In 1941, as the United States busily expanded its defense-industry production just before entering World War II, Senator Harry S. Truman (Democrat-Missouri) proposed a special Senate committee to investigate the national defense program. With millions of dollars being spent to mobilize the army and navy, Truman believed that some contractors were misusing government programs for their own profit. The Senate voted unanimously to create the special committee, which Truman was appointed to chair. During the war, the Truman Committee held many hearings to root out corruption and to promote unity among business, labor, and agriculture in support of the war effort. Favorable publicity from the hearings won Senator Truman the nomination to run for Vice President in 1944. The following April, after the death of Franklin Roosevelt, Truman became President.
Sources
- Theodore Wilson, “The Truman Committee,” in Congress Investigates: A Documented History, 1792–1974, edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Roger Bruns (New York: Bowker, 1975)
