Camp David (Or Truman’s Shangri-La) | February 16, 2021
HISTORIC PHOTOS OF CAMP DAVID
Nestled in the Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Maryland, is Camp David, a retreat for use by the President of the United States.
Officially a U.S. Navy installation, the facility was originally built by the Works Progress Administration as a camp for government employees, opening in 1938. President Franklin D. Roosevelt took it over and named it “Shangri-La,” for the mountain kingdom in Lost Horizon, the 1933 novel by James Hilton. It was later renamed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in honor of his then-five-year-old grandson, Dwight David Eisenhower II.
Over the years, American presidents and their families have used it for a variety of reasons. Some spent weekends there relaxing with their families. Others have used it to study, write, or confer with top advisers. A few have used it to conduct global diplomacy and forge historic peace agreements. During his first visit to Camp David, President Biden played Mario Kart with his granddaughter Naomi (and won!). Read More
The Daughters of Yalta | February 12, 2021
The Daughters of Yalta
A Distinguished Author Event Celebrating the 136th Birthday of First Lady Bess Wallace Truman
Featuring Catherine Grace Katz
Saturday, February 13 | 2 PM CST
Please join us online for the 2021 Bess Wallace Truman Birthday Celebration featuring Catherine Grace Katz, author of The Daughters of Yalta. Read More
A Lasting Valentine’s Day Gift | February 12, 2021
A Lasting Valentine’s Day Gift
The Perfect Personalized Gift for Your Sweetheart
VALENTINE’S DAY IS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Please Order by Friday, February 12
Profess your love on Valentine’s Day with a custom engraved Valentine’s Day Brick – a unique gift that will last forever. Order by February 12 to receive a downloadable certificate announcing your thoughtful gift. Read More
TRU Events – The Long Telegram | February 12, 2021
The Long Telegram
George Kennan and the Most Influential Cable in American History
Featuring Evan Thomas, in Conversation with Truman Library Director Kurt Graham
Tuesday, February 23 at 5:30 PM CST
Before the “Cold War,” there was “The Long Telegram.”
75 years ago this month, a Moscow-based U.S. diplomat named George Kennan sent an 8,000-word telegram to President Truman’s State Department. The “problem of how to cope with [the Soviets],” he argued presciently, “is undoubtedly the greatest task our diplomacy has ever faced and probably the greatest it will ever have to face.”
Today, “The Long Telegram” is regarded as a foundational U.S. document, right up there with the Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers and George Washington’s Farewell Address. As a sign of its enduring significance, the telegram’s 75th anniversary appears on top-ten lists of historic moments to note in 2021.
What influence did this 19-page cable have in 1946? And how does it continue to inform U.S. policy today? Read More
THIS DAY IN HISTORY | February 12, 2021
Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of President Truman
“YOU CAN’T CURE A MORAL PROBLEM BY IGNORING IT.” – President Harry S. Truman
Today marks the 212th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, remembered for his leadership through the Civil War and our nation’s greatest moral and political crises.
But February 12 marks another important day in American history. This is a difficult and mostly forgotten story, but one we feel certain President Truman would ask us to remember. It changed the course of American history. It changed him.
75 years ago today, Sergeant Isaac Woodard – a returning, decorated African American WWII veteran – was removed from a Greyhound bus in Batesburg, South Carolina, after he challenged the bus driver’s disrespectful treatment of him. Woodard, still in uniform, was arrested by the local police chief, Lynwood Shull, and brutally beaten and blinded while in custody.
You can hear it straight from Harry…
Exclusive Sneak Peek | February 10, 2021
Exclusive Sneak Peek
Step Inside the $26 Million Truman Museum Renovation
Wednesday, February 10 | 6PM CST
The renovation of the Truman Library and creation of the new Truman exhibition is nearing completion. The exhibit and audiovisual installation teams are busy finalizing the state-of-the-art multimedia, hands-on interactives, and cases for never-before-seen documents and artifacts. Read More
