Description:

Truman Thanks Former Chief of Staff for Visit to Kansas City

Former President Harry S. Truman thanks his former assistant for a visit to Kansas City, where he spoke out in opposition to right-to-work laws.

HARRY S. TRUMAN, Typed Letter Signed, to John R. Steelman, December 16, 1954, Kansas City, Missouri. With handwritten postscript. 1 p., 7.25" x 10.5", on "Harry S Truman / Federal Reserve Bank Building/ Kansas City 6, Missouri" stationery. Very good.

Excerpt:
"I can't tell you how much I appreciated your visit here. It was exceedingly helpful to the whole force and I missed a luncheon at Independence, at which they wanted to give me a $4,000.00 check for the Library, so we could continue the discussions. The party about whom you talked to Rose has never been in touch with any of us since we left the White House."

[Handwritten Postscript:] "My best to Mrs. Steelman and every good wish to both of you for 1955."

Historical Background:
On December 8, 1954, John R. Steelman attended the Democratic victory dinner at the Hotel President in Kansas City. Although he traveled to Kansas City "only to see Mr. Truman and to discuss various things with him," he spoke to the victory dinner that was being held at the same time. In his remarks, Steelman said that "my experience as a labor conciliator has convinced me that the right-to-work tag is a sugar coating dreamed up by some smart people to apply to something that is not what it seems."

Right-to-work laws prohibited union security agreements between employers and labor unions, meaning that labor contracts could not require employees who were not union members to contribute to the costs of union representation. Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell (1900-1964) had expressed opposition to state right-to-work measures to a C.I.O. convention, but questions remained about whether the Eisenhower administration supported Mitchell's view or he simply expressed his personal views. In 1954, seventeen states, largely in the South and Plains, had right-to-work laws. The Missouri legislature passed a right-to-work law in 2017, but in a 2018 referendum, voters rejected the law, making Missouri the first state to repeal a right-to-work law.

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) was born in Missouri and joined the Missouri National Guard in 1905. He served in World War I as a lieutenant and then captain in the 129th Field Artillery in France. Truman first won elective office in 1922, winning a judge's seat on the Jackson County Court. After serving several terms, Truman was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934, and in 1940 gained national attention for his chairmanship of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, which was eventually nicknamed "The Truman Committee." Truman continued his political rise in 1944 when he was elected Vice-President as Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate. After only 82 days as Vice President, Truman was thrust into the Presidency when Roosevelt died unexpectedly. His inheritance was a world at war. Germany had surrendered, but Japan refused to give up the war. Truman, in a desperate move to avoid having to invade the Japanese mainland, ordered the deployment of two atomic bombs. They were dropped on August 6 and August 9, 1945. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945. As President, Truman waged an undeclared war on the Soviet Union, drafting the "Truman Doctrine," which proclaimed the United States' willingness to provide aid to countries resisting communism. The Marshall Plan sought to strengthen the European economy in the hopes that this program, too, would prevent the spread of Soviet influence. Elected President for a full term in 1948, he also brought United States troops into the Korean War (1950-1953). In addition to his cold war activities, Truman's administration expanded the New Deal and promoted Civil Rights initiatives.

John R. Steelman (1900-1999) was born in Arkansas, and after graduating from high school, served in World War I. He worked a variety of jobs, including bookkeeping, logging, and migrant agricultural labor to save money for college tuition. He graduated from Henderson Brown College in Arkadelphia, Arkansas in 1922 and earned a master's degree from Vanderbilt University in 1924. He received a Ph.D. in economics and sociology from the University of North Carolina in 1928. He was a professor of those subjects at Alabama College from 1928 to 1934. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins met Steelman at Harvard University, where he was an instructor, and recruited him for the Labor Department. After working for a short time in New York City in the mid-1940s, Steelman returned to the federal government as an adviser to the Secretary of Labor in 1945. In 1946, he became the first Assistant to the President of the United States, a position he held until 1953 and then later, became the White House Chief of Staff. In 1948, he declined the position of Secretary of Labor to remain at the White House. After leaving the White House in 1953, Steelman became an industrial relations consultant in Washington D.C. until 1968.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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