(May 8, 1884\u2013December 26, 1972), was the 33rd President of the United States, 1945\u201353; Vice-President under Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 20\u2013April 12, 1945; assuming the Presidency upon Roosevelt\u2019s death; U.S. Senator, 1934\u201345; presiding judge for Jackson County Court, Missouri, 1926\u201334; salesman, manager of building and loan company, 1925\u201326; judge of the Eastern District; Jackson County Court, Missouri, 1922\u201324; married Elizabeth \u201cBess\u201d Virginia Wallace, 1919; Captain during World War I, 1918, in command of Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, fighting at St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, Sommedieu; First Lieutenant in National Guard, 1917; railroad timekeeper, reporter for the Kansas City Star,<\/i> bank clerk, 1901\u201306.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, April 12, 1945, Vice-President Harry S. Truman became the 33rd President upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He recalled:<\/p>\n
I knew at once that something unusual had taken place. Mrs. Roosevelt seemed calm in her characteristic, graceful dignity. She stepped forward and placed her arm gently about my shoulder. \u201cHarry,\u201d she said quietly, \u201cthe President is dead.\u201d For a moment I could not bring myself to speak. \u2026 \u201cIs there anything I can do for you?\u201d I asked at last. I shall never forget her deeply understanding reply. \u201cIs there anything we can do for you?\u201d she asked. \u201cFor you are the one in trouble now.\u201d3332<\/p>\n
On April 13, 1945, in a statement to newsmen upon his return to the Capitol after becoming President, Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don\u2019t know whether you fellows ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me. I\u2019ve got the most terribly responsible job a man ever had.3333<\/p>\n
Upon in return from Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s funeral, President Harry S. Truman recalled:<\/p>\n
Back in Washington that evening I felt that an epoch had come to an end. A great President, whose deeds and words had profoundly affected our times, was gone. Chance had chosen me to carry on his work, and in these two days I had already experienced some of the weight of its unbelievable burdens. As I went to bed that night, I prayed I would be equal to the task.3334<\/p>\n
The day after Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s funeral, President Harry S. Truman concluded his First Address before a Joint Session of Congress:<\/p>\n
At this moment I have in my heart a prayer. As I have assumed my heavy duties, I humbly pray to Almighty God in the words of King Solomon:<\/p>\n
\u201cGive therefore Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?\u201d(I Kings 3:9)<\/p>\n
I ask only to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord and my people.3335<\/p>\n
In his Memoirs\u2014Volume Two: Years of Trial and Hope,<\/i> published in 1956, Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
When I was in the Senate, I had told my colleagues, Senator Wagner of New York and Senator Taft of Ohio, that I would go along on a resolution putting the Senate on record in favor of the speedy achievement of the Jewish homeland.3336<\/p>\n
In a memorandum to Winston Churchill, dated July 24, 1945, President Harry S. Truman wrote:<\/p>\n
The drastic restrictions imposed on the Jewish immigration by the British White Paper of May, 1939, continue to provoke passionate protest from Americans most interested in Palestine and in the Jewish problem.<\/p>\n
They fervently urge the lifting of these restrictions which deny to Jews, who have been so cruelly uprooted by ruthless Nazi persecutions, entrance into the land which represents for so many of them their only hope of survival.3337<\/p>\n
President Truman stated to the press:<\/p>\n
The American view on Palestine is that we want to let as many of the Jews into Palestine as it is possible to let into that country.3338<\/p>\n
In his Memoirs\u2014Volume Two: Years of Trial and Hope,<\/i> published in 1956, Harry S. Truman recorded a note he wrote to one of his assistants:<\/p>\n
I surely wish God Almighty would give the Children of Israel an Isaiah, the Christians a St. Paul, and the Sons of Ishmael a peep at the Golden Rule.3339<\/p>\n
At noon on March 6, 1946, President Harry S. Truman addressed a Conference of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ given in Deshler-Wallick Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. In the speech, which was broadcast on national radio, he explained:<\/p>\n
I like to consider this conference, to which you have so kindly invited me, as one which represents no one particular sect of creed, but rather as one which represents the spirit of the worship of God. We are a people who worship God in different ways. But we are all bound together in a single unity\u2014the unity of the individual freedom in a democracy.<\/p>\n
