The Meaning of Home

Truman

This flow traces how Independence and the family farm remained Truman’s emotional home through a life spent in public office.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Blue River Country The Blue River Country from "Truman". The Blue River Country Place The Young and Truman families built their lives in the Blue River country.

The Blue River Country from "Truman". The Blue River Country Place The Young and Truman families built their lives in the Blue River country.

The Blue River Country Place The Young and Truman families built their lives in the Blue River country. Farms, trails, churches, and the courthouse shaped their shared history. Inheritance For Truman, Missouri was not merely a home state but a landscape full of remembered people and events.

Town and Farm Town and Farm from "Truman". Town and Farm Two Worlds Truman spent childhood in Independence and his young adulthood working the Grandview farm.

Town and Farm from "Truman". Town and Farm Two Worlds Truman spent childhood in Independence and his young adulthood working the Grandview farm.

Town and Farm Two Worlds Truman spent childhood in Independence and his young adulthood working the Grandview farm. Both worlds gave him distinct kinds of knowledge and belonging. Meaning He never stopped thinking of the farm as a place where work and reflection met.

War and Return War and Return from "Truman". War and Return Departure Truman left Missouri to serve in France, carrying photographs of family and Bess Wallace.

War and Return from "Truman". War and Return Departure Truman left Missouri to serve in France, carrying photographs of family and Bess Wallace.

War and Return Departure Truman left Missouri to serve in France, carrying photographs of family and Bess Wallace. The war widened his experience without replacing home as his point of reference. Return He came back to marry Bess and begin a new life, while still measuring his future against Missouri.

The White House and Home The White House and Home from "Truman". The White House and Home Distance The presidency placed Truman far from Independence, while long separations from Bess, Margaret, and his mother heightened his…

The White House and Home from "Truman". The White House and Home Distance The presidency placed Truman far from Independence, while long separations from Bess, Margaret, and his mother heightened his…

The White House and Home Distance The presidency placed Truman far from Independence, while long separations from Bess, Margaret, and his mother heightened his homesickness. Continuity He repeatedly returned to Missouri and carried its history into his public life.

Return to Independence Return to Independence from "Truman". Return to Independence Retirement Truman returned permanently to the house on North Delaware Street and resumed walks, reading, and visits with neighbors.

Return to Independence from "Truman". Return to Independence Retirement Truman returned permanently to the house on North Delaware Street and resumed walks, reading, and visits with neighbors.

Return to Independence Retirement Truman returned permanently to the house on North Delaware Street and resumed walks, reading, and visits with neighbors. Legacy Home became both a refuge and the setting for his library and public memory.

1840s–1890s

1884–1917

1917–1920

1945–1953

1953–1972