Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Sims 1
US History
Mrs. Murphy
11 February 1999

Short and rather bird-like behind thick glasses, Harry S. Truman was not intimidating in looks. He spoke in a Midwestern farmer’s tone. But he was a shrewd politician, and established a reputation for speaking the truth.
Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He was the oldest of three children of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen (Young) Truman(Steins 41). His birthplace is just south of the area into which his grandparents had moved from Kentucky four decades earlier(aol 2). The letter "S" in his name was not an abbreviation. It showed the family’s reluctance to choose between his grandfathers, Anderson Shippe Truman and Solomon Young. In 1887 Truman as an infant was moved to a 600 acre farm owned by his mother’s family (Hargrove 19). Harry often recalled how his granddad drove him to the Grandview Fair as a child. Harry also played in the cornfield and mud holes with his Shetland pony and his brother, Vivian (Hargrove 19).
Shortly after Harry’s sister, Mary Jane, was born the family moved to the little town of Independence, Missouri. There, Harry’s thick glasses prevented from joining in many boyhood activities (aol 2). One of the friends that Harry met was a little, curly headed girl named Elizabeth "Bess" Wallace at the age of four years. Eventually they would marry (Hargrove 20). Harry started public school in 1892. Because of his poor eyesight...

Harry S. Truman

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