Not every president has been such a gold-digger. In his masterful biography of our 33rd president, David McCullough describes Harry Truman’s humble return to Independence, Missouri.

“He had traveled home from Washington unprotected by Secret Service agents and there were to be none watching over him. He had come home without salary or pension. He had no income or support of any kind from the federal government other than his Army pension of $112.56 a month. He was provided with no government funds for secretarial help or office space, and not a penny of expense money.” In his last weeks in office, McCullough reports, Truman had to take out a bank loan to tide him over.

As former president, Truman had no plans or interest in future employment. McCullough writes: “He said his only intentio

See Full Page