Shogan recounts how Truman outgrew the bigotry of his Jackson County upbringing to become the first president since Lincoln to attempt to redress the nation's long history of injustice toward its black citizens-- and in the process transformed the course of race relations in America. Truman ordered the integration of the armed forces and threw the weight of the Justice Department behind the long struggle against segregation in housing and education. Shogan points out the political and personal factors that motivated the president and weighs the potential political costs and benefits of his civil rights actions.

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