Difference between revisions of "Harry S. Truman"

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|birth_date=May 8, 1884
 
|birth_date=May 8, 1884
 
|death_date=December 26, 1972
 
|death_date=December 26, 1972
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|image = Harry S. Truman.jpg
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|image=Harry S. Truman.jpg
 
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman
 
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman
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|spouses=Bess Wallace
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|constitutes=Politician, Farmer
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|birth_place=Lamar, Missouri, U.S.
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|death_place=Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
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|religion=Baptist
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|political_parties=Democratic
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|children=Margaret
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|powerbase=http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/Harry S. Truman
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|alma_mater=Independence High School, Kansas City Law School
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|sourcewatch=http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Harry_S._Truman
 
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|description=Against his better judgement, he was persuaded to create the CIA, something he later came to regret.
 
|description=Against his better judgement, he was persuaded to create the CIA, something he later came to regret.
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|description=From Missouri
 
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'''Harry S. Truman''' was a [[US President]]. Unlike modern [[US President]]s, Truman evidenced considerable concern about the rise of the [[deep state]]. He was however, ultimately ineffective in stopping its more or less complete takeover of the US government.
 +
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==Letter Bomb attempt==
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<ref>https://isgp-studies.com/DL_1947_summer_Harry_Truman_letter_bomb_attempt</ref>
 +
==FBI==
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Truman was concerned about the power of the [[FBI]], writing in [[1947]]: {{SMWQ
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|text=Dear Bess... We want no [[Gestapo]] or secret police. [[FBI]] is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex-life scandals and plain [[blackmail]]... [[Edgar Hoover]] would give his right eye to take over, and all congressmen and senators are afraid of him. I'm not and he knows it. If I can prevent [it] there'll be no [[NKVD]] or Gestapo in this country. Edgar Hoover's orgnization would make a good start toward a citizen spy system. Not for me.
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|subjects=Edgar Hoover, FBI
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|date=1947
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|format=inline
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|source_name=The Guardian
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|source_title=Dear Bess: The Letters from Harry to Bess Truman, 1910-1959
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|source_URL=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jan/01/j-edgar-hoover-secret-fbi
 
}}
 
}}
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Unlike modern [[US President]]s, Truman evidenced considerable concern about the rise of the [[deep state]]. He was however, ultimately ineffective in stopping its more or less complete takeover of the US government.
 
  
 
==National Security Act of 1947==
 
==National Security Act of 1947==
 
Truman signed the [[National Security Act of 1947]] and reorganized military forces by merging the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] and the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] into the National Military Establishment (later the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]) and creating the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]].  
 
Truman signed the [[National Security Act of 1947]] and reorganized military forces by merging the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] and the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] into the National Military Establishment (later the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]) and creating the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]].  
  
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==FBI==
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[[Russ Baker]] notes that Truman was very reluctant to sign the act since it also created the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]. He apparently didn't see the need for an organisation such as the CIA in peacetime, but was persuaded to sign off on it against his better judgment{{why}}{{how}}, something that he later came to regret.{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=62–63}}<ref>http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/50628</ref>
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Truman was concerned about the power of the FBI, writing in [[1947]]: "Dear Bess... We want no [[Gestapo]] or secret police. [[FBI]] is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex-life scandals and plain [[blackmail]]... [[Edgar Hoover]] would give his right eye to take over, and all congressmen and senators are afraid of him. I'm not and he knows it. If I can prevent [it] there'll be no [[NKVD]] or Gestapo in this country. Edgar Hoover's orgnization would make a good start toward a citizen spy system. Not for me."<ref>Robert H. Ferrell (ed.) ''Dear Bess: The Latters from Harry to Bess Truman, 1910-1959'' (New York: W. W. Norton, 1983), 550.</ref>
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{{SMWQ
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|text=For some time I have been disturbed by the way the CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the government.... I never had any thought that when I set up the CIA that it would be injected into peacetime cloak and dagger operations.
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|source_URL=http://books.google.com/books?id=KS-6XrdalGkC&pg=PA331&lpg=PA331&dq=%22For+some+time+I+have+been+disturbed+by+the+way+the+CIA+has+been+diverted+from+its+original+assignment.+It+has+become+an+operational+and+at+times+a+policy-making+arm+of+the+government....+I+never+had+any+thought+that+when+I+set+up+the+CIA+that+it+would+be+injected+into+peacetime+cloak+and+dagger+operations.%22+-&source=bl&ots=1iNfcSxPBy&sig=yAePSCsM75Vc8NeZE0b6TbCzYIY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=w_sBVJmyHITxgwSnkIHQCg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA
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|subjects=CIA, Deep State
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}}
  
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==Creation of the CIA==
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==Nuclear bomb usage==
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[[Russ Baker]] notes that Truman was very reluctant to sign the act since it also created the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]]. He apparently didn't see the need for an organisation such as the CIA in peacetime, but was persuaded to sign off on it against his better judgment, something that he later came to regret.{{sfn|Dallek|2008|pp=62–63}}<ref>http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/50628</ref>
+
Truman stated during the [[Korean War]] that the decision about whether to use [[nuclear weapons]] was up to the military leader in the field, [[Douglas MacArthur]]. This prompted worldwide alarm.
  
