Harry S. Truman: The US President who ordered the dropping of Atom Bombs on Japan

One of the US Presidents from 20th century who has left great mark on the Foreign Policy of USA in post Second World War period is President Harry S. Truman. It can be said that the decisions taken during the Presidency of Harry Truman set the tone for the US Foreign Policy for many coming years in the second half of 20th Century. It would not be an exaggeration, if we say that the roots of most of the conflicts in which US is involved today are found directly or indirectly in Truman Era.

Harry Truman was the President, who represented the common man in the real sense of the term. We are making this statement because he came from ordinary background from the state of Missouri. Harry Truman was born on 8 May 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. Lamar is a city in Barton county of Missouri State. Lamar city was founded in 1856. Most of the population of this town then was involved in farming activities and important crops were sorghum, wheat, soybeans and corn or maize. This place was named after Mirabeau B. Lamar. He was born on 16 August 1798 in Louisville, Georgia (US). After the death of his brother Mirabeau Lamar started wandering around various places and came to Texas in 1835. Lamar served as the president of the Texas Republic during the period of 1838 to 1841. Lamar was the second President of Republic of Texas. Till 1821 Texas was the part of Mexico which was under Spanish rule. In 1821 Mexico became independent from Spanish rule. Moses Austin, an English speaking leading mining businessman from Missouri (US) received grant of land in Texas from the then government of Mexico. His intension was to found the settlement of English speaking people in Texas. But, he died soon and it was left to his son Stephen Austin to fulfill the dream of his father. It was Stephen Austin who ultimately founded the settlement or colony of Americans (English speaking People) on the banks of Brazos River. Brazos is the longest river in Texas and meets the Gulf of Mexico near Freeport, a city in southeastern Texas. Stephen Austin was born 3 November 1793 at Austinville in Virginia (a state in United States of America). Around 1835, the fight between the English speaking sttlers in Texas and Mexican soldiers started. The American settlers in Texas declared their independence from Mexico in 1836. This Declaration of Independence was done at the historical place called Washington- on-the-Brazos, it's a place located around 72 kilometers to the northwestern direction of Houston (inland port city in southeastern Texas). After declaring independence, David Burnet became the provisional President of the newly formed Republic of Texas. Stephen Austin got the responsibility of Commissioner to United States. In this capacity he was supposed to ensure help for the Republic of Texas. Sam Houston became the Military Commander of Republic of Texas. Sam Houston (Samuel Houston) was born on 2 March 1793 in Rockbridge county of Virginia (US). In 1832 he arrived in Texas. He was sent to Texas by the then US President, (the first President of USA who was from the region located to the west of Appalachian Mountains or called simply as Appalachians, this mountain range separates or is a dividing line between the eastern coastal plains and the interior lowlands of North America ). The purpose to send Houston to Texas was to discuss the treaties with Mexico in order to ensure the protection of USA's borders. At the time of Houston's entry in Texas, the Texans were in the mood to challenge the Mexican government. Sam Houston became the Commander-in-Chief of the Texans in their fight against Mexico in 1835. On 21 April, 1836, the English speaking settlers defeated the Mexican army in the Battle of San Jacinto. The Mexicans were led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. This battle was fought on the banks of river San Jacinto. At this same place the city of Houston stands today. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Perez de Lebron) was born on 21 February 1794 in Jalapa, Mexico. Jalapa or Xalapa (full name- Xalapa Enriquez), is a capital city of Veracruz state in eastern Mexico. Citlaltepetl or Orizaba Peak, the highest peak in Mexico is located in Western Veracruz. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was Mexican army officer and statesman. He was involved in many important wars and battles such as- Texas Revolution, Mexican-American War, Battle of San Jacinto, Battle of Buena Vista, Pastry War, Battle of Cerro Gordo, Battle of Contreras and the Battle of the Alamo. The victory of Texans in the Battle of Jacinto resulted into the indepence of Texas from Mexico. Sam Houston was elected as the President of newly created Republic of Texas in the periods of 1836 to 38 and 1841 to 44. In 1836, the Texans had declared their wish to be a part of the United States. But in the initial stages President Andrew Jackson (US President from 1829 to 1837) and President (US President from 1837 to 1841. He was also one of the founders of the Democratic Party in US. He was nicknamed 'Little Magician' and 'Sly Fox' by his friends and enemies respectively) did not give assent to this proposal. But, ultimately the American Congress approved the annexation of Texas to US in 1845 when John Tyler was the President of USA and all hurdles were cleared subsequently for Texas to become one of the states of USA. The city of Houston in Texas is named after Sam Houston. This city served as the capital of Texas from 1937 to 1839. The city of Austin is named after Stephen Austin and it is the capital of Texas since 1839.

