Origins of the National Security State and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman The Truman Legacy Series, Volume 11 Based on the Eleventh Truman Legacy Symposium National Security May 2013 Key West, Florida Edited by Mary Ann Heiss and Michael J. Hogan Edited by Mary Ann Heiss and Michael J. Hogan Volume 11 Truman State University Press Kirksville, Missouri Copyright © 2015 Truman State University Press, Kirksville, Missouri, 63501 All rights reserved tsup.truman.edu Cover photo: “Portrait of President Harry S. Truman,” December 14, 1952, courtesy of Harry S. Truman Library & Museum (2004-300). Cover design: Katie Best Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Origins of the national security state and the legacy of Harry S. Truman / edited by Mary Ann Heiss, Michael J. Hogan. pages cm. — (The Truman legacy series ; volume 11) Based on the Eleventh Truman Legacy Symposium, Truman and Foreign Aid, May 2013, Key West, Florida. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61248-124-1 (alkaline paper) — ISBN 978-1-61248-125-8 (e-book) 1. United States—Politics and government—1945–1953—Congresses. 2. Truman, Harry S., 1884–1972—Political and social views—Congresses. 3. Truman, Harry S., 1884–1972—Influence—Congresses. 4. National security—United States—History—20th century—Congresses. 5. United States—Foreign relations—1945–1953—Congresses. 6. Economic assistance, American—History—20th century—Congresses. 7. Military assistance, American—History—20th century—Congresses. 8. United States—Military policy—Congresses. 9. Cold War—Congresses. 10. Political culture—United States—History—20th century—Congresses. I. Heiss, Mary Ann., 1961- II. Hogan, Michael J., 1943– III. Truman Legacy Symposium (11th : 2013 : Key West, Fla.) E813.O75 2015 973.918092—dc23 2014024830 No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any format by any means with- out written permission from the publisher. The paper in this publication meets or exceeds the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48– 1992. To our students: past, present, and to come. Contents Illustrations & Table. .ix Foreword ..........................................xi Preface ...........................................xiii Introduction The National Security Discourse of the Early Cold War and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman ...................... 1 Michael J. Hogan The Institutions of the National Security State Preparing for the Next Pearl Harbor Harry S. Truman’s Role in the Creation of the U.S. National Security Establishment ..................17 Douglas Stuart Setting the Stage Harry S. Truman and the American Military .............. 39 Dale R. Herspring The Legacy of Military Spending during the Truman Administration ......................... 68 Benjamin O. Fordham The CIA Its Origin, Transformation, and Crisis of Identity from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama ..................... 94 Richard H. Immerman and Timothy Andrews Sayle Harry Truman and the National Security State A Graphic Essay ...................................119 Randy Sowell The Implications of the National Security State The Military- Academic- Industrial Complex and the Path Not Taken ................................143 Audra J. Wolfe viii Contents The Politics, and Political Legacy, of Harry S. Truman’s National Security Policies .................165 David C. Unger An Accidental Empire? President Harry S. Truman and the Origins of America’s Global Military Presence .............................. 189 Aaron B. O’Connell The National Security State and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman Enduring Themes. .212 Mark R. Jacobson Contributors .................................... 225 Index ............................................ 229 Illustrations & Table The Legacy of Military Spending during the Truman Administration (Fordham) Figure 1. Real Military Spending, 1929–2012 ....................69 Figure 2. Military Spending as a Share of the Economy and Overall Government Spending ............................71 Table 1. Ford and Carter Administrations’ Defense Budgets ........76 Graphic Essay (Sowell) Admiral Chester Nimitz signing the Japanese surrender documents aboard the Missouri (TL 98– 2436) ...............121 Memorandum from President Harry S. Truman to the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, April 20, 1946, 2 pages (Subject File Agencies, President’s Secretary’s Files, Truman Papers, Truman Library) ............122 Secretary James Forrestal and Secretary Robert Patterson to President Harry S. Truman, May 31, 1946, 2 pages (Official File 335- A, Truman Papers, Truman Library) ................123 White House Press Release, January 16, 1947, 2 pages (Official File 