We have just come though a decade in which the forces of evil in various parts of the world have been lined up in a bitter fight to banish from the face of the earth both these ideals\u2014religion and democracy. For these forces of evil have long realized that both religion and democracy are founded on one basic principle, the worth and dignity of the individual man and woman. Dictatorship, by whatever name, is founded on the doctrine that the individual amounts to nothing; that the State is the only thing that counts; and that men and women and children were put on earth solely for the purpose of serving the State.<\/p>\n
In that long struggle between these two doctrines, the cause of decency and righteousness has been victorious. The right of every human being to live in dignity and freedom, the right to worship God in his own way, the right to fix his own relationship to his fellow men and to his Creator\u2014these again have been saved for mankind.<\/p>\n
The fight to preserve these rights was hard-won. The victory took a toll of human life and treasure so large that it should bring home to us forever, how precious, how invaluable, is our liberty which we had just begun to take for granted.<\/p>\n
Now that we have preserved our freedom of conscience and religion, our right to live by a decent moral and spiritual code of our own choosing, let us make full use of that freedom. Let us make use of it to save a world which is beset by so many threats of new conflicts, new terror, and new destruction.<\/p>\n
In our relations abroad and in our economy at home, forces of selfishness and greed and intolerance are again at work. They create situations which call for hard decisions, for forthrightness, for courage and determination. But above everything else, they call for one thing, without which we are lost. They call for a moral and spiritual awakening in the life of the individual and in the councils of the world.<\/p>\n
The last five years have produced many awesome discoveries in material things. But it has been truthfully said that the greatest discoveries of the future will be in the realm of the spirit. There is no problem on this earth tough enough to withstand the flame of a genuine renewal of religious faith. And some of the problems of today will yield to nothing less than that kind of revival.<\/p>\n
If the civilized world as we know it today is to survive, the gigantic power which man has acquired through atomic energy must be matched by spiritual strength of greater magnitude. All mankind now stands in the doorway to destruction\u2014or upon the threshold of the greatest age in history. And I prefer to face that great age. Only a high moral standard can master this new power of the universe, and develop it for the common good.<\/p>\n
When the sages and the scientists, the philosophers and the statesmen, have all exhausted their studies of atomic energy, one solution and only one solution will remain\u2014the substitution of decency and reason and brotherhood for the rule of force in the government of man.<\/p>\n
If men and nations would but live by the precepts of the ancient prophets and the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, problems which now seem so difficult would soon disappear.<\/p>\n
That is the great task for you teachers of religious faith. That is a supreme opportunity for the church to continue to fulfill its mission on earth. The Protestant Church, the Catholic Church, and the Jewish Synagogue\u2014bound together in the American unity of brotherhood\u2014must provide the shock forces to accomplish this moral and spiritual awakening. No other agency can do it. Unless it is done, we are headed for the disaster we would deserve. Oh, for an Isaiah or a St. Paul to reawaken a sick world to its moral responsibilities! I might be facing that Isaiah or that Saint Paul right now. I hope it is true.<\/p>\n
The need for this moral awakening applies to all men and women everywhere, but it applies particularly to the youth of today from whom the leadership of tomorrow will come.<\/p>\n
The aftermath of a major war always includes an increase of juvenile delinquency. Sometimes it is the fault of the boys and girls. More often it is the result of everything that is abnormal in war\u2014including the absence of fathers and mothers in the armed forces or in the business or in war industries.<\/p>\n
We shall always be grateful to the women of America, who have preformed such an outstanding service to our country during the war. In some cases, however, this patriotic devotion to the national interest has resulted in unavoidable neglect of the children. Smaller children were taken care of through the help of the Government in child-care centers. But this could not be done in the case of older children. We are now paying the social penalties for failing to provide adequate supervision and guidance for many of our children during their formative years.<\/p>\n
Whatever the cause, the need is now pressing and unyielding. The younger generation of today yearns for moral uplift. To the parents of the Nation\u2014and to you of the Churches of God\u2014has come the responsibility of helping them on to the right path. That is the greatest job you can do for America today.<\/p>\n