Harry Truman's father's name was John AndersonTruman and that of mother was Martha Ellen Young Truman. He was named after his maternal uncle, Harrison 'Harry' Young. He used to write middle name initial 'S' in the honour of his grandfathers viz. Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. He had one brother and one sister and Harry was elder to them. His brother's name was John Vivian and his sister's name was Mary Jane. John Anderson Truman, father of Harry Truman was involved in the mule trade and farming. Harry Truman graduated in 1901 from Independence High School (William Chrisman High School). It was founded in 1888. Independence city is one of the largest cities in Missouri State and it is also called as the satellite city of Kansas City in Missouri.

Harry Truman attended Spalding's Commercial College in Kansas City for some for some and studied subjects like Book-keeping, short-hand and typing. Truman subsequently worked as the time- keeper for the The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway also referred as Santa Fe or AT&SF ( On 31 December 1996, the two major railroad companies in US viz The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Burlington Northern Railrod were merged and a new company named Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway came into existence. This company was named as BNSF Railway Company on 24 January 2005. BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad company in North America). Truman later on worked as a clerk. One of his employers as a clerk was the National Bank of Commerce in Kansas City.

Around 1906, Harry came to Grandview (It is a city in Jackson county of Missouri), where his family farm was located and started looking after the farm activities as his father had died in 1914. Truman earlier had joined the Missouri National Guard in 1905. The National Guard is coordinated by the Army and Navy of United States of America. Almost all the states have the National Guard. The services of the volunteers of National Gurads are utilised by the states under the guidance and orders of respective state Governors during the times of riots and other natural calamities. Truman was associated with National Guard in the period of 1905 to 1911.

Truman served his nation during First World War. First World War had started on 28 July 1914, basically as an European conflict which later on engulfed almost entitre globe directly or indirectly. The event or immediate cause which triggered the First World War was the murder of Austrian Prince Archduke Ferdinand (Franz Ferdinand). The Austrian Prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, the Bosnian Serb. The Austrian Royal couple was shot dead on 28 June 1914 at 11.15a.m. in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. This event, ultimately made the differences between two camps i.e. Allied Group (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan and their friends. By the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed on 3 March 1918, the Soviet Union, where the Communist Rule was established under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin after October 1917 Revolution came out of First World War) and Central Powers i.e. German Empire and Austria-Hungary open. Central Powers were joined by the Ottoman Empire (29 October 1914) and Bulgaria (14 October 1914). 1198 passengers died which included 128 American citizens when German U-Boats or Submarines sank the British, Lusitania, the ocean liner on 7 May 1915. Historians consider this event, as the beginning of US journey towards joining the First World War on the side of Allied Powers in 1917. On 2 April 1917 US President called the special session of US Congress and conveyed the decision of war in his speech. On 3 April 1917, the Senate (the Upper House of American Congress) approved the War Resolution and it was approved by the House of Representatives (the Lower House of American Congress) on 6 April 1917. Subsequently, President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany. This was the entry of USA in First World War on the side of Allied Powers. The American entry in First World War was a great relief to Allied Powers and it tilted the balance in their favour. Truman went to France as a part of US Artillery unit during First World War. The Artillery Unit of Harry Truman was a part of battles or fights taken place at Saint-Mihiel (a town in North-Eastern France located on the right Bank of Meuse River. This river originates in the Langres plateue in France and flows in northern direction going through Belgium and Netherlands and meets North Sea in Netherlands) and Meuse-Argonne (It was one of the biggest fights fought during the First World War along the Meuse River and Argonne Forest. It is said that in this offensive as many as 1.2 million American soldiers were involved and and it took the toll of nearly 28,000 German and 26,277 American soldiers). Truman was praised by the soldiers who were fighting under his guidance. He displayed the bravery and good leadership qualities during the First World War. One point to be noted here is, most the US Presidents of 20th century such as Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and George H W. Bush were war veterans. Harry Truman fought during First World War in France. Dwight Eisenhower served in US during First World War and trained the tank crews among other things. Eisenhower was actively involved on battlefield during Second World War. Infact, he was the Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force on Western Front in during Second World War. John F. Kennedy had fought in the naval battles during Second World War in South Pacific Ocean. His PT-109 Boat had collided with Japanese Destroyer Amagiri in South Pacific and PT-109 was ripped into two parts. Kennedy literally swam to the Nauru island and also took his fellow sailors along-with them guiding them during their swim. There are many other heroic anecdotes about Kennedy's exploits during Second World War. George H. W. Bush served in US Navy from June 1942 to September 1945. He was Navy Aviator. The wings of his plane caught fire due to the Japanese anti-aircraft firing but he released the bombs and parachuted into the Pacific Ocean, where he floated for hours in the waters of Pacific Ocean. He was saved by the American submarines. This is just one incident from many other tells about his contribution during the Second World War. President Harry S. Truman represented the Democratic Party. President Dwight Eisenhower represented the Republican Party. President John F. Kennedy was Democrat. President George H. W. Bush was Republican.

