FALL 2011
TrumanLibrary.org
Fifth Annual Bennett Forum on the Presidency The Harry S.Truman Library Institute’s fifth annual Howard and Virginia Bennett Forum on the Presidency is planned for the evening of October 29, 2011. This year’s program will feature Senator Bob Kerrey, moderator; former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Senator Chuck Hagel and Leslie Gelb, President Emeritus for the Council on Foreign Relations. The theme selected for the 2011 Bennett Forum is Presidential Power Abroad: From Truman to Obama. The program’s focus on foreign policy is especially timely given the numerous, grave foreign policy challenges currently facing our nation. The importance of the topic, as well as the participation of these distinguished statesmen, guarantees that the upcoming Bennett Forum will be as fascinating and well-attended as past programs. Please mark your calendars for the fifth installment of Kansas City’s most anticipated, politically-themed program.
Upcoming Events Exhibit News
The Forum will take place at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th Street, Kansas City, Missouri. General admission tickets are available for $10 each by calling Central Ticket Office at (816)235-6222 or they may be purchased online at www.TrumanLibrary.org. Truman Library Institute members at the Family level and above are eligible to receive two free tickets as a membership benefit. To become a member of the Truman Library Institute, reserve your free tickets, or inquire about VIP opportunities, call Kim Rausch at (816)268-8237 or e-mail kim.rausch@nara.gov.
EducaƟon Update White House Decision Center Hosts Special Guests Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey
President Emeritus Leslie Gelb
Former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel
EVENT DETAILS
Bennett Forum on the Presidency Saturday, October 29, 6 p.m. | Unity Temple on the Plaza, Kansas City, Mo. Presidential Power Abroad: From Truman to Obama
Harry S. Truman Library Institute
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Allan H. Meltzer to Receive the Truman Medal for Economic Policy The 2011 Truman Medal for Economic Policy will be awarded to Allan H. Meltzer in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the field of economic policy. The award will be presented during a luncheon at the Marriott Muehlebach Hotel on October 19, 2011.
The Truman Medal for Economic Policy is awarded through the collaborative efforts of the following organizations: the Truman Library Institute, the UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration, the Missouri Council on Economic Education, The Economic Club of Kansas City and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; and is made possible through the generous support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and JE Dunn Construction Company. For more information visit www.econclubofkansascity.org.
Supreme Court Justice
Stephen Breyer Book Event December 8 Kansas City Public Library
Truman Medal for Economic Policy The Truman Medal for Economic Policy is given biennially in honor of President Truman’s creation of the Council of Economic Advisers. Past recipients include Alan Greenspan, George P. Shultz, and Paul Volcker.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s new book, Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View, is a combination of history and legal philosophy that argues there are no easy, color-by-the-numbers answers to many legal questions. A book signing will follow the program. SAVE THE DATE Additional details to be announced as soon as possible.
EXHIBIT NEWS
Truman Family Papers to be on Exhibit
120 Speeches Added to Library Website The Truman Library has added more than 120 audio clips of nearly all of President Truman’s 1948 Whistlestop speeches to its website. The clips can be found on the Library’s sound recording guide, at http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/ soundrecording.
Following the passing of Margaret Truman Daniel in 2008, the Truman Library received a new collection of never-before-seen historical materials from the Truman and Wallace families. These materials include a sizeable collection of items from Mrs. Daniel’s estate, as well as new additions to the Bess Wallace Truman collection. According to Truman Library Museum Curator Clay Bauske, this will be the last significant addition of Truman materials to the Library’s holdings of its kind. Many of these documents, photographs and artifacts directly relate to Harry and Bess’s personal lives as well as the family histories of the Wallaces and Trumans. In total, they provide a rare and fascinating glimpse into the lives of Harry and Bess’s ancestors – and an interesting view into the early history of Eastern Jackson County. The Truman Library plans to create a wonderful new museum exhibition, The Truman and Wallace Families of Independence, that will feature documents, photographs and artifacts from this extensive collection. The exhibit, which will run from March 9, 2012 through December 31, 2012, will focus on the Truman and Wallace families, their personal lives, family backgrounds and the roles these families played in Independence and Jackson County over the last 150 years. The Truman Library Institute is very pleased to be partnering with the Junior Service League of Independence in the presentation of this exhibition. The Junior Service League, as title sponsor, is underwriting the conservation and preservation of the Truman and Wallace Family Collection, as well as exhibit-related educational programs that will be provided to local students. We are also grateful to Allen and Barbara Lefko and the Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust for their generous support of this exhibit.
