ALS, one page, 6.25 x 8, United States Senate letterhead, November 25, 1944. Letter to "Miss Taggart," in full: "Thanks very, very much for Stephen Bonsal's book 'Unfinished Business.' I shall read it with much interest. You and Mr. Taggart have made my stay here most pleasant. Hope you'll both call on us in Washington, when I'm really the V.P." In fine condition. Encapsulated in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.
When Truman wrote this letter, he had just been elected vice president as part of FDR's fourth-term ticket. He assumed the vice presidency two months later on July 20, 1945, and was thrust into the presidency upon Roosevelt's sudden death in April. The book referenced here, which won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for History, related journalist Stephen Bonsal's observations of the Paris Peace Treaty negotiations following the First World War; perhaps it informed Truman's decision making as he brought World War II to a close during his own administration.
