This article examines how contemporary presidents invoke the memory of President HarryTruman within their foreign policy discourse. Specifically, it is argued that Truman has become an authorizing figure-a person of historical importance that rhetors invoke and interpret in justifying their own policies and principles. Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and Bush cited and interpreted Truman's words and deeds in various ways to serve different foreign policy ends. Exploring how contemporary presidents use and appropriate Truman's memory presents an opportunity to mine the contour of the thirty-third president's foreign policy legacy and to obtain a better understanding of collective memory in presidential rhetoric.Throughout his presidency, George W. Bush actively drew connections between the war on terror and World War II and/or the Cold War (see Chernus 2006;Ivie 2005;Noon 2004;Smith 2007). At the same time, Bush also drew parallels between his presidency and that of his predecessors. For example, in a speech before the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Bush made comparisons between his administration and that of Harry Truman. He stated, As we advance the cause of freedom in Iraq, our Nation can proceed with confidence that we have done this kind of work before. After World War II, President Harry Truman believed that the way to help bring peace and prosperity to Asia was to plant the seeds of freedom and democracy in Japan. Like today, there were many skeptics and pessimists who said that the Japanese were not ready for democracy. Fortunately, Harry Truman stuck to his guns. He believed, as I do, in freedom's power to transform an adversary into an ally. And because he stayed true to his convictions, today Japan is one of the world's freest and most prosperous nations, and one of America's closest allies in keeping the peace. The spread of freedom to Jason A. Edwards is assistant professor of communication studies at Bridgewater State College. His recent book, Navigating the Post-Cold War World: President Clinton's Foreign Policy Rhetoric, examines how Bill Clinton attempted to chart a different course in U.S. foreign relations.