Day Three: KC to St. Louis, MO (296 mi)

Like yesterday, we began our day with a visit to a presidential library & museum, this one for our 33rd president, Harry S. Truman.  This complex was two levels, located on a small hill overlooking Independence, MO.  The museum contained numerous exhibits of interest, from Truman's boyhood days through his post-White House years as a private citizen.  President Truman, his wife Bess, their daughter Margaret, and her husband were all buried on location in a beautiful courtyard that provided access to the four wings of the square-shaped building.  An eternal flame on one side of the courtyard was an impressive addition to this dignified, yet humble final resting place.

These museums are such a great way to learn about the men who have had the grave responsibility, at various times throughout our history, of leading our country,  They serve, too, as a visual (and often auditory) history lesson for the times in which these men lived and led.  Today we were able to see an actual life-sized replica of the White House Oval Office as it was furnished during Truman's years as president, and listen to an audio tape of the man himself orienting us to this most important work place in the world and explaining the story behind the artifacts we saw.  Do you suppose this might just be a bit more effective way of learning history than reading it in a book?  I should say so.

Let me digress for a moment to give you a small taste of what we learned (skip this paragraph if you don't think you can tolerate a mini-history lesson!)  The thing that impressed me most about Truman's years as president was how many difficult decisions he faced while in office.  Just weeks after being sworn in upon the death of FDR he was faced with whether or not to sign off on the bombing of Hiroshima.  There was a great exhibit quoting numerous important people (both then and now) who have vigorously debated the rightness (or wrongness) of his decision to use the atom bomb against Japan.  One of the opponents was actually the man who would succeed Truman as president, Dwight D. Eisenhower; I had no idea.  Another very important decision faced early by Truman concerned the establishment of Israel as an independent nation in 1948; should the U.S. recognize this new nation (thereby offending the entire Arab world), or should Truman go against the advice of his own Secretary of State and recognize Israel?  Truman followed his conscience, rather than the advice to do the politically correct thing, and determined to recognize Israel as a nation and give it his full support.  Truman was an advocate for civil rights for Blacks, but when thwarted by a Republican-led Congress from advancing that liberal cause he did what he could by ordering the U.S. military to desegregate and by appointing Blacks to federal offices.  In another test of his leadership he had to respond to the Soviet decision to block surface travel from the West into occupied Berlin in Germany.  The airlift he advocated showed the Russian's his commitment to democracy while at the same time avoiding outright confrontation and possible war.  And on and on the list goes.  By the end of his nearly eight years as president Truman was more than ready to leave the White House and return to private life.  Quite a remarkable man and impressive leader, although he left office with one of the lowest approval ratings ever given a standing president, below 30%.

We finished our day in St. Louis, touring the Museum for Westward Expansion, located underground beneath the Gateway Arch alongside the Mississippi River.  St. Louis is the third city where Veritas students have crossed over this mighty waterway, the others being Vicksburg, MS and Memphis, TN.  The Gateway Arch certainly makes this the most impressive of those three, at least in my opinion.  That arch is phenomenal, reaching hundreds of feet into the air and as wide across as it is high.  The museum was equally impressive, giving a great overview of the importance of St. Louis as the "gateway" to the West during the years of American expansion, covering events from the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the advent of the farmer in the mid and late 1800s.

Another beautiful day with clear skies and mild temperatures.  Here's hoping that pattern continues as we begin making our way north again (after two days of traveling east) tomorrow.

This is Veritas . . . discovering our world, making a difference !