Truman got married to Bess Truman (her name before marriage was Elizabeth Virginia Wallace). She was born on 13 February 1885 in Independence city, Missouri. The name of Bess's father was David Wallace and that of mother was Margaret Gates Wallace. Her father was the politician from the local area. Harry and Bess knew each other from their elementary school days and got attracted towards each other. They got married on 28 June 1919. Harry was involved in haberdashery (men's clothing and accessories) business, basically a store. But, the business had to be abondoned by 1922 due to bankruptcy. The year 1922 also marked the entry of Harry S. Truman in politics. He entered politics with the help of Thomas Pendergast. Truman became the county judge in 1922. The political affiliation of Truman was to the Democratic Party, the main rival of the Republican Party, another mainstream political party in US. Thomas Pendergast was the prominent leader, rather the chief of Democratic Party in Kansas City. He was quite influencing leader of Democratic Party in the state of Missouri. He was born on 22 July 1872 at St. Joseph, Missouri. He was controlling the Democratic Party unit of Kansas City and Jackson County for many years. He was quite interesting person with many facets to his personality. He had the capacity to influence the voting and outcome of the elections. It is said that he had helped quite a few people to get elected. He was known as a corrupt person and was jailed for fifteen months in Federal jail after getting convicted in tax evasion case. He amassed lots of wealth and also lost it by involving himself in gambling. Even though Pendergast was corrupt he had compassion for poor and his contribution in the development of Kansas City is acknowledged. Truman used to invite criticism from his political rivals on many occasions because of his Pendergast connection. Truman attended the funeral of Pendergast without caring for negative talk and openly recognized Thomas Pendergast as his friend.

In 1922, Truman got elected as the County Judge of the eastern district of Jackson county. This post was like commissioner instead of judicial courts in nature. Truman could not win the election for same post in 1924. Thanks to the surge in the popularity of Republican Party under the leadership of President Calvin Coolidge, who is credited with bringing the 'Decade of Prosperity' in US in 1920s. Coolidge used to motivate people with his inspiring statements, one of such famous Coolidge quotations was- 'The man who builds a factory builds a temple, that the man who works there worships there, and to each is due, not scorn and blame, but reverence and praise.' In 1926 Truman became the Presiding Judge by winning election with the help of Pendergast and again got elected in 1930. During his tenure as a Presiding Judge the Jackson county and Kansas City witnessed good development, especially construction of public works and roads were given priority. He also became the President of National Old Trails Road Association, which was formed in 1912 in Kansas City in order to encourage development of transcontinental trail from Baltimore (Maryland state) to Los Angeles (California state) and the branches going towards City (New York state) and San Francisco (California state). The route of this trail or this road goes through and connects many states in US such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, California and Washington D. C. (Capital of USA) including Missouri. As the President of National Old Trails Road Association, Truman used to travel on this entire road from one coast to other coast and meet the representatives of this Association in various states in order to discuss the improvement of road.

The year 1933 proved to be important for Truman from the political career point of view. We can say this year marked the real beginning of Truman coming closer to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (FDR) associates in the real sense of the term. Post Master General, James Farley played crucial role in the appointment of Truman as Director of Federal Re-emplyment Programme for Missouri. James Aloysius Farley was the powerful Democrat politician from New York. He was of Irish Catholic ancestry. He held prominent party positions such as Chairman of New York State Democratic Committee and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. In political circles he was famous as ''. It is said that, Farley had played crucial role in the rise of many political personalities, especially their career including that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He had managed the Presidential Campaigns of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936. He planned successful strategy to attract the catholics, workers, farmers and African-Americans towards Democratic Party. Harry Truman in a way paid back political debt to James Farley when he appointed Farley as Commissioner on the (Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government). Farley's contribution in making Coca Cola worldwide available and popular was great.