335- A, Truman Papers, Truman Library) ................125 Letter from President Harry S. Truman to Senator Arthur Vandenberg, February 26, 1947 (Official File 335- A, Truman Papers, Truman Library) ................................127 Memorandum from Clark Clifford to President Harry S. Truman, July 22, 1947, 2 pages (Subject File, Clifford Papers, Truman Library) ......................................128 Memorandum by Clark Clifford, July 24, 1947, 2 pages (Subject File, Clifford Papers, Truman Library) .....................130 ix x Illustrations & Table President Harry S. Truman (diary entry for July 26–27, 1947) ......131 Letter from Clark Clifford to James Forrestal, July 28, 1947 (Subject File, Clifford Papers, Truman Library) ...............132 W. Stuart Symington taking the oath of office as secretary of the Air Force (TL 97- 1900) ..............................133 Rear Admiral Sidney Souers (TL 96- 986) ......................134 President Harry S. Truman with members of his National Security Council (TL 73– 2703). .135 Memorandum from Clark Clifford to President Harry S. Truman, January 24, 1949, 2 pages (Subject File, Clifford Papers, Truman Library) .............................................136 James Forrestal watching Louis Johnson take the oath of office as Secretary of Defense (TL 58– 361) .......................138 President Harry S. Truman signing the National Security Act Amendments of 1949 (TL 73– 3202) .......................139 Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (TL 97– 1883) ...............140 Foreword The eleventh annual Legacy Symposium focused on the fundamental and lasting changes in direction to the nation’s national security establishment made during the administration of Harry S. Truman. As with the previous symposia sponsored in cooperation with the Truman Little White House in Key West, Forida, the event held on May 17 and 18, 2013, brought together scholars and government officials to explore the most significant research produced on the topic in the past decade, and the papers presented at Key West comprise the core of this volume. Presenters and commenta- tors sought to explain the policies and actions of the Truman adminis- tration in the context of post– World War II domestic and international concerns. In addition, participants reviewed the profound and lasting impact of the Truman administration’s creation of what came to be known as the National Security State and the Military- Industrial Complex. Our keynote speaker, the former chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Representative Ike Skelton [D- MO], was unable to attend the symposium due to health issues. Representative Skelton knew President Truman, who encouraged young Ike to pursue a career in politics. In 1976, Bess Truman assisted Ike’s first election to the U.S. House from a district that included the Truman home in Independence. In a congressional career spanning thirty- four years, Representative Skelton was recognized as an expert on defense issues. Perhaps no one in government knew the legacy of Truman’s national secu- rity actions better than Ike Skelton, and his contributions to the sympo- sium and this volume would have been of great significance. The nation lost a valued leader when the Honorable Isaac Newton “Ike” Shelton died on October 28, 2013. The hosts, sponsors, and funders of the eleventh Truman Legacy Symposium are especially grateful to Dr. Michael Hogan, former presi- dent of the University of Illinois, and Dr. Mary Ann Heiss of Kent State University for their excellent work in organizing the program and editing this volume. As general editor of this series, I am always appreciative of the efforts of Dr. Raymond Geselbracht, special assistant to the director of the xi xii Foreword Truman Library (recently retired), attending to the organizational details and providing editorial assistance. And, once again, the symposium and the resulting publication would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of Bob Wolz, director of the Truman Little White House in Key West, Florida, Historic Tours of America, and the Truman Little White House Foundation. CSPAN once again taped the proceedings in Key West for broadcast and placement in their extraordinarily valuable archive. Michael J. Devine General Editor Independence, Missouri Preface Earlier versions of all but one of the essays that follow were originally delivered at the eleventh annual Truman Legacy Symposium, which we co- organized on behalf of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. The focus of that symposium was on the origins and legacy of the national security state that emerged during the early years of the Cold War. We were fortunate to recruit a very able group of scholars (Benjamin O. Fordham,