Thursday, June 13, 2019

only a President as down to earth, and forgettable to presidential history, as Truman would select the Lincoln Cosmopolitan (constructed by Henney under Lincoln supervision) as the White House limo of choice, and lease 10 of them to replace the 1939 Lincolns with Brunn coachbuilt bodies




lengthened 20 inches over its original 125-inch configuration to an impressive and certainly Presidential 145 inches.

The coachbuilt body is the end result of a Lincoln coupe and sedan seamlessly crafted into one unit. The roof on the unique body was raised 7 inches over the standard Lincoln height to provide additional headroom for the hats of President and passengers alike.

A 4-speed Hydra-Matic fully automatic transmission was sourced from Lincoln rival Cadillac to deliver the highest available level of smooth motoring.


9 examples were closed limousines by Henney, and the convertibles by Dietrich were fitted with a removable Plexiglas top which allowed the president to see and be seen even in bad weather.

The 'bubbletop' soon became the name for the whole car. The car was built by the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan with the coachwork handled by Dietrich.

In all, nineteen of these cars were built - ten hard tops for White House service and nine drop tops for other government and VIP use.

The 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitans served three presidents - Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy - from 1950 to 1961. It is most remembered as President Eisenhower's only parade car, and at his own suggestion, it was equipped with a special removable Plexiglas 'bubble top' so that the President could be seen in rainy weather

In 1887, the Truman’s moved to a farm near Grandview, in 1890, to Independence, and finally, in 1902, to Kansas City. Harry attended public schools in Independence, graduating from high school in 1901.

After leaving school, he worked briefly as a timekeeper for a railroad construction contractor, then as a clerk in two Kansas City banks.

In 1906 he returned to Grandview to help his father run the family farm. He continued working as a farmer for more than ten years.

From 1919 to 1922 he ran a men’s clothing store in Kansas City with his wartime friend, Eddie Jacobson.

Truman was elected in 1922, to be one of three judges of the Jackson County Court. Judge Truman whose duties were in fact administrative rather than judicial, built a reputation for honesty and efficiency in the management of county affairs.

In 1934, Truman was elected to the United States Senate. He had significant roles in the passage into law of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 and the Transportation Act of 1940. After being reelected in 1940, Truman gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program. This committee, which came to be called the Truman Committee, sought with considerable success to ensure that defense contractors delivered to the nation quality goods at fair prices.

In July 1944, Truman was nominated to run for Vice President with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. On January 20, 1945, he took the vice-presidential oath, and after President Roosevelt’s unexpected death only eighty-two days later on April 12, 1945, he was sworn in as the nations’ thirty-third President.



Was there a president of the USA since Truman less corrupted by the system, less political, and more down to earth? I seriously do not think it possible.

https://www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.com/guide/our-33rd-president

The Truman Doctrine was an enunciation of American willingness to provide military aid to countries resisting communist insurgencies;
 the Marshall Plan sought to revive the economies of the nations of Europe in the hope that communism would not thrive in the midst of prosperity;
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization built a military barrier confronting the Soviet-dominated part of Europe.

Truman’s recognition of Israel in May 1948 demonstrated his support for democracy and his commitment to a homeland for the Jewish people.

The one time during his presidency when a communist nation invaded a non-communist one — when North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950 — Truman responded by waging undeclared war.

He issued executive orders desegregating the armed forces and forbidding racial discrimination in Federal employment.

In 1948, Truman won reelection by his famous “Whistlestop” campaign tour through the country

https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0516-243331/1950-lincoln-cosmopolitan-limousine/
https://www.conceptcarz.com/z20495/lincoln-presidential-limousine.aspx

2 comments:

  1. David McCullough wrote a good book on Truman.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Harry Truman is one of my favorite presidents. Very down to earth.

    ReplyDelete