Sanctioning Foreign Policy: The Rhetorical Use of President Harry Truman

Abstract

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.

In the Name of the President

“…Finally, consistent with the Going Public theory of presidential rhetoric (Kernell, 2007), with Abbott’s (1990) research on references to exemplary presidents, and with Edwards (2009) work on references to President Truman, we expect that presidents use the rhetorical tool of naming former presidents in order to advance and justify their policy objectives. Abbott (1990) posits that presidents use of this tool for policy initiatives has two main functions: to link “cultural beliefs to potential common courses of action” and to provide presidents with “an expression of an ideal behavior to be imitated” (p. 10).…”

“…Brown (2007) shows that Clinton used this rhetorical tool to buttress his authority, and lend him credibility. Finally, Edwards (2009) demonstrates that presidents Reagan, Clinton, and W. Bush associated themselves with Truman to establish themselves as the natural heirs to Truman's legacy of foreign policy leadership.…”

“…Building on this work, Brown (2007) takes a more quantitative approach to demonstrate how Clinton interchangeably referenced four exemplary presidents—Jefferson, Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, and F. Roosevelt—throughout his campaigns and terms in office to justify his actions among various constituencies. Finally, Edwards (2009) examines references of three presidents—Reagan, Clinton, and W. Bush—to one former exemplary president—Truman. He shows that these presidents invoked the memory of Truman to establish their interpretation of events and bolster their argumentation about policy.…”

“…Despite the importance and possible effect of references to former presidents, we have very little knowledge of the use of this rhetorical tool. The three main works on this topic (Abbott, 1990; Brown, 2007; Edwards, 2009) examine references of a handful of presidents (F. Roosevelt, Reagan, Clinton, and W. Bush) to a few exemplary presidents. 1 Yet, as we show below, presidents routinely reference many of their predecessors, many of whom do not enjoy the same public prestige that exemplary presidents have.…”

“…Who do presidents mention and why? Moreover, existing studies either focus on references of one president (Abbott, 1990; Brown, 2007), or compare a few presidents but focus on references to one president (and with regards to one policy domain) (Edwards, 2009). But, presidents may vary in the extent that they reference former presidents, the timing of these references, and the rhetorical context of these references.…”