HARRY S. TRUMAN | 1945-1953
Harry S. Truman had received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or difficulties with Soviet Russia when suddenly, on April 12, 1945, he became president. He told reporters, "I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."
Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, on May 8, 1884. He grew up in Independence and worked as a farmer. Returning from France after World War I, he became active in the Democratic Party, becoming a senator in 1934. In World War II he headed the Senate war investigating committee before being elected vice president to Franklin Roosevelt.
As president, Truman made some of the most crucial decisions in history. Soon after the war against Japan had reached its final stage, an urgent plea to them to surrender was rejected. Truman, after consultations with his advisers, ordered atomic bombs dropped on cities devoted to war work. Two were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese surrender quickly followed. In June 1945, Truman witnessed the signing of the charter of the United Nations, hopefully established to preserve peace.
Thus far, he had followed his predecessor's policies, but he soon developed his own. He presented to Congress a program proposing the expansion of Social Security, a full-employment program, a permanent Fair Employment Practices Act, and public housing and slum clearance. The program, Truman wrote, "symbolizes for me my assumption of the office of President in my own right." It became known as the Fair Deal.
In foreign affairs he was already providing effective leadership. When the Soviet Union pressured Turkey and threatened to take over Greece, he asked Congress to aid the two countries, enunciating the program that bears his name - the Truman Doctrine. When the Russians blockaded the western sectors of Berlin, Truman created a massive airlift to supply Berliners until the Russians backed down. He also negotiated a military alliance to protect Western nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, established in 1949.
In June 1950, when Communist North Korea attacked South Korea, Truman conferred promptly with his military advisers. A long, discouraging struggle ensued as U.N. forces held a line above the old boundary of South Korea. Truman kept the war a limited one, rather than risk a major conflict with China and perhaps Russia.
Deciding not to run again, he retired to Independence. He died December 26, 1972, at age 88, after a stubborn fight for life.
