Public Papers
The Public Papers of Harry S. Truman contain most of President Truman's public messages, statements, speeches, and news conference remarks. Documents such as Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents that are published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, as required by law, are usually not included. The documents within the Public Papers are arranged in chronological order. President Truman delivered the remarks or addresses from Washington, D. C., unless otherwise indicated. The White House in Washington issued statements, messages, and letters unless noted otherwise. (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1966)
The Public Papers contain items such as the Statement by the President Announcing the Use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima (August 6, 1945), the Special Message to the Congress on Greece and Turkey: The Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947), the White House Statement Announcing Recognition of the Government of Israel (January 31, 1949), the Statement and Order by the President on Relieving General MacArthur of His Commands (April 11, 1951), and The President's Farewell Address to the American People (January 15, 1953).
February 28, 1947
SIGNING of this bill marks a new forward step in Western Hemisphere cooperation. For many years two of the world's most devastating livestock diseases--foot-and-mouth disease and rinderpest--have increasingly plagued the New World. I…
March 3, 1949
THE PRESIDENT. [1.] I have one announcement to make. Mr. Forrestal is resigning effective the 31st of March, and Louis Johnson will succeed him as Secretary of Defense.
Q. Mr. President, is Mr. Kenneth Royall also resigning…
February 27, 1951
MR. SECRETARY, it is a pleasure to see all these fine young men from, I understand, every State and Territory in the Union. I have been interested in your organization for a long time. Back in 1943 or 1944, I made an inspection of…
March 2, 1950
THE PRESIDENT. [I.] I have no special announcements to make, but I have been trying to work out a situation that would make it more convenient at these press conferences. I have discussed the matter with Mr. Ross, and I will appreciate it…
March 5, 1948
To the Congress of the United States:
In accordance with the Government's settled policy of eliminating temporary war agencies as soon as practicable, I recommend that the Congress now provide for the liquidation of the…
February 28, 1946
THE HOUSING SHORTAGE has become a serious problem throughout the Nation. Thousands of our veterans are finding it impossible to obtain adequate housing for themselves and their families.
In spite of our best efforts to facilitate new…
March 3, 1949
[Released March 3, 1949. Dated March 2, 1949]
Dear Jim:
Your letter received this day confirms our many previous conversations and discussions. I am therefore fully cognizant of the considerations which prompt your desire to…
June 1, 1945
Dear Sam:
I am finally taking action on your letter of resignation dated April 14, 1945. I am declining
to accept it.
I understand fully your wish to retire to private life. President Roosevelt told me that you had
forcibly…
February 28, 1947
THE PRESIDENT. [1.] I have no particular announcements to make to you today except that at--a little later there will be a release for morning papers of a report on the food-from the food board--the Cabinet food committee…
February 21, 1952
IT IS a very great pleasure to receive you here this morning, and I am more than happy to receive you after what you have just said about the progress you are making in the far West with the Navajo and Hopi Indian tribes.
My interest…
June 1, 1945
CITATION FOR THE LEGION OF MERIT
DEGREE OF CHIEF COMMANDER
DURING the course of the present war His Royal Highness, Prince Abdul Ilah,
Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal of the Iraqi Army, Regent and Heir Apparent to the Throne
of Iraq,…
February 28, 1947
I HAVE received from the Cabinet Committee on World Food Programs a report on our progress in exporting grain this year.
It is heartening for all of us to know that if we keep up our present rate of shipments, we shall…
February 27, 1951
[ Broadcast from the White House at 10:55 p.m. ]
THANK YOU, Mr. Harriman.
We have heard tonight about the work of the Red Cross, and about how much it needs the help of every one of us.
I enrolled in the Red Cross…
March 1, 1946
To the Congress of the United States:
On July 31, 1945, the Bretton Woods Agreements Act became law. In that legislation the Congress established the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and financial Problems…
March 2, 1950
Dear Chairman Lesinski:
I have received your letter of March first, and the enclosed resolution with respect to Federal aid to education that was adopted by the Committee on Education and Labor.
The text of that…
February 25, 1952
FOUR YEARS ago today the Communists seized control of the free country of Czechoslovakia. By infiltrating every important branch of the government, they had strangled all sources of independent opposition in that nation--all but one--…
March 4, 1949
To the Congress of the United States:
The conduct of the foreign relations of the United States has become an increasingly momentous responsibility of our Federal Government. Many of our hopes for world peace and domestic…
March 8, 1948
THE ARRIVAL of the city of Washington at the venerable age of 150 years in 1950 will be a matter of importance to all the citizens of the United States, and a symbol to freedom-loving people everywhere. I am happy to serve with the…
March 9, 1948
My dear Mr. MacVeagh:
On the occasion of your appointment as Ambassador to Portugal, I would like to make some personal expression of appreciation for the high services you have already rendered your country.
During the past…
February 28, 1947
THESE AWARDS are in recognition of journalistic endeavor of a high order. The idea of a free press is fundamental to the freedoms that we cherish as Americans. While there are limitations on all our freedoms, including the freedom of…
February 27, 1952
IT IS a very great pleasure to me this morning to welcome the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury--and I have already welcomed the Secretary of Defense-from a most successful conference.
I think we have accomplished…
February 28, 1951
DURING the years since 1912, when girl scouting was founded, your organization's program of service to home, community, and country has become an integral part of the lives of millions of young people. On March 12, when you celebrate…
March 4, 1949
[Released March 4, 1949. Dated March 3, 1949]
Memorandum to the Chairman, National Security Resources Board:
I have recently given considerable attention to the question of the appropriate organization of the executive…
June 1, 1945
Dear Mr. Congressman:
It is my understanding that your Committee, in connection with the Overtime Pay
provisions of H.R. 2497, has expressed an interest in learning about the plans of the executive
branch for reductions in…
March 1, 1946
My dear Mr. Speaker:
The House of Representatives is now considering a bill of supreme importance to make it possible for veterans and their families to move out of trailers and temporary shacks and overcrowded dwellings into…