Quick, name some famous Missourians?
Mark Twain, “Blackjack” Pershing, Ginger Rogers, George Washinghton Carver, David Cook, Brad Pitt, Betty Grable, Edwin Hubble (the astronomer), Stan Musial, Jesse James, Walt Disney, Yogi Berra, Ewing Kauffman, Albert Pujols, Sheryl Crow, George Caleb Bingham, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Daniel Boone.
Oh yeah. Harry Truman, the Man from Independence and the 33rd president.
Now, name the two Missourians honored at Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. (Each state is allowed two.)
Still thinking?
It’s none of the above. Missouri’s two are Francis Preston Blair Jr. and Thomas Hart Benton (the senator, not his nephew of the same name, the artist whose works include the mural at the Truman Library in Independence).
What did Blair and Benton do? Benton was an advocate of statehood and became one of our first two senators, serving for 30 years. He opposed slavery, opposed a federal bank, promoted western interests and even came up with what is today much of the U.S. border with Canada, the 49th parallel. Blair fought in the War with Mexico, helped keep Missouri in the Union when the Civil War came, served as a general, and helped keep a North-South dialogue going during that war. He served in the House and Senate, and he was the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee in 1868.
Both served well and at great price. Benton’s anti-slavery stance ended his career in the Senate. Supporting the Union left Blair financially ruined. We honor both in memory.
Nonetheless, there is a movement for Truman. The General Assembly approved a change in 2002, and now Gov. Jay Nixon has forwarded the request to Washington. (Blair would be moved aside.) Truman would be just the sixth president so honored, joining Washington, Jackson, Garfield, Eisenhower and Reagan.
Truman not only served well as president during a tumultuous period of world history, but we also think of him as embodying some of the best attributes of our state and nation: optimism and integrity, hard work and perseverance, an abiding faith in the American people. This would be a fitting tribute.
