Bess Truman avoided the spotlight and, perhaps, would have avoided becoming first lady had duty not called. History documents her outspoken reluctance to step into the activist role that Eleanor Roosevelt forged over her 12 years serving as first lady until her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office.
Mrs. Truman’s decision to shy away from the visibility—and press coverage—that Americans had become accustomed to with Mrs. Roosevelt, didn’t mean she didn’t contribute to her husband’s presidency or to the evolution of the role of first lady. There was more to the story, according to Anita McBride, author of a recent essay published about Bess Truman for the ongoing In Pursuit series sharing the leadership lessons of America’s presidents and selected first ladies.
“This is a first lady overshadowed by history, certainly by her predecessor,” McBride, co-chair of In Pursuit and co-author of Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America’s History-Mak…
