Chapter Nine

1.     Eleanor Roosevelt had been very fond of Truman’s predecessor, Henry Wallace, and was firmly against his removal from the ticket. Truman first met Eleanor at a White House reception in 1935, shortly after he was elected to the Senate; he thought her to be condescending. Between then and 1945 Truman had criticized her to family members, saying that she was too fond of the public eye and the sound of her own voice.

2.     Shipp was the middle name of Harry Truman’s grandfather, Anderson Shipp Truman. Margaret Truman later wrote of her father’s inauguration, “Where Stone got the idea that Dad’s middle name was Shipp no one has ever found out.”

3.     Originally, the words “So help me God” were not part of the oath of office. Some historians believe George Washington added them when he was inaugurated in 1789, while others argue he did not say the words but they were later attributed to him. Either way, they have remained a presidential tradition.