RateItAll: The Opinion Network

Truman certainly was one of the more significant presidents in our history, but I'm suprised he is rated this highly as a vice-president. Truman was officially vice-president for a very small amount of time before FDR died. While VP, it is well documented that he was left out of the loop on top secret information concerning the war. He gets a "1" frpm me not because he was a terrible VP, but because he was a VP for such a small amount of time to do anything significant (as if a VP is really doing anything significant other than casting tie-breaking votes in the Senate).

As President, Harry S Truman epitomized honesty and integrity. As such, Truman is often mentioned amongst the most able of office holders (and deservedly so). However, (as Solenoid DH brilliantly points out) Truman never had the time to compile a record which was noteworthy as Vice President. Moreover, Truman regretted the office as he considered the Vice Presidency as (more or less) a dead end job. Truman truly felt his role as Vice President was to attend state funerals or be an official host/representative in the President's stead. So as 'Veep', as he often referred to it, Truman was not amongst its greatest ever. Yet, if anything, Truman's place in history is secure in the office which counts most.

He inherited a tough job with no training and low expectations.

Quite possibly the most important Vice Presidential pick in US history. One can only speculate how history may have turned out had Franklin Roosevelt kept Henry Wallace on the Democratic ticket in 1944. Chances are that there may have never been a Cold War, or the Soviet Union may very well have gone on to dominate all of Western Europe, given his inclinations towards appeasing the Russians and downplaying the threat they posed. In 1944, Truman was seen as a Vice Presidential candidate that was acceptable to all wings of the Democratic party, hence Roosevelt selected him over sitting Vice President Wallace, who was unacceptable to many Democrats and the establishment as well. Truman was seen as a stalwart supporter of the New Deal, even though Truman himself got off to a rocky start as the Senator from Pendergast. Elected in 1934 on the back of boss Tom Pendergast's Kansas City machine, Truman had served as presiding judge of Jackson County in Missouri. Eventually Truman went on to distinguish himself through leading big investigations into corruption in the railroad industry. He was nearly defeated for re-election in 1940 due to Truman's affiliation with the Pendergast machine, which was under a dark cloud due to corruption charges. Eventually Pendergast served a few months in prison. Truman managed to survive narrowly and go on to make it big by leading another investigation, this time into defense contractors who were cutting corners on projects. This gained him the attention of official Washington, thus propelling him into the Vice Presidency. As VP, Truman was kept out of most major deliberations, including the Yalta Summit, which proved to be a critical starting point in negotiations ending the war. Roosevelt's pick as Truman for vice president turned out to be a very wise one when it was all said and done. Although he was hesitant at the prospect of assuming the Presidency initially, Truman was never one to shy away from making a big decision and during his presidency there were several momentous ones, many that impacted the course of history.

Funny guy. When told FDR wanted him as his running mate, he said Tell him to go to hell. He'd never make it in 21st century politics because he was too forthright and outspoken.

Sorry, but I don't see anything noteworthy about Truman's term as Vice-President. For goodness sake, he was in there such a short time before he was suddenly elevated to the Presidency. He didn't have time to compile much of a record as VP.

Amazingly enough, Franklin Roosevelt, despite his ailing health, failed to include Harry Truman in many aspects of the administration. In fact, Roosevelt only met with Truman one time during his fourth term. Truman had to start from scratch upon the death of Roosevelt, and ahead of him lay the daunting task of leading the nation to the conclusion of World War II.