And one of the ways we can all help not only the youth of the Nation but all men and women is by the provision of decent homes. \u2026 Nowhere can the influence of deep religious faith and ethical living be more adequately felt than in the homes of the Nation. The spiritual welfare of our people of tomorrow is going to depend on the kind of home life which our Nation has today.<\/p>\n
That is why it is so important that all churches throughout America cooperate in the \u201cNational Share the Home\u201d effort. If each congregation of the 250,000 churches and synagogues in this country would open their spare rooms to only four veterans, one million veterans and their families could receive temporary shelter until new houses are available.<\/p>\n
Nothing could be more helpful in reaching the goal of a decent home for every American\u2014and by that I mean Americans of all races and religions and of all income groups\u2014than the active cooperation and inspiration of the churches of the Nation. By working in your local communities where the primary job and responsibility lie, you can help make this program the success which it must be. For home life reflects the Nation\u2019s life. It must conform to an ever-rising standard.<\/p>\n
To raise that standard should be, and is, to constant aim of your Government and the underlying basis of its policies. It would make the effort so much easier if people and nations would apply some of the principles of social justice and ethical standards which have come down to us from Biblical times. All the questions which now beset us in strikes and wages and working conditions would be so much simpler if men and women were willing to apply the principles of the Golden Rule. Do as you would be done by. Consider the beam in your own eye and pay less attention to the mote in your bother\u2019s. \u2026 <\/p>\n
As among men, so among nations\u2014nothing will do more to maintain the peace of the world that the rigorous application of the principles of our ancient religion.<\/p>\n
We have tried to write into the Charter of the United Nations the essence of religion. The end of aggression, the maintenance of peace, the promotion of social justice and individual rights and freedoms, the substitution of reason and justice for tyranny and war, the protection of the small and weak nations\u2014by these principles the United Nations have laid the framework of the Charter on the sound rock of religious principles. \u2026 <\/p>\n
Ours should be a continuous thanksgiving for the fact of victory and for the blessings which are still with us in this land. the brave men and valiant women who made this possible under God will inspire us to face our new problems with resolution. They are problems which call for the best in us. As long as we remain true to the spirit of these men and women, to the religious faith which carried them to victory, we shall not fail. \u2026 <\/p>\n
Let us determine to carry on in that same spirit\u2014in a spirit of tolerance, and understanding for all men and for all nations\u2014in the spirit of God and religious unity.3340<\/p>\n
On March 23, 1946 in an address at a Jackson Day dinner, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
As in Jackson\u2019s time, we Americans must continue to live courageously. We should emulate the valor and the determination of our forefathers\u2014those brave men who conquered the physical frontiers of this vast continent. The modern economic, political and social frontiers, which still confront all of us, offer an even greater challenge to our moral stamina and our intellectual integrity. This challenge also must be met. This victory must be won. I am confident that, with Divine guidance, no problem on earth exists that will not yield to the intelligence, courage and eternal faith of free men.3341<\/p>\n
At 10:15 a.m., April 6, 1946, in the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, President Truman held his 598th news conference. Speaking to The Keen Teen Club of Chicago, a group of youths sponsored by the Chicago Daily News,<\/i> President Truman fielded questions:<\/p>\n
Q. Mr. President, what part has religion played in your advancement from local official to the highest office in tour land?<\/p>\n
The President. Well, A system of morals is necessary for the welfare of any individual or any nation. The greatest system of morals in the history of the world is that set out in the Sermon on the Mount, which I would advise each of you to study with everything you have.3342<\/p>\n
On May 11, 1946, in an address at Fordham University, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
I fear we are too much concerned with material things to remember that our real strength lies in spiritual values. I doubt whether there is in this troubled world today, when nations are divided by jealousy and suspicion, a single problem that could not be solved if approached the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount.3343<\/p>\n
On July 30, 1946, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
