St. Louis Enquirer.4 the Thirty-Eight-Year-Old Editor's Rapid Rise to Respectability in Missouri Inspired an Infatuation with His New Home
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MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI The State Historical Society of Missouri, heretofore organized under the laws of the State, shall be the trustee of this State-Laws of Missouri, 1899, R.S. of Mo., 1969, chapter 183, as revised 1978. OFFICERS, 1995-1998 H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid, President JAMES C. OLSON, Kansas City, First Vice President SHERIDAN A. LOGAN, St. Joseph, Second Vice President VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia, Third Vice President NOBLE E. CUNNINGHAM, Columbia, Fourth Vice President R. KENNETH ELLIOTT, Liberty, Fifth Vice President ROBERT G. J. HOESTER, Kirkwood, Sixth Vice President ALBERT M. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer JAMES W. GOODRICH, Columbia, Executive Director, Secretary, and Librarian PERMANENT TRUSTEES FORMER PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville FRANCIS M. BARNES III, Kirkwood ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia RUSH H. LIMBAUGH, Cape Girardeau Avis G. TUCKER, Warrensburg TRUSTEES, 1993-1996 HENRIETTA AMBROSE, Webster Groves GEORGE MCCUE, St. Louis LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN, Rolla GARY W. RUST, Cape Girardeau ROBERT S. DALE, Carthage WALLACE B. SMITH, Independence FREDERICK W. LEHMANN IV, Webster Groves TRUSTEES, 1994-1997 ILUS W. DAVIS, Kansas City DALE REESMAN, Boonville JOHN K. HULSTON, Springfield ARVARH E. STRICKLAND, Columbia JAMES B. NUTTER, Kansas City BLANCHE M. TOUHILL, St. Louis BOB PRIDDY, Jefferson City HENRY J. WATERS III, Columbia TRUSTEES, 1995-1998 WALTER ALLEN, Brookfield R. CROSBY KEMPER III, St. Louis JAMES A. BARNES, Raytown VIRGINIA LAAS, Joplin VERA H. BURK, Kirksville EMORY MELTON, Cassville RICHARD DECOSTER, Canton DOYLE PATTERSON, Kansas City EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Eight trustees elected by the board of trustees, together with the president of the Society, consti tute the executive committee. The executive director of the Society serves as an ex officio member. WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington, Chairman JAMES C. OLSON, Kansas City FRANCIS M. BARNES III, Kirkwood ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid Avis G. TUCKER, Warrensburg VERA H. BURK, Kirksville VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN, Rolla MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW VOLUME XC, NUMBER 3 APRIL 1996 JAMES W. GOODRICH LYNN WOLF GENTZLER Editor Associate Editor CHRISTINE MONTGOMERY ANN L. ROGERS Research Assistant Research Assistant The MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW (ISSN 0026-6582) is published quarterly by the State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. Second- class postage is paid at Columbia, Missouri. POSTMASTERS: Send address changes to MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. Copyright © 1996 by The State Historical Society of Missouri COVER DESCRIPTION: Government agencies used colorful, eye-catching posters to appeal to Americans' patriotism during World War I. This poster, created by John E. Sheridan for the U. S. Food Administration, probably appeared in 1918. Lawrence O. Christensen explores how Show Me State residents responded to the war in "World War I in Missouri, Part 1," beginning on page 330. [Cover illustration from Frederick B. Mumford Papers, Western Historical Manuscript Collection, University of Missouri-Columbia] EDITORIAL POLICY The editors of the Missouri Historical Review welcome submission of articles and documents relating to the history of Missouri. Any aspect of Missouri history will be con sidered for publication in the Review. Genealogical studies, however, are not accepted because of limited appeal to general readers. Manuscripts pertaining to all fields of American history will be considered if the subject matter has significant relevance to the history of Missouri or the West. Authors should submit two double-spaced copies of their manuscripts. The foot notes, prepared according to The Chicago Manual of Style, also should be double-spaced and placed at the end of the text. Authors may submit manuscripts on disk. The disk must be IBM compatible, preferably in WordPerfect. Two hard copies still are required, and the print must be letter or near-letter quality. Dot matrix submissions will not be accept ed. Originality of subject, general interest of the article, sources used, interpretation, and style are criteria for acceptance and publication. Manuscripts should not exceed 7,500 words. Articles that are accepted for publication become the property of the State Historical Society of Missouri and may not be published elsewhere without permission. The Society does not accept responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. Articles published in the Review are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, Recently Published Articles, Writings on American History1, The Western Historical Quarterly, and 77?