Bess Truman - Marriage and Family

Marriage and Family

The First World War altered the Trumans' steady courtship. Lieutenant Truman proposed and they were engaged before he left for France in 1918. They were married on June 28, 1919 and lived in her mother's home. At 34 and 35, their wedding took place at a relatively late age, as did their daughter Margaret's birth in 1924 (the Trumans were 39 and 40).

As Harry Truman became active in politics Bess Truman traveled with him, sharing his platform appearances as the public had come to expect of a candidate's wife. His election to the Senate in 1934 took the family to Washington, D.C. He was elected Vice President in 1944. Upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945, Harry Truman took the presidential oath of office and Bess Truman became the new First Lady.