Truman. NPS.

In October 1991, in Plains, Georgia, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter recorded answers to written questions from Harry S Truman National Historic Site about their ties to Harry S and Bess W. Truman. The interview, arranged by Jim Williams, is the park's oral history #1991-29. This page summarizes what they said.

Jimmy Carter on Harry Truman

Carter never met Harry Truman — nor, he said, any Democratic president. Yet he regarded Truman as the greatest president of the century, and named him whenever he was asked. He thought of Truman often in the White House, where many of the issues he faced had roots in Truman's time. What he admired: Truman was down-to-earth and honest, told the truth even when it hurt, did not shift blame for failures, and never dodged an important issue for fear of the polls. Carter also felt a kinship: both came from similar small communities, and both went home after the White House.

He regretted never going to Independence to meet the retired president after being elected governor, though a second cousin of Truman's, General Lou Truman, a former commander of the Third Army, headed Carter's industry and trade department and went to Truman family birthdays.

Margaret Truman Daniel

Carter met Truman's daughter Margaret only two or three times, at large social events, and did not know her well. He thought she handled being a president's daughter very well, and he thought of her whenever his daughter Amy had run-ins with the press — though Amy was much younger in the White House than Margaret had been.

The 1974 mini-convention

At the Democratic Party's mini-convention in Kansas City in December 1974, Carter had already told several people he would run for president, but few knew who he was. He recalled handing out an elaborate, costly brochure, and a Gallup poll of the time listing thirty-six possible Democratic candidates without him. He spent extra time at the Truman Library, and was struck that Truman's gravestone gave his local offices equal place with the presidency — proof that he never lost touch with home.

Visiting Bess Truman, 1980

Carter met Bess Truman once, on a campaign stop in Independence in September 1980 that his staff arranged at his request. He found the Truman home modest but adequate, friendly and homey. They talked for about half an hour, probably in the front living room, about life in the White House and coming home afterward. She was alert and in good spirits, and he understood her without help from her staff. He shook hands with everyone in the house.

As first lady, he thought, she did the job as she wanted to — less outspoken and active than Eleanor Roosevelt, or even his own wife, but with dignity and effectiveness.

The same day he received the Truman Award in Independence — his first speech after leaving the White House — and he counted being linked in any way with Truman as an honor.

Rosalynn Carter on Bess Truman

Rosalynn Carter never met either Truman, but telephoned Bess Truman a few times when she was ill. She saw her as a model first lady: fully supportive of her husband, influential with him, and keeping their differences private — which Mrs. Carter tried to do herself. She recalled that the Carters supported Truman when he ran for president, when few around them did, while Jimmy served in the submarine service in New London, Connecticut.

At Bess Truman's funeral in 1982, Mrs. Carter sat with the other first ladies beside President Truman's grave at the library, in a somber mood; afterward she spoke with Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford and with Margaret Truman, and left soon after. She admired Mrs. Truman's care for keeping her family together, which she called one of the most important things in the White House, where the press watches the children and pressure comes from every side.

Sources

Based on "Jimmy Carter Oral History Interview," Harry S Truman National Historic Site, National Park Service. The park's transcript states that publication of the interview requires the superintendent's permission, so it is not reproduced or quoted here; this page summarizes it; rewritten in hubnx's own words. The transcript spells Mrs. Carter's name both "Rosalynn" and "Rosalyn"; this page uses the first. The photograph is the Park Service's. The Jimmy Carter Library holds more on the Carters.