Details
TRUMAN, HARRY S., President. Typed letter signed ("Harry") with three-line autograph postscript as Senator, to Edward D. McKim of Omaha, Washington, D.C., 22 May 1944. 1 page, 4to, on Senate stationery, two binding holes at top edge.
"I AM NOT A CANDIDATE [FOR VICE PRESIDENT] AND DON'T EXPECT TO BE"
In a chatty letter to one of his most trusted friends, Truman describes an injury his mother recently suffered, congratulates McKim on becoming a grandfather, discusses accomodations for a forthcoming stay with McKim then details his demanding political stump travels: "My West Coast trip was rather a hectic affair. I held a hearing in Seattle for two days, one in San Francisco for a day, and then a three-day hearing in Los Angeles, after which I went to Salt Lake City and Ogden and made political speeches. I went to Phoenix and made another one, and finally wound up in Lubbock with a fourth one, and from there I drove to Amarillo and through to Kansas City." In closing, he adds: "I appreciated Hayden's mention of me for Vice President, but as I have told you time and time again I am not a candidate and don't expect to be. It would absolutely ruin me from the standpoint of the Senate and throw away nine years of the hardest sort of work...." When Roosevelt, bowing to pressure from Party leaders, agreed to dump Vice President Henry A. Wallace from the 1944 Democratic ticket, Truman became his choice as running-mate, over William O. Douglas and War Mobilization Director James O. Byrnes. Truman adamantly refused, until Roosevelt reportedly commented, "Tell him if he wants to break up the Democratic Party in the middle of a war, that's his responsibility."
"I AM NOT A CANDIDATE [FOR VICE PRESIDENT] AND DON'T EXPECT TO BE"
In a chatty letter to one of his most trusted friends, Truman describes an injury his mother recently suffered, congratulates McKim on becoming a grandfather, discusses accomodations for a forthcoming stay with McKim then details his demanding political stump travels: "My West Coast trip was rather a hectic affair. I held a hearing in Seattle for two days, one in San Francisco for a day, and then a three-day hearing in Los Angeles, after which I went to Salt Lake City and Ogden and made political speeches. I went to Phoenix and made another one, and finally wound up in Lubbock with a fourth one, and from there I drove to Amarillo and through to Kansas City." In closing, he adds: "I appreciated Hayden's mention of me for Vice President, but as I have told you time and time again I am not a candidate and don't expect to be. It would absolutely ruin me from the standpoint of the Senate and throw away nine years of the hardest sort of work...." When Roosevelt, bowing to pressure from Party leaders, agreed to dump Vice President Henry A. Wallace from the 1944 Democratic ticket, Truman became his choice as running-mate, over William O. Douglas and War Mobilization Director James O. Byrnes. Truman adamantly refused, until Roosevelt reportedly commented, "Tell him if he wants to break up the Democratic Party in the middle of a war, that's his responsibility."