The Automotive Odyssey of President Harry Truman, Part 1: The “Good Roads Candidate”

The Automotive Odyssey of President Harry Truman, Part 1: The “Good Roads Candidate” traces how automobiles became intertwined with Harry S. Truman’s life and presidency. Truman took office on April 12, 1945, at a time when cars had already woven themselves into American institutions, including the White House. The article sets the stage by contrasting Truman with predecessors: Franklin Delano Roosevelt used vehicles with special hand controls and was sometimes chauffeured in Packard, Cadillac, and Lincoln limousines, while Calvin Coolidge had fewer notable car stories. It also recalls early presidential auto milestones involving Warren G. Harding’s Packard Twin 6 and the Taft administration’s first official cars, two White Motor steam-powered automobiles.