Men may be educated for justice, liberty and peace. If peace is to endure, education must establish the moral unity of mankind.3344<\/p>\n
On December 20, 1946, President Harry S. Truman addressed the Advisory Commission on Universal Military Training:<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t like to think of it as a universal military training program. I want it to be a universal training program, giving our young people a background in the disciplinary approach of getting along with one another, informing them of their physical make-up, and what it means to take care of this temple which God gave us.3345<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, December 24, 1946, in an address given at the Ceremony for the lighting of the national Christmas tree, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
Again our thoughts and aspirations and the hopes of future years turn to a little town in the hills of Judea where on a winter\u2019s night two thousand years ago the prophesy of Isaiah was fulfilled. Shepherds keeping the watch by night over their flocks heard the glad tidings of great joy from the angels of the Lord singing, \u201cGlory to God in the Highest and on Earth, peace, good will toward men.\u201d The message of Bethlehem best sums up our hopes tonight. If we as a nation, and the other nations of the world, will accept it, the star of faith will guide us into the place of peace as it did the shepherds on that day of Christ\u2019s birth long ago. \u2026 <\/p>\n
In this great country of ours has been demonstrated the fundamental unity of Christianity and democracy. Under our heritage of freedom for everyone on equal terms, we also share the responsibilities of government. Our support of individual freedom\u2014free speech, free schools, free press, and a free conscience\u2014transcend all our differences. \u2026 <\/p>\n
Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles. He Whose birth we celebrate tonight was the world\u2019s greatest teacher. He said: \u201cTherefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law an the prophets.\u201d \u2026 <\/p>\n
It is well in this solemn hour that we bow to Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln as we face our destiny with its hopes and fears\u2014its burdens and its responsibilities. Out of the past we shall gather wisdom and inspiration to chart our future course.<\/p>\n
With our enemies vanquished we must gird ourselves for the work that lies ahead. Peace has its victories no less hard won than success at arms. We must not fail or falter. We must strive without ceasing to make real the prophesy of Isaiah: \u201cThey shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.\u201d<\/p>\n
It this day, whether it be far or near, the kingdom of this world shall become indeed the Kingdom of God and He will reign forever and ever, Lord of Lords and King of Kings. With that message, I wish my countrymen a Merry Christmas and joyous days in the New Year.3346<\/p>\n
On June 17, 1947, in his Commencement address at Princeton University, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
As we gain understanding of man, comparable to our increasing understanding of matter, we shall develop, with God\u2019s grace, the ability of nations to work together and live together in lasting peace.3347<\/p>\n
On August 28, 1947, in an exchange of messages with Pope Pius XII, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
Our common goal is to arouse and invigorate the faith of men to attain eternal values in our own generation\u2014no matter what obstacles exist of may arise in the path. \u2026 <\/p>\n
An enduring peace can be built only upon Christian principles. To such a consummation we dedicate all our resources, both spiritual and material, remembering always that \u201cexcept the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.\u201d3348<\/p>\n
In writing to Pope Pius XII, in 1947, President Truman said of America: <\/p>\n
This is a Christian nation.3349<\/p>\n
On September 26, 1947, in a radio address, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
In our generous impulses we should follow the admonition set forth in St. Matthew\u2019s Gospel. Our Lord, bidding us to aid and comfort our stricken neighbor, whoever he may be, spoke words as true today as when He uttered them more than nineteen hundred years ago: \u201cInasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.\u201d3350<\/p>\n
On December 6, 1947, in an address given at the dedication of Everglades National Park, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
For conservation of the human spirit, we need places such as Everglades National Park where we may be more keenly aware of our Creator\u2019s infinitely beautiful, and infinitely bountiful handiwork. Here we may draw strength and peace of mind from our surroundings. Here we can truly understand what that great Israelite Psalmist meant when he sang: \u201cHe maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still water; He restoreth my soul.\u201d3351<\/p>\n
On January 7, 1948, in his State of the Union message to Congress, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