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===Call for reform===
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==Call for reform==
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One month after the [[JFK Assassination]], Truman wrote a [[letter]] to the [[New York Times]], in which he noted that "for some time I have been disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government."<ref name="TrumanLetter">[[Document:Limit CIA Role To Intelligence]]</ref> He called for reform of the CIA, opining that "there is something about the way the CIA has been functioning that is casting a shadow over our historic position and I feel that we need to correct it."<ref name="TrumanLetter"/> It is unclear whether he was aware of its role in [[JFK]]'s [[JFK/assassination|assassination]], or whether this timing is coincidental. Either way, the letter was broadly ignored and the call for reform was not taken up.
+
As if alert to the dangers of the crystallising [[deep state]] within the US government, one month after the [[JFK Assassination]], Truman wrote a [[letter]] to the [[New York Times]], in which he noted that "for some time I have been disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government."<ref name="TrumanLetter">[[Document:Limit CIA Role To Intelligence]]</ref> He called for reform of the CIA, opining that "there is something about the way the CIA has been functioning that is casting a shadow over our historic position and I feel that we need to correct it."<ref name="TrumanLetter"/> It is unclear whether he was aware of its role in [[JFK]]'s [[assassination]], or whether this timing is coincidental. Either way, the letter was broadly ignored and the call for reform was not taken up.
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}
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==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
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{{stub}}
 

Latest revision as of 21:42, 23 October 2019

Person.png Harry S. Truman   Powerbase Sourcewatch SpartacusRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(Politician, Farmer)
Harry S. Truman.jpg
BornMay 8, 1884
Lamar, Missouri, U.S.
DiedDecember 26, 1972 (Age 88)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Alma materIndependence High School, Kansas City Law School
ReligionBaptist
ChildrenMargaret
SpouseBess Wallace
Member ofPhi Beta Kappa
PartyDemocratic

Employment.png US President

In office
April 12, 1945 - January 20, 1953
EmployerUS Government
DeputyAlben Barkley, David MacEachron
Preceded byFranklin D. Roosevelt
Succeeded byDwight Eisenhower
Against his better judgement, he was persuaded to create the CIA, something he later came to regret.

Employment.png US Vice President

In office
January 20, 1945 - April 12, 1945

Employment.png US Senator

In office
January 3, 1935 - January 17, 1945
From Missouri

Employment.png United States Senator from Missouri

In office
January 3, 1935 - January 17, 1945

Employment.png Presiding Judge of Jackson County Missouri

In office
January 10, 1927 - January 3, 1935

Harry S. Truman was a US President. Unlike modern US Presidents, Truman evidenced considerable concern about the rise of the deep state. He was however, ultimately ineffective in stopping its more or less complete takeover of the US government.

Letter Bomb attempt

[1]

FBI

Truman was concerned about the power of the FBI, writing in 1947: “Dear Bess... We want no Gestapo or secret police. FBI is tending in that direction. They are dabbling in sex-life scandals and plain blackmail... Edgar Hoover would give his right eye to take over, and all congressmen and senators are afraid of him. I'm not and he knows it. If I can prevent [it] there'll be no NKVD or Gestapo in this country. Edgar Hoover's orgnization would make a good start toward a citizen spy system. Not for me.” [2]

National Security Act of 1947

Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 and reorganized military forces by merging the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (later the Department of Defense) and creating the U.S. Air Force.

Russ Baker notes that Truman was very reluctant to sign the act since it also created the CIA and the National Security Council. He apparently didn't see the need for an organisation such as the CIA in peacetime, but was persuaded to sign off on it against his better judgment[Why?][How?], something that he later came to regret.[3][4]

“For some time I have been disturbed by the way the CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the government.... I never had any thought that when I set up the CIA that it would be injected into peacetime cloak and dagger operations.”
Harry S. Truman [5]

Nuclear bomb usage

Truman stated during the Korean War that the decision about whether to use nuclear weapons was up to the military leader in the field, Douglas MacArthur. This prompted worldwide alarm.

Call for reform

As if alert to the dangers of the crystallising deep state within the US government, one month after the JFK Assassination, Truman wrote a letter to the New York Times, in which he noted that "for some time I have been disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government."[6] He called for reform of the CIA, opining that "there is something about the way the CIA has been functioning that is casting a shadow over our historic position and I feel that we need to correct it."[6] It is unclear whether he was aware of its role in JFK's assassination, or whether this timing is coincidental. Either way, the letter was broadly ignored and the call for reform was not taken up.

 

A Document by Harry S. Truman

TitleDocument typePublication dateSubject(s)Description
Document:Limit CIA Role To Intelligenceletter21 December 1963CIAA letter just after the assassination of JFK which was published once and then vanished down the memory hole.

 

A Quote by Harry S. Truman

PageQuoteDate
Encyclopedia of Domestic Assassinations<nowiki>“[[[Secretary-General of the United Nations]] Dag Hammarskjöld] was on the point of getting something done when they killed him. Notice that I said "when they killed him."”</nowiki>1961

 

An appointment by Harry S. Truman

AppointeeJobAppointedEnd
David BruceUS/Ambassador/France17 May 194910 March 1952
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References

  1. ↑ https://isgp-studies.com/DL_1947_summer_Harry_Truman_letter_bomb_attempt
  2. ↑ Dear Bess: The Letters from Harry to Bess Truman, 1910-1959 The Guardian , 1947
  3. ↑ Dallek 2008, pp. 62–63.
  4. ↑ http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/50628
  5. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=KS-6XrdalGkC&pg=PA331&lpg=PA331&dq=%22For+some+time+I+have+been+disturbed+by+the+way+the+CIA+has+been+diverted+from+its+original+assignment.+It+has+become+an+operational+and+at+times+a+policy-making+arm+of+the+government....+I+never+had+any+thought+that+when+I+set+up+the+CIA+that+it+would+be+injected+into+peacetime+cloak+and+dagger+operations.%22+-&source=bl&ots=1iNfcSxPBy&sig=yAePSCsM75Vc8NeZE0b6TbCzYIY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=w_sBVJmyHITxgwSnkIHQCg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA
  6. ↑ a b Document:Limit CIA Role To Intelligence
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