Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman

On February 13, 1885, the First Lady of the United States, Beth Truman, was born.

character brief introduction

Beth Truman's full name is Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman. She was the wife of Harry S. Truman, the 34th President of the United States. She was the First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953, but is better known by the nickname Beth Truman. Born in 1885. Beth Truman came from a prominent family in Independence, USA. She always wore the most fashionable clothes, excelled in school, excelled in many sports, and was a standard "heartthrob". Harry Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, is arguably the most affectionate president in American history, and his half-century-long love story with his wife, Beth Wallace Truman, is often praised. No matter how bumpy the road of life, no matter how ups and downs of political career, for Truman, the love for his wife will never change. The Truman Presidential Museum and Library has publicly exhibited as many as thousands of love letters written by Truman to Beth during his life, and people can see for themselves the former president's deep love for his wife.

Marathon love

Elizabeth Virginia Wallace and Harry S. Truman were both born in Independence, Missouri. Beth--as she calls her at home--was born on February 13, 1885. Her parents, David Willock Wallace and March Gates Wallace, have four children. Her grandfather was a flour merchant and one of the wealthiest people in the area.

Harry first met Beth at Sunday School in Presbyterian Parish in 1890. As he later recalled, he was six years old and she was a "five-year-old girl with blond curls". "I was fascinated by her cuteness at first sight and have always loved her." From then on, Harry carried Beth's schoolbag home. Once, he even gave Beth an impromptu piano concert. Harry later recalled: "She sat next to me in sixth and seventh grade, and to me she was the most beautiful and lovely person in the world."

Beth is a beautiful girl who loves sports. She works out in track and field, plays tennis as well as baseball, and is an excellent rider. She enjoys entertainment and large social events. She is always surrounded by suitors. The nearsighted, thin and shy Harry had no chance to get close to such a girl. In 1901, when they graduated from the high school they attended together, they embarked on a different life path. Harry went to Kansas City to find a job. He has worked in different jobs.

One day in 1906, Harry rode more than 30 kilometers to visit his aunt Ella Nolan. Ella asked her nephew to bring back a tray of pastries for Beth's mother. Harry was late. When he finally returned, he was so excited that he met Beth and had a long, intimate conversation with her. From then on, they dated more frequently and began writing letters to each other. This correspondence continued for more than a decade.

Beth's mother did not see Harry as her future son-in-law. Truman went all out to make as much money as he could to show that he was an accomplished person who could support Beth and get her mother's approval. In 1903, Beth's father committed suicide. Beth endured the pain of this tragedy but never mentioned it. When Truman's daughter Margaret learned that her grandfather had committed suicide many years later and questioned her father, he shouted,"Never tell your mother about this." Margaret believes that the death of Beth's father had a huge impact on Beth's view of marriage. She began looking for someone she trusted and could secure her future.

As the eldest daughter of the family, she was 18 years old and had to help her mother. During this time, Harry worked on a farm. In 1914, he bought an old Stafford car and drove to a date with Beth, hoping to use it to make a good impression on her and her mother. But Beth was in no hurry to get married. Obviously, she is waiting for a better candidate.

Harry had already written her a proposal letter in 1911. Although he was rejected, he was not disheartened. Gradually, he won Beth's sympathy. First she accepted a picture of him. Then she often asked him to visit her on Sundays. Beth also visited him at the farm in Granville, where they walked or fished. In November 1913, she gave him a picture of her and promised to marry him only if she ever got married. Although he knew that the "informal engagement" did not necessarily mean that she really wanted to marry, he wrote confidently in a letter: "What is it like to be engaged to a farmer who has ambitions to be governor of Montana and president of the United States?"

When Truman's financial situation improved, he proposed to Beth again in the summer of 1917, and this time he succeeded. Beth asked her mother to make the engagement official. The engagement ceremony took place just before the United States entered World War I. Soon after, Harry was drafted into the army and sent to the French front. He took a photo of Beth and six pairs of glasses. His vision is very weak and he cannot see clearly without glasses. She wrote on the photo: 'May this photo take you home safely from France--Beth. Truman believed throughout his life that Beth did not want to marry him before the war was over because she was afraid of becoming a widow.

Harry was made a major, returned from the war, and there were no more obstacles on the way to the wedding altar. They were married on June 28, 1919 - the day the Treaty of Versailles was signed - at the "Trinity" Episcopal Church in Independence. They made short wedding trips to Chicago, Detroit and Port Huron. As people from the poorest provinces, they had a strong impression of these big cities. On their return, they settled in a 17-house house at 219 North Delaware Avenue in Independence, where Beth had lived since 1904, the only one she had left until the end of her life. Harry and Beth had known each other for 29 years and were married. He was 35 and she was 34 on their wedding day. Why she delayed the wedding for so long is unclear. They considered it their private affair and never talked about it publicly.

Beth Truman is the oldest U.S. First Lady in history. She was 97 years old, which is higher than the oldest U.S. President Gerald Ford, who was 93 years old.

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman (1884.5.8-1972.12.26) was the 33rd President of the United States and was born in Missouri. His father was a mule and horse trader who had never gone to college and was called the "little man of Missouri."

During World War I, Truman joined the artillery and became a captain, fighting in France. On his return, he married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace and opened a clothing and grocery business in Kansas City. Truman gradually entered politics after retiring, serving as a county judge in 1922 and then chief justice and county magistrate in 1926. He was supported by Democratic leader Hannigan and was nominated for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1944 and won the election. After President Roosevelt's death in April 1945, Truman took over as president at a significant moment in American history. As president, facing a series of difficult issues, Truman made many major decisions related to the United States and the world, which had a profound impact on the development of American foreign policy and international relations after World War II.

After Truman took office, his domestic achievements were mediocre, but there were many major international events for him to deal with. Soon after he took office, he made arrangements for the formulation of the United Nations Charter. Deployed to accept the unconditional surrender of Germany; participated in the Potsdam Conference; signed orders to drop atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima; proposed a policy of containment and a Cold War with the Soviet Union; proposed and implemented the Truman Doctrine; approved and implemented the "Marshall Plan"; concluded the North Atlantic Treaty; established the Central Intelligence Agency; launched the war of aggression against Korea. In January 1953, Truman left the White House to retire. He wrote several books and passed down. Died on December 26, 1972, at the age of 88.