The basic source of our strength is spiritual. For we are a people with a faith. We believe in the dignity of man. We believe that he was created in the image of the Father of us all. We do not believe that men exist merely to strengthen the state or to be cogs in the economic machines. We do believe that governments are created to serve the people and that the economic systems exist to minister to their wants. We have a profound devotion to the welfare and rights of the individual as a human being.3352<\/p>\n
On March 17, 1948, President Harry S. Truman addressed the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in New York:<\/p>\n
I can express my firm conviction that, at this moment in history, the faith and strength the United States are mighty forces for the prevention of war and the establishment of peace. Our faith and our strength must be made unmistakably clear to the world.3353<\/p>\n
On July 7, 1948, in his State of the Union Message, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
It is our faith in human dignity that underlies our purposes. It is this faith that keeps us a strong and vital people. This is the hour to rededicate ourselves to the faith in mankind that makes us strong. This is the hour to rededicate ourselves to the faith in God that gives us confidence as we face the challenge of the years ahead.3354<\/p>\n
On October 25, 1948, in an address in Chicago Stadium, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
The American people cannot afford to trust their future to men of little vision. The Bible warns us that where there is no vision the people perish. \u2026 <\/p>\n
Racial and religious oppression\u2014big business domination\u2014inflation\u2014these forces must be stopped and driven back while there is yet time.3355<\/p>\n
On Monday, November 29, 1948, in a personal letter to Dr. Chaim Weizmann (November 27, 1874\u2013November 9, 1952), the first President of the State of Israel, President Harry S. Truman wrote:<\/p>\n
I remember well our conversations about the Negeb, to which you referred in your letter. I agree fully with your estimate of the importance of the area to Israel, and I deplore any attempt to take it away from Israel.<\/p>\n
I had thought that my position would have been clear to all the world, particularly in the light of the specific wording of the Democratic Party platform. \u2026 I have interpreted my re-election as a mandate from the American people to carry out the Democratic platform\u2014including, of course, the plank on Israel. I intend to do so. \u2026 <\/p>\n
Thank you so much for your warm congratulations and good wishes on my re-election. \u2026 In closing, I want to tell you how happy and impressed I have been at the remarkable progress made by the new State of Israel.3356<\/p>\n
In his Memoirs\u2014Volume Two: Years of Trial and Hope,<\/i> President Truman recorded the events of his Inauguration:<\/p>\n
At twelve twenty-three Associate Justice Reed swore Senator Barkley in as Vice-President, and six minutes later I took the oath from Chief Justice Vinson. The words were the same that I had repeated three years and nine months earlier when I had been called so unexpectedly to the White House, but then only a handful of people were with me in the Cabinet Room.<\/p>\n
I raised my hand; once more I swore faithfully to defend the Constitution of the United States, repeating the short and simple oath, and kissed the Bible. Then I stepped to the rostrum to begin my inaugural address which is traditionally a part of the ceremony.3357<\/p>\n
On Thursday, January 20, 1949, in his Inaugural Address, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
In performing the duties of my office, I need the help and the prayers of every one of you. \u2026 <\/p>\n
The American people stand firm in the faith which has inspired this Nation from the beginning. We believe that all men have a right to equal justice under the law and equal opportunity to share in the common good. We believe that all men have the right to freedom of thought and expression. We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of God. From this faith we will not be moved. \u2026 <\/p>\n
Communism is based on the belief that man is so weak and inadequate that he is unable to govern himself, and therefore requires the rule of strong masters.<\/p>\n
Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with reason and justice.<\/p>\n
Communism subjects the individual to arrest without lawful cause, punishment without trial, and forced labor as a chattel of the state. It decrees what information he shall receive, what art he shall produce, what leaders he shall follow, and what thoughts he shall think.<\/p>\n
Democracy maintains that government is established for the benefit of the individual, and is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the individual and his freedom in the exercise of his abilities. \u2026 <\/p>\n
These differences between communism and democracy do not concern the United States alone. People everywhere are coming to realize that what is involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to believe in and worship God. \u2026 <\/p>\n
