A Well-Known Person

 

Harry Truman was the Vice President in the fourth presidential term of Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt died in April1945, and Truman then became president. Thereafter, he was nominated by the Democratic Party to seek a full term in 1948. His Republican opponent was Thomas E. Dewey who was then the Governor of New York State. Truman was not expected to win the election. Not only was Truman considered not to win, that expectation was further supported by the fact there were there were two other opponents, Strom Thurmond and Henry A. Wallace. When the election was over, a newspaper ran a headline that Dewey was elected.  It was wrong; Truman won with 303 electoral votes, to 189 Dewey, 39 to Thurmond and none to Wallace.

    I was old enough to vote for the first time, and I supported Truman in the 1948 election. Truman’s presidency accomplished a great deal, both domestically and internationally. He had enacted considerable aid to the European countries that suffered much from World War II. I was satisfied I had voted for him. 

     In 1994 David M. McCullough, a well-known biographer wrote Truman, a book I found excellent.  I wrote a letter to Mr. McCullough on March 10, 1994, which was as follows.

 “Dear Mr. McCollough:

       I just finished reading Truman and found it most interesting and well written. You made Harry Truman come alive.

       I tried to think of a word or phrase that would capture the essence of Mr. Truman. Patriot, decent, well meaning, hardworking, all came to mind, but in the end, I settled on a Yiddish word that I think best sums him up. He was a “mensch”.

     Thank you so much for having written this wonderful book.

Very truly yours, 

Ben Haber

 

On July 1. 1994. Mr. McCullough wrote a me a letter as follows:

“Dear Mr. Haber:

          Thank you so much for your wonderful letter about Truman. I was delighted by your comment describing him as a “mensch” - I’ve never heard him described better!

Warmest regards.”

     While it is clear Mr. McCullough knew what mensch meant, I do describe its meaning for the benefit of the readers of this story.

     Mensch is a Yiddish word that can be applied not only to those of the Jewish faith, but to all human beings. It represents a very high compliment to call him or her a mensch. It is someone who could be relied upon to act with noble character, honor and integrity. 

Benjamin M. Haber

February, 2022