Sedalia

Sedalia became a political stage in June 1940 when Harry S. Truman opened his campaign for reelection to the U.S. Senate there. The opening joined the ordinary work of reaching voters with a consequential declaration: before a nearly all-white audience, Truman argued for equality before the law across racial lines.

Campaign Opening

The campaign officially opened in Sedalia on Saturday, June 15, 1940, one day after German troops occupied Paris. Several thousand people came, fewer than the organizers had expected. Lewis Schwellenbach, one of Truman’s Senate friends, arrived in time for the event, and his presence mattered to the candidate. Truman’s family was also there: Mary Jane Truman and Martha Ellen Truman sat in the front row, while Bess Wallace Truman and Margaret Truman Daniel were on the platform. Margaret, then sixteen, later recalled feeling the excitement of American politics in the effort to reach people with ideas and emotions that might win their support.

A Civil-Rights Statement

Sedalia was also where Truman stated his civil-rights position at the very start of the campaign. He told the nearly all-white audience that the brotherhood of humanity must include all races and that no group should be permanently denied political and civil rights. He warned that permitting one class to be subordinated could endanger the rights of any other, and pointed to the exploitation and poor housing endured by Black Americans. For Missouri in 1940, the position was radical, though it did not amount to support for social equality: Truman privately continued to use racist language and said he did not favor social equality for Black people. His stated principle was fairness and equality before the law.

Place in the Campaign

The campaign’s opening in Sedalia brought together Truman’s direct, personal approach to political persuasion and a public position that was more challenging than the state’s prevailing racial assumptions. He was not a natural showman; his strength lay in meeting people face to face rather than delivering polished oratory. Sedalia therefore matters in the account not simply as the site of a campaign gathering, but as the place where Truman began this campaign by making a civil-rights claim before voters who were almost entirely white.