In 1934, Truman reached the national level of politics, as he was elected as the Senator from Missouri as Democratic Party candidate. Again, Pendergast's role was important in ensuring the Democratic candidature for Truman. After becoming Senator, Truman proved to be serious and sincere about his duties and responsibilities. He was actively involved in the making of two Legislations or Acts viz. Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 (this legislation created a Civil Aeronautics Authority, later called the Civil Aeronautics Board-CAB and transferred federal responsibilities for non-military aviation from the Bureau of Air Commerce to this newly formed Civil Aeronautics Authority or CAB. The CAB was responsible for making safety related rules, investigation of accidents and economic regulations of airlines among other things). Truman was also responsible for one more legislation called the Wheeler-Truman Transportation Act of 1940 ( this legislation was about setting new standards of federal regulations for railroad, trucking and shipping industries of America).

In 1940 Truman became Senator for second time. During his second tenure as the Senator he led the investigation in the matter of fraud and waste in the military of United States. Truman headed the Truman Committee also known as Senate Special Committee to Investitge the National Defense Programme. And as mentioned earlier, Truman did commendable job as the Chairperson of this Committee which aimed at dealing with the problems of American war production in context with waste, inefficiency and tendency of making profit during wartime by selling weapons and other equipments to those who are involved in war.

The year 1944 brought another turn in the political career of Truman. In 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (also known as FDR) was running for record fourth term for the Presidency of United States of America. FDR was elected as the US President on the Democratic Ticket for the first time in 1932. He was immemsely popular with the majority of the American voters as his New Deal Programme had considerably dealt with the economic problems created in USA due to the Great Depression of 1929. He also had provided effective leadership during the course of Second World War. The Running Mate or Vice Presidential candidate of FDR in the 1932 and 1936 Presidential Elections was (III), a lawyer and Democrat from Texas ( Member of Democratic Party in US is generally called as Democrat and the member of Republican Party is called as Republican). He was the Vice President of Franklin D. Roosevelt for two terms from 1933 to 1941. He was called as 'Cactus Jack' by the fellow politicians and contemporaries. In the 1940 Presidential Election, the Running Mate of Franklin D. Roosevelt was Henry Agard Wallace, the politician and journalist from the state of Iowa. In 1944 Presidential Election Harry S. Truman became the Running Mate (Running Mate means the the Candidate for the post of Vice President) of FDR. The Democratic Party witnessed a record as its nominee FDR got elected as the US President for unprecedented fourth time in a row. After the elections of 1944 Harry S. Truman became the 33rd Vice President under the Administration of 32nd President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is said that a joke was circulating in the political circles describing the choice of Harry S. Truman for Vice Presidency as the 'Second Missouri Compromise'. In 1820 a law passed by the US Congress and signed by James Monroe, the then President of USA allowing the state of Missouri to retain the institution of slavery. This Federal Law allowing Slavery in Missouri was called as the 'Missouri Compromise'. Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the oath of Presidency for fourth time on 20 January 1945. Since 1937, the term of US President is inaugurated or the oath of the Presidency is administered on 20 January in normal circumstances. FDR, whose health was deteriorating died in office on 12 April 1945 due to cerebral hemorrhage. And as per the Constitutional provision Harry S. Truman became the President of USA (Article-2 Clause-6 of the American Constitution talks about the situation in which Vice President can become President and also authorises the Congress to make proper laws in this regard). The Amended Presidential Succession Statute of 1947 states who can become the President of USA in case of emergency situation (created by the death of incumbent President or other extraordinary situation). This Statue prescribes the succession order of who can become the US President in case of crisis like situation and the succession order prescribed is- the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labour, Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of Homeland Security. Harry S. Truman had described his state of mind to the reporters after forced by the circumstances to become the President of USA on the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the following words:

“ Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don’t know if you fellows ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.”

One can say that for Harry Truman, the Presidency threw great challenge as he did not know quite a few important decisions and other happenings during the Presidency of FDR including the development of Atom Bomb. But, one can say that Truman had the courage to shoulder the responsibility of the job of the President of USA. Even though he had come from the background of common man in the real sense of the term, he successfully brought an end to the Second World War on the far eastern front (of course, by dropping Atom Bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 August 1945 and 9 August 1945 respectively). On 8 May 1945, the Nazi Germany formally surrendered and the Second World War came