William Hassett

William Hassett, known in the White House as Bill Hassett, was Harry S. Truman’s correspondence secretary and a trusted presence on his staff. His importance was less formal than personal: after Charlie Ross was gone, Hassett was the staff member who came closest to filling Ross’s place in Truman’s affections, and he was willing to offer the President both companionship and unwelcome advice.

White House Role and Character

Hassett’s background and manner helped distinguish him from the more tightly wound members of the West Wing. He was of Truman’s generation, kind-hearted, interested in history, and possessed of a sense of humor that appealed to the President. He brought Truman amusing clippings, joked with him about the stream of obligatory letters and absurd proclamations required of the office, and drew on years as a Vermont newspaperman and as a member of Franklin Roosevelt’s staff to offer his own kind of wisdom.

Hassett was seventy-one and an alcoholic, facts Truman knew. The account presents these alongside his warmth and usefulness rather than as a reason to dismiss him: despite his age and personal difficulty, he remained a valued companion and counselor in the West Wing.

A Counselor Amid Scandal

As fresh allegations of favoritism and corruption strained the White House, Hassett joined Joe Short, Roger Tubby, and George Elsey in indignation over the associates they regarded as exploiting Truman. They feared that the President’s continued tolerance would bring shame and trouble to him and to the Democratic Party. Hassett made the warning personal when he urged Truman to remove Democratic National Committee chairman William Boyle without delay: “Your friends will destroy you.”

Truman answered reassuringly, then quietly ordered Charlie Murphy to conduct a confidential investigation. When the report was ready by midsummer, Truman publicly said he would stand by Boyle and affirmed his confidence in Boyle’s account. Hassett’s intervention thus exposes a conflict at the heart of his White House role: he could speak plainly to the President, but his warning did not determine Truman’s public response.

Advice on Leaving Office

Hassett also broke with the staff members pressing Truman to run again. As Hassett himself approached retirement, he advised Truman to leave office for the sake of his own well-being and his family’s. His counsel was personal rather than electoral: in a West Wing increasingly marked by scandal, departures, and the burdens of office, he urged the President to consider the cost of continuing.

The book does not attribute Truman’s eventual decision not to seek reelection to Hassett’s advice. It does, however, establish Hassett as a candid and affectionate staff presence—one who could lighten the daily machinery of the presidency, object when he believed the President was being harmed by his associates, and recommend an exit when others were urging him to stay.