Harry S. Truman Library Institute
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EXHIBIT NEWS CONTINUED... Bingham Exhibit Comes to a Close
The President’s Photographer
The Truman Library’s special exhibition, Steamboats to Steam Engines: George Caleb Bingham’s Missouri, 1819-1879, proved to be a highlight attraction for visitors of all ages. Since its opening on March 8, through its close September 11, more than 49,757 visitors – including 6,728 students – saw the historic display.
Truman Library Special Exhibit | Oct. 21, 2011- Jan. 21, 2012
The Truman Library is grateful to the exhibit’s title sponsor, Ken and Cindy McClain, and to a number of prestigious organizations, whose loan of Bingham portraits, painting, drawings and prints made this exhibit possible. These partners include the State Historical Society of Missouri, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the St. Louis Museum of Art, the National Archives and several others. The Truman Library Institute would also like to thank exhibit sponsor Allen and Barbara Lefko, and Mary Shaw Branton for graciously loaning a Bingham painting from her personal collection.
The President’s Photographers: 50 Years Inside the Oval Office is a National Geographic traveling exhibition of 50 framed photographs taken by official White House photographers from 1963 to the present day. The exhibition features photographs taken by veteran presidential photographers of Gerald Ford (David Hume Kennerly), George H. W. Bush (David Valdez), Bill Clinton (Bob McNeely), George W. Bush (Eric Draper), Barack Obama (Pet Souza) and many more.
EDUCATION UPDATE
Annual Teachers Conference: “Kansas, Missouri and the Civil War” Forty-nine teachers from nine states attended the ninth annual Summer Teacher Institute held at the Truman Library July 11-15. This year’s theme, “Kansas, Missouri and the Civil War, 1854-1865,” was offered as part of the regional commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Participants spent the week studying the Border War, as well as the Civil War at large, with scholars from around the country. In addition to hearing a series of informative presentations, the teachers researched, created and shared curricula for use in the classroom. Right: Carol Anderson, Chair of the Institute’s Research, Scholarship and Education Committee, addresses the teachers.
Special Guests Visit the Decision Center
LEFT: Riya Mehta (Pembroke Hill), placed third in the nation at the 2011 National History Day competition with her senior individual performance on the Korean War. RIGHT: Sophia Mauro (Barstow), Missouri’s Outstanding State Entry Award winner, placed fifth in the nation with her junior individual performance on the integration of Kansas City’s hospitals.
The Truman Library Institute hosted a class of 32 officers from the US Army Command and General Staff College on August 18. The group, led by Dr. Richard Faulkner from the CGSC’s Department of Military History, visited the Truman Library in order to participate in the White House Decision Center. While here, they were also treated to a special breakfast and tour of the museum. From Left: Alex Burden, Dr. Richard Faulkner and Major James Lockridge.
A group of teachers from the African and African American Studies Departments at the University of Kansas also visited the White House Decision Center for a special seminar, Presidential Politics, Civil Rights and the Road to Brown. “The teachers loved the trip to the Library. The Decision Center really put history in their hands and allowed them to think of how to use similar material and activites in their courses,” said Shawn Leigh Alexander, Assistant Professor and Graduate Director of African and African American Studies at the University of Kansas.
Harry S. Truman Library Institute
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Member-supported nonprofit partner of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum Advancing the enduring legacy and presidenƟal library of America’s 33rd President
Harry S.Truman Library and Museum TrumanLibrary.org 800-833-1225 | 816-268-8200
T h e Tr u m a n L i b r a r y I n s t i t u t e
Board of Directors
Clifton Truman Daniel, HONORARY CHAIRMAN Mary Hunkeler, CHAIR
MUSEUM HOURS Mon.–Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Noon to 5 p.m. MUSEUM ADMISSION $8 adults; $7 seniors 65+ $3 youth 6-15; 0-5 FREE Truman Library Institute members admitted free. Group discounts available. Whistle Stop is published by the Truman Library Institute as a service to volunteers, friends and members.
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Truman Library InsƟtute
John J. Sherman,VICE CHAIR & CHAIR-ELECT Roger A. Novak, TREASURER Herbert M. Kohn, SECRETARY Carol Anderson Alan L. Atterbury Carolyn Caldwell Kirk W. Carpenter John A. Dillingham Charles M. Foudree Sam F. Hamra Mary Ann Heiss Mary C. Johnston Allen L. Lefko Kenneth B. McClain
Thomas R. McGee, Jr. John P. McMeel Larry L. McMullen Cappy P. Powell Page Branton Reed The Hon. Ike Skelton Beth K. Smith Charles S. Sosland The Hon. James W. Symington Maurice A. Watson Michael J. Devine, EX OFFICIO
Alex Burden, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL John C. Danforth Richard A. Gephardt Walter Isaacson Michael J. Johnston