^ Journal of American Histoiy. Manuscripts submitted for the Review should be addressed to Dr. James W. Goodrich, Editor, Missouri Historical Review, State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri 65201-7298. BOARD OF EDITORS LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN SUSAN M. HARTMANN University of Missouri-Rolla Ohio State University Columbus WILLIAM E. FOLEY ALAN R. HAVIG Central Missouri State University Stephens College Warrensburg Columbia JEAN TYREE HAMILTON DAVID D. MARCH Marshall Kirksville ARVARH E. STRICKLAND University of Missouri-Columbia CONTENTS BOB HANNEGAN AND HARRY TRUMAN'S VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION. By Thomas F. Eagleton and Diane L. Duffin 265 "THIS MAGNIFICENT NEW WORLD": THOMAS HART BENTON'S WESTWARD VISION RECONSIDERED. By John D. Morton 284 REPORTING FROM AN ENEMY'S LAND: THE INDIANA LETTERS OF "CHINCOUPIN," 1861. Edited by Jeffrey L. Patrick 309 WORLD WAR I IN MISSOURI. PART 1. By Lawrence O. Christensen 330 HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS Limbaugh Receives Distinguished Service Award 355 Shane Artworks Given to Society 355 Schewe Gift Received by Society 356 Society Annual Meeting Date is Set 356 Erratum 356 Society Libraries: Western Historical Manuscript Collection 357 News In Brief 358 Local Historical Societies 360 Gifts 369 Missouri History in Newspapers 373 Missouri History in Magazines 378 In Memoriam 382 Graduate Theses Relating to Missouri History 383 BOOK REVIEWS 384 Curtis, Susan. Dancing to a Black Mans Tune: A Life of Scott Joplin. Berlin, Edward A. King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era. Both reviewed by John A. Taylor. Ferrell, Robert H. Hany S. Truman: A Life. Reviewed by William O. Wagnon, Jr. Armitage, Shelley. Kewpies and Beyond: The World of Rose O'Neill. Reviewed by Janice Brandon-Falcone. BOOK NOTES 390 Hungate, William L. It Wasn V Funny at the Time. Celebrating Lincoln County, Missouri, 125 Years, 1869-1994. Monnett, Howard N. Action Before Westport, 1864. Bond, Connie. A Comprehensive Histoiy of First Baptist Church, Eldon, Missouri. Bradley, Marilynne. City of Century Homes: A Centennial Histoiy of Webster Groves, Missouri. Grandview Historical Society. History of Grandview, Missouri, 1844-1994. CONTRIBUTORS TO MISSOURI CULTURE: HOMER CROY Inside back cover St. Louis Post-Dispatch Bob Hannegan and Harry Truman's Vice Presidential Nomination BY THOMAS F. EAGLETON AND DIANE L. DUFFIN* The contemporary renewal of interest in Harry Truman among historians and the public—as evidenced by David McCullough's best-selling Truman biography and the subsequent made-for-cable television movie—has inspired a renewed examination of Truman's public life.1 Given its later sig nificance, one aspect of Truman's career that deserves additional attention is the story of how he came to be Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in 1944. *Thomas F. Eagleton, a former U.S. senator from Missouri, is currently University Professor of Public Affairs at Washington University, St. Louis. He presented a version of this article at the State Historical Society of Missouri's annual meeting on October 14, 1995. Diane L. Duffin is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Missouri- St. Louis. She holds a B.J. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and the M.A. degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The authors wish to thank Bill Hannegan, son of the late Bob Hannegan, for his assistance in preparing this article. 1 David McCullough, Truman (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992). 265 266 Missouri Historical Review The conventional wisdom about Truman's selection for the 1944 nation al ticket depicts Democratic Party bosses in a smoke-filled room choosing Truman, cutting a deal with Roosevelt, and then forcing the Democratic con vention to accept their choice.2 In fact, with less than a week remaining before the nominating convention, the party leadership as a group had not agreed on anything except that incumbent Vice President Henry A. Wallace should not be renominated. Any of a number of alternatives to Wallace might have been named to run with Roosevelt. But it was Bob Hannegan who quar- terbacked the strategy for Roosevelt to consider Truman, and it was, in the end, Hannegan who finally secured FDR's endorsement of the Missouri sen ator. This fact contradicts the historical record, which portrays Hannegan as somehow deceiving the press and the Democratic convention of 1944 into believing that Roosevelt chose Truman. Finally, it was Hannegan, with the assistance of Franklin Roosevelt, who persuaded a reluctant Harry Truman that he indeed was the president's choice for a running mate. In 1944 Hannegan became chairman of the Democratic National Committee, the pinnacle of a career in party politics that had begun in St. Louis. The son of a St. Louis police captain, Hannegan earned his law degree from St. Louis University and entered general law practice after a stint as a semiprofessional baseball player.3 His political career began in earnest in 1933 when he was appointed to the Democratic City Committee. A year later, with the support of Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann, he was elected chair man of the committee. Hannegan's alliance with Harry Truman did not begin until 1940, large ly because Truman hailed from Jackson County and had won his first statewide race in 1934 with the support of Kansas City's Pendergast organi zation. In that 1934 Democratic primary, St.