It ironic that Harry Truman is not the President associated with the Interstate Highway System. He was a life-long champion and builder of roads. It began with his father, John Truman, who was a part-time road overseer, responsible for maintaining the roads in the area around the Truman farm in Grandview, Missouri. While attempting to move a large boulder from a road, John Truman suffered the hernia that ultimately ended his life. Harry filled in for the final six months of his father’s term.

While serving in France during World War I, Harry was impressed by their roads. “The French know how to build roads and also how to keep them up,” he wrote to his sweetheart, Bess. “They are just like a billiard table.”

Road improvement was the central theme of Harry’s campaign for Jackson County judge in 1922. He won and then oversaw the most ambitious road-building program ever undertaken in the county. He studied building techniques and personally inspected roads and bridges. He even became a member of the American Road Builders Association. The roads of Jackson County were, under Harry’s watch, built on time and under budget.

In 1926, Harry became president of the National Old Trails Road Association, a group that promoted the construction of a transcontinental road from Baltimore to Los Angeles. He periodically drove from coast to coast to meet with other members and discuss improvement of their segments. He wrote to Bess, “This is almost like campaigning for President, except that the people are making promises to me instead of the other way around.”

When chosen to run for U.S. Senate in 1934, he campaigned by car on Missouri’s back roads. He had a public address system installed in his car so he could give stump speeches that everyone could hear, even in places without electricity, which, in 1934, still included much of rural Missouri.

During World War II, Harry applied the same oversight skills he used for Jackson county roads to military-related construction projects. Covering 10,000 miles in his Dodge, his investigations took him to Florida, the Midwest, and Michigan, stopping at Army installations and defense plants along the way. Based on the abuses he found, the Senate established the Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, soon referred to as the Truman Committee, after its chairman. This success led to his selection as FDR’s running mate in 1944.

On August 2, 1947, while Mr. Truman was President, 37,700 miles of the National System of Interstate Highways were designated. Yet little progress was made during his administration. The revenue drop during the postwar recession and the increased military spending of the Korean War challenged Harry’s sense of responsibility to balance the federal budget. The Interstate System was one of the casualties.

In 1953, President Truman once again became Citizen Truman. In a time when ex-Presidents didn’t warrant Secret Service protection, Harry and Bess set out alone in their new Chrysler New Yorker sedan to visit friends in Washington and their daughter, Margaret, in New York. Margaret wrote: “Everywhere they stopped along their route, Dad was instantly recognized by motel owners or filling station attendants. Local reporters were notified, and police chiefs rushed to escort or guard them. The trip became almost as well publicized as a whistle-stop campaign.”

On August 17, 1962, a 5.2-mile long section of Interstate was opened in southeast Kansas City. Harry was an attendee at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “I know something of this project,” he told a reporter. “I wanted it built 30 years ago.”

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Harry Truman, a lifelong lover of automobiles, roads, and driving, was at home behind the wheel.

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Captain Truman in uniform with his Stafford after he had removed most of the body to turn it into a raceabout. Harry sold the Stafford for $200 just prior to being shipped overseas.

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Senator Truman and family with his 1934 Dodge. Harry made regular treks between Washington and Independence along U.S. 40.

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Following reelection in 1940, the Trumans traded for a pair of new Chryslers: a Windsor four-door sedan for Bess and a Royal club coupe for Harry. Both cars had the extra-cost features of a radio and heater added.

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Harry enjoyed a post-presidency cross-country trip, though Bess complained that he drove too fast.

Image Green Area 1 (top):
The automobile revolutionized courtship. Harry with Bess in his first car, a second-hand Stafford touring car.

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Judge Truman and his 1930 Studebaker 8.

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During the 1934 U.S. Senate race, Harry campaigned by car, traveling Missouri’s back roads.

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The public address system, installed by Radio Service Laboratory of Jefferson City, allowed Harry to give stump speeches, even in places without electricity, which included much of rural Missouri.

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Harry, here with Bess at a Chrysler dealership in 1970, usually traded for a new car about every two years.