We are aided by all who desire freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to live their own lives for useful ends. Our allies are the millions who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mat. 5:6). \u2026 <\/p>\n
Steadfast in our faith in the Almighty, we will advance toward a world, where man\u2019s freedom is secure. To that end we will devote our strength, our resources, and our firmness of resolve. With God\u2019s help the future of mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony, and peace.3358<\/p>\n
On April 8, 1949, President Truman made public the first report of the President\u2019s Committee on Religion and Welfare in the Armed Forces, (Government Printing Office, March 24, 1949, 22 pp.). In regards to this report, the President stated: <\/p>\n
President\u2019s Committee on Religion and Welfare in the Armed Forces has submitted its first report, entitled \u201cCommunity Responsibility to Our Peacetime Servicemen and Women.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report confirms my belief that there is an immediate and long-term need for an expansion of existing community activities and services in support of the spiritual and moral well-being of personal in the Armed Forces.3359<\/p>\n
On October 5, 1949, in a letter to John L. Sullivan, accepting the Honorary Chairmanship of National Brotherhood Week, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
America is dedicated to the conviction that all people are entitled by the gift of God to equal rights and freedoms even though they may differ in religious persuasion, in social and political views, or in racial origin. Our greatness is and will be measured by the degree of our recognition of this fundamental truth.3360<\/p>\n
On October 30, 1949, in a radio address, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
Religion is like freedom. We cannot take it for granted. Man\u2014to be free\u2014must work at it. And man\u2014to be truly religious\u2014must work at that, too. Unless men live by their faith, and practice that faith in their daily lives, religion cannot be a living force in the world today. \u2026 <\/p>\n
Religious faith and religious work must be our reliance as we strive to fulfill our destiny in the world. \u2026 <\/p>\n
When the United States was established, its coins bore witness to the American faith in a benevolent deity. The motto then was \u201cIn God We Trust.\u201d That is still our motto and we, as a people, still place our firm trust in God.3361<\/p>\n
On November 11, 1949: in an address to the national Conference of Christians and Jews in Washington, D.C., President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
The only sure bedrock of human brotherhood is the knowledge that God is the Father of mankind.3362<\/p>\n
On December 21, 1949, in an address at Arlington National Cemetery, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
This is an age where faith in one\u2019s self, faith in freedom, faith in the kinship of man and God, are more important to our survival that all the mighty armaments of war.3363<\/p>\n
On February 9, 1950, President Truman issued an Executive Order appointing additional members to the Commission on Religion and Welfare in the Armed Forces; (committee was established by Executive Order 10013 on October 27, 1948, 3 CFR, 1943\u201348 Comp., p. 835). The Executive Order stated:<\/p>\n
To encourage and promote the spiritual, moral, and recreational welfare and character guidance of persons in the Armed Forces and thereby to enhance the military preparedness and security of the Nation.3364<\/p>\n
On February 15, 1950, at 10:05 a.m., President Harry S. Truman addressed the Attorney General\u2019s Conference on Law Enforcement Problems in the Department of Justice Auditorium, Washington. DC. In speaking to the organizations present, which included the Department Of Justice, the National Association of Attorneys, the U.S. Conference of Lawyers, and the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, President Truman admonished:<\/p>\n
The fundamental basis of this nation\u2019s laws was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don\u2019t think we emphasize that enough these days.<\/p>\n
If we don\u2019t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State!3365<\/p>\n
On April 16, 1950, in a personal memorandum, President Harry S. Truman recorded:<\/p>\n
There is a lure in power. It can get into a man\u2019s blood just as gambling and lust for money have been known to do.<\/p>\n
This is a Republic. The greatest in the history of the world. I want this country to continue as a Republic.<\/p>\n
Cincinnatus and Washington pointed the way. When Rome forgot Cincinnatus, its downfall began. When we forget the examples of such men as Washington, Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, all of whom could have had a continuation in the office, then will we start down the road to dictatorship and ruin.3366<\/p>\n
