The 33rd President of he United States

Harry Truman was president from 1945 to 1953. Truman had to face challenge after challenge to help the post-war economy. One of his major accomplishments was his Fair Deal program. He also began desegregation of the military and created checks to eliminate communist supporters. At the end of World War 2, he changed history by using the first nuclear weapon against Japan. He later founded the United Nations, Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine to help rebuild Europe and prevent the spread of communism.

His presidency began to deteriorate at the beginning of the cold war and the Korean war. One of his major secret plans during his presidency was the Manhattan Project: the development of the first atomic bomb during Roosevelts presidency. This plan was such a secret that even Truman was not aware of what was happening even when he took his oath.

Truman was the first president and a key figure to be involved in the establishment of the state of Israel. Being the following president to anti-Semitic Roosevelt, his support was not high and he was concerned about the idea. Later on, however, the idea of a Jewish state became more popular and he grew more comfortable with its support.

His second term as president, consisted of many challenges. This was due to the cold war with the Soviet Union and the progress of the atomic bomb. In 1953, he announced the success of the Hydrogen bomb. The US was one step ahead of the Soviet Union. In regards to this competition, Truman felt the need to detect Soviet spies, leading up to the policy of McCarthyism. Truman allowed horrible accusations against anyone suspected of being a communist. In the Korean War, Truman got the US Navy involved with a naval blockade. In addition, he told the UN for the first time in history to use its defense powers. 30000 Americans were killed and this war made the president unpopular such that he was forced to cancel his reelection process. In 1950, there was an assassination attempt. It was a close call for the president but he finally took cover.

- Sneha B and Shany A

Crazy Bear Against Newborn Cub

Harry Truman’s Presidency

           

Harry S. Truman (left), son of a Missouri livestock trader, was born in 1884. After failing to mount a business, he sought a career in politics, and he earned the respect to run as Franklin Roosevelt’s Vice-President. On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died and Truman took over, thrust into the presidency only a few months after becoming Vice-President. In negotiations with the Soviet Union after World War II, Truman felt that the United States had a large economic stake in not allowing the spread of communism, and instead spreading democracy and free trade practices around the globe. Truman wanted to keep up the boom that had occurred during the war.

            The first attempts to contain Soviet influences occurred in Turkey and Greece, where Britain asked the United States to take over responsibility. On March 12, 1947, Truman asked Congress for $400 million in economic and military aid to these two nations, and he formed the Truman Doctrine: “it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”. In short, it was an official statement declaring indirect war against communism and the Soviet Union.

            In another fight against communism, this time in China, General MacArthur (right) butt heads with the new president. MacArthur wanted a full-scale war against China, and certain that he was correct in his opinion, he attempted to outdo the president. Truman, however, was just as stubborn, and on April 11, 1951, Truman shocked the United States by firing MacArthur. The public clearly backed the general, with 69% of the American public against Truman’s decision, but Truman fought through it, and eventually the public saw the reason for the madness. 

By Benjamin Hendricks and Andrew Chung