The University of Dubuque presents Clifton Truman Daniel in “President Harry Truman: A Grandson's Portrait" - March 25.
Thursday, March 25, 7:30 p.m.
Presented by the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center
Honoring his grandfather in a March 25 virtual presentation for the University of Dubuque's Heritage Center, author and historian Clifton Truman Daniel writes and stars in President Harry Truman: A Grandson's Portrait, an intimate and familial look at a politician who regarded holding the highest office in the land as second only to the privilege of being an American citizen.
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953, succeeding upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt after serving as the 34th vice president. He implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, and established the Truman Doctrine and NATO in an attempt to contain Communist expansion. Truman proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, few of which were enacted by the Conservative Coalition that dominated Congress, but after the onset of the Cold War, the president oversaw the Berlin Airlift and Marshall Plan in 1948. When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, Truman gained United Nations approval to intervene in the Korean War, and his administration successfully guided the U.S. economy through the post-war economic challenges. In 1948, he submitted the first comprehensive civil rights legislation, and while it didn't pass, he also issued Executive Order 9981 to start racial equality in the military and federal agencies.
A one-hour play/lecture featuring Clifton Truman Daniel, President Harry Truman: A Grandson's Portrait features President Truman’s eldest grandson portraying his grandfather and himself, with the presenter stepping in and out of character to create a portrait of his life from a family perspective. Its source material includes President Truman’s memoirs, letters, family stories, and books by Clifton’s late mother, Margaret Truman. Daniel is the son of the late E. Clifton Daniel Jr., former managing editor of the New York Times, and best-selling mystery writer Margaret Truman.
Daniel served as Director of Public Relations for Truman College, one of the seven City Colleges of Chicago, and prior to that worked as a feature writer and editor for the Morning Star and Sunday Star-News, the latter a New York Times paper in Wilmington, North Carolina. He is the honorary chairman of the board of trustees of the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, and as a historian and frequent public speaker, Daniel appeared on Race for the White House as a commentator for his grandfather's experiences during both his first term and the 1948 United States presidential election.
Clifton Truman Daniels' virtual President Harry Truman: A Grandson's Portrait program begins at 7:30 p.m. on March 25, the streaming access allows on-demand viewing for 48 hours after the event, and livestream admission is $15. For more information, call (563)589-3432 and visit Dbq.edu/HeritageCenter.