On May 11, 1950, at 5:07 pm, at Gonzaga University in Spokane, shortly after being given the University\u2019s Citation of Merit, President Truman gave an address which was carried over the airwaves:<\/p>\n
The good society we are seeking is based on order and peaceful cooperation, among men who share common ideals of freedom and justice. All these things are not easy to attain. For society is made up of men, who are often weak, and selfish, and quarrelsome. And yet, men are the children of God. Men have within them the Divine spark that can lead them to the truth, and unselfishness, and courage to do the right.<\/p>\n
Men can build a good society, if they follow the will of the Lord. Our great nation was founded on this faith. Our Constitution, and all our finest traditions, rest on a moral basis. \u2026 <\/p>\n
The greatest obstacle to peace is a modern tyranny led by a small group who have abandoned their faith in God. These tyrants have forsaken ethical and moral beliefs.<\/p>\n
They believe that only force makes right. They are aggressively seeking to expand the area of their domination. Our effort to resist and overcome this tyranny is essentially a moral effort.<\/p>\n
Those of us who belief in God, and who are fortunate enough to live under conditions where we can practice our faith, cannot be content to live for ourselves alone, in selfish isolation. We must work constantly to wipe out injustice and inequality, and to create a world order consistent with the faith that governs us. \u2026 <\/p>\n
It is the moral and religious beliefs of mankind which alone give our strength meaning and purpose. The struggle for peace is a struggle for moral and ethical principles. \u2026 <\/p>\n
In everything we do, at home and abroad, we must demonstrate our clear purpose, and our firm will, to build a world order in which men everywhere can walk upright and unafraid, and do the work of God.<\/p>\n
Thank you.3367<\/p>\n
On July 19, 1950, in a radio and television address, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
We believe that freedom and peace are essential if men are to live as our Creator intended us to live. It is this faith that has guided us in the past, and it is this faith that will fortify us in the stern days ahead.3368<\/p>\n
On December 5, 1950, in an address at the Mid-Century White House Conference on Children and Youth, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
The basis of mental and moral strength for our children lies in spiritual things. It lies first of all in the home. And next, it lies in the religious and moral influences which are brought to bear on the children. If children have a good home\u2014a home in which they are loved and understood\u2014and if they have good teachers in the first few grades of school, I believe they are well started on the way toward being useful and honorable citizens. \u2026 <\/p>\n
I no not think I am being old fashioned when I say that children ought to have religious training when they are young, and that they will be happier for it and better for it the rest of their lives.3369<\/p>\n
In 1950, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
But all of us\u2014at home, at war, wherever we may be\u2014are within the reach of God\u2019s love and power. We all can pray. We all should pray. We should ask the fulfillment of God\u2019s will. We should ask for courage, wisdom, for the quietness of soul which comes alone to them who place their lives in His hands.3370<\/p>\n
In a 1950 a Press Conference, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
A man cannot have character unless he lives within a fundamental system of morals that creates character.3371<\/p>\n
On January 8, 1951, in a State of the Union message, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
Peace is precious to us. It is the way of life we strive for with all the strength and wisdom we possess. But more precious than peace and freedom and justice. We will fight, if fight we must, to keep our freedom and to prevent justice from being destroyed. These are the things that give meaning to our lives, and which we acknowledge to be greater than ourselves. This is our cause\u2014peace, freedom, justice. We will pursue this cause with determination and humility, asking divine guidance that in all we do we may follow the will of God.3372<\/p>\n
On February 3, 1951, in an address given in Philadelphia, President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
The unity of our country is an unity under God. It is a unity in freedom, for the service of God is perfect freedom.3373<\/p>\n
On September 28, 1951, in an address given to the Washington Pilgrimage of American Churchmen, Washington, D.C., President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
If we are to respond to our religious heritage, we must be guided by the principle of charity\u2014charity in the biblical sense of love for one\u2019s fellow man. This is the greatest virtue, without which other virtues are of little worth.3374<\/p>\n
On June 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman issued Proclamation 2978, declaring an annual National Day of Prayer, after signing Congressional Resolution (Public Law 82\u2013324; 66 Stat. 64):<\/p>\n
