United StatesWho was Harry S. Truman?
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) farmed in Missouri, commanded an artillery battery in World War I and ran a failed haberdashery before entering politics through the Kansas City Democratic organization. As a senator he led a committee that investigated waste in war production. Chosen as Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate in 1944, he became president when Roosevelt died in April 1945. He presided over the end of World War II, including the decision to use atomic bombs on Japan, and the start of the Cold War. In 1948 he won an upset victory over Thomas Dewey. His second term was dominated by the Korean War and fears of Communist subversion, and he did not seek re-election in 1952.
Political views
Approved the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, shortly before Japan surrendered.
Source: millercenter.orgProposed the Fair Deal, including national health insurance, a larger Social Security system and a higher minimum wage.
Source: millercenter.orgVetoed the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, saying it would take fundamental rights away from working people; Congress overrode him.
Source: millercenter.orgOrdered the desegregation of the armed forces in 1948 with Executive Order 9981.
Source: archives.govCreated a federal loyalty security program in 1946 to identify Communists in government.
Source: millercenter.orgAnnounced the Truman Doctrine in 1947, pledging support for governments resisting Communist pressure, beginning with Greece and Turkey.
Source: millercenter.orgSeized the steel industry in 1952 to avert a wartime strike, an action the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional.
Source: millercenter.org
Legacy
Truman left office deeply unpopular, but historians now usually rank him among the more successful presidents, crediting him with the Marshall Plan, NATO and the containment strategy that framed the Cold War, and with an early federal commitment to civil rights. Critics on the left argue that his loyalty program and rhetoric fed the anticommunist fear of the McCarthy era, and critics on the right faulted him for the stalemate in Korea and for firing General Douglas MacArthur. His decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which immediately killed upwards of 100,000 people, most of them civilians, remains one of the most debated choices in modern history: supporters argue it ended the war and averted an invasion of Japan, while critics argue that Japan was close to surrender and that targeting cities was unjustifiable.