KSHB 41 reporter Abby Dodge covers consumer issues about personal budgeting and everyday spending. Email her story idea.
—
As a veteran, senator and short-lived vice president, President Harry S. Truman was known for his wartime decisions and promise of support to nations fighting Soviet control.
After decades of public service, he decided to step away from the Oval Office with an announcement at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in March 1952.
“I have served my country long and, I think, efficiently and honestly,” Truman said while addressing the crowd of Democratic supporters. “I shall not accept a renomination. I do not feel that it is my duty to spend another four years in the White House.”
The crowd erupted with boos, signifying a sense of shock, according to Kurt Graham, director of the Truman Presidential Library and Museum.
“That’s because everyone assumes that no one is willing to walk away from power,” Graham said.
Personal notes show Truman planned not to seek reelection for some time.
A note from February 1952 reads, “I am not a candidate for reelection in 1952. The Party has done enough for me. I'll work just as hard for another man as for myself.”
“I think he had felt he had done enough. He had his time,” Graham said. “But he had made that decision long before 1952.”
A longer note from the president in 1950, before the start of the Korean War, foreshadowed his ultimate decision.
“In my opinion eight years as President is enough and sometimes too much for any man to serve in that capacity," Truman wrote.
Truman also noted he sought inspiration from George Washington and Roman leader Cincinnatus. Both left their posts after accomplishing goals.
Although Truman waited to publicize his intentions, Graham said it was made wholeheartedly.
“It wasn’t something that was a hasty, last-minute decision based on polling or based on the assumption he would lose to Eisenhower,” he said. “Eisenhower wasn’t even the nominee yet.”
RELATED | UMKC professor discusses how President Biden's announcement shakes things up
When Truman’s poll numbers dipped below 25%, no one said he should bow out.
One differentiation between him and Biden is that Truman announced his decision right after the New Hampshire primary, not right before the Democratic National Convention.
“I think that the current circumstance we are in seems like a very late and hasty decision because our elections now last 2 1/2 years not 2 1/2 months,” Graham said.
The new Democratic nominee in 2024 only has months to run their race.
“Maybe there will be some advantages or disadvantages to that,” Graham said. “It will be a fun thing to watch because it is much more like it was back in the day.”
The 2024 DNC is set for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, the same location as the 1952 convention.
—