Whereas from the earliest days of our history our people have been accustomed to turn to Almighty God for help and guidance; and<\/p>\n
Whereas in times of national crisis when we are striving to strengthen the foundations of peace and security we stand in special need of Divine support; and<\/p>\n
Whereas the Congress, by a joint resolution approved on April 17, 1952 (66 Stat. 64), has provided that the President \u201cshall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation\u201d; and<\/p>\n
Whereas I deem it fitting that this Day of Prayer coincide with the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, which published to the world this Nation\u2019s \u201cfirm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence\u201d:<\/p>\n
Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Friday, July 4, 1952, as a National Day of Prayer, on which all of us, in our churches, in our homes, and in our hearts, may beseech God to grant us wisdom to know the course which we should follow, and strength and patience to pursue that course steadfastly. May we also give thanks to Him for His constant watchfulness over us in every hour of national prosperity and national peril.<\/p>\n
In Witness Thereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.<\/p>\n
Done at the City of Washington this 17th day of June in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-sixth. Harry S. Truman.3375<\/p>\n
On August 16, 1952, President Harry S. Truman concluded a personal note to General Dwight D. Eisenhower:<\/p>\n
May God guide you and give you light. From a man who has always been your friend and who always intended to be!3376<\/p>\n
President Truman commented:<\/p>\n
Peace is the goal of my life. I\u2019d rather have lasting peace in the world than be President. I wish for peace, I work for peace and I pray for peace continually.3377<\/p>\n
In commenting on the Constitution in his Memoirs\u2014Volume Two: Years of Trial and Hope,<\/i> President Harry S. Truman stated:<\/p>\n
The men who wrote the Constitution knew what they were doing when they provided for three separate branches of the government. They were mostly men trained in the law, and they were all well informed on the history of government from Babylon to Britain. They were convinced that the government of the new nation should be one that would protect individual freedom and allow it to flourish.<\/p>\n
They knew that arbitrary and even tyrannical government had come about where the powers of government were united in the hands of one man. The system they set up was designed to prevent a demagogue or \u201ca man on horseback\u201d from taking over the powers of government.<\/p>\n
As a young man, I had read Montesquieu\u2019s Spirit of the Laws<\/i> and the Federalist Papers,<\/i> that collection of essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay that explains so much of what the Constitution was intended to mean. Later, during my evening studies of the law, I had read some of Blackstone and Coke and the Commentaries<\/i> of Judge Story.<\/p>\n
This reading and the study of history and of our government have been the foundation of my thinking about the Constitution. It is a document of remarkable qualities, and every American owes it to his country to absorb not only its words but also the great ideas for which it stands.<\/p>\n
The greatest of these, in my opinion, is the idea of a fair trial. We inherited from the British this idea that no man shall be considered guilty until a fair, judicial process shall have found him so.<\/p>\n
Next to this, the most important thought expressed in our Constitution is that the power of government shall always remain limited, through the separation of powers. This means that each of the three branches of the government\u2014the legislative, the judicial, and the executive\u2014must jealously guard its position.<\/p>\n
This jealous concern is a good thing.3378<\/p>\n
President Truman recorded his favorite prayer:<\/p>\n
O Almighty and Everlasting God, Creator of Heaven, Earth and the Universe:<\/p>\n
Help me to be, to think, to act what is right, because it is right; make me truthful, honest and honorable in all things; make me intellectually honest for the sake of right and honor and without thought of reward to me.<\/p>\n
Give me the ability to be charitable, forgiving and patient with my fellow men\u2014help me to understand their motives and their shortcomings\u2014even as thou understandest mine! Amen, Amen, Amen.3379<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(May 8, 1884\u2013December 26, 1972), was the 33rd President of the United States, 1945\u201353; Vice-President under Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 20\u2013April 12, 1945; assuming the Presidency upon Roosevelt\u2019s death; U.S. Senator, 1934\u201345; presiding judge for Jackson County Court, Missouri, 1926\u201334; salesman, manager of building and loan company, 1925\u201326; judge of the Eastern District; Jackson County … Continue reading “TRUMAN,
\nHARRY S.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}