Harry Truman

The blockbuster "Oppenheimer" has renewed interest in the history of U.S. efforts to create atomic weapons during World War II. President Harry S. Truman, a native of the Kansas City area, never doubted his decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

In the 1900s, the Neck neighborhood was the center of the Black community in Independence, Missouri. But by 1969, the neighborhood had been demolished — thanks to urban renewal policies put into place by President Harry S. Truman, who lived nearby. A special episode from the KCUR Studios podcast A People's History of Kansas City.

A new book from NPR's Steve Drummond looks at how the Truman Committee, run by a relatively unknown U.S. Sen. Harry Truman, investigated wartime corruption, changed the country's efforts in World War II and ultimately helped launch Truman into the president's office.

The Neck neighborhood was in the center of historic Independence, Missouri, and housed the biggest Black community in the city. When the Harry S. Truman Library was built to honor the president, urban renewal policies he put in place destroyed the neighborhood.

The Neck neighborhood was in the center of historic Independence and housed the biggest Black community in the city. When the Harry S. Truman Library was built to honor the president, urban renewal policies he put in place destroyed the neighborhood.

Artist Tom Corbin was chosen for the job by a committee that included members of the Truman family. His statue of the 33rd president, who was from Independence, Missouri, was dedicated this week.

A new biography on Truman shows that despite being shunned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then vice-president would go on to have a successful presidency of his own.

As presiding judge of the Jackson County Court, Harry Truman pushed through a bond issue in 1928 that led to the construction of Rural Jackson County Emergency Hospital on a one-time farm the court purchased in the mid-1800s for $1,000.

After nearly two years and $29 million in renovations, the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is back open for business.

The complex has completed its first major renovation in more than 20 years and the largest since the museum opened in 1957.

President Harry S. Truman faced issues America continues to wrestle with today; civil rights, foreign policy, and Israel among them.

Two years and $29 million have transformed the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and the continuing influence of President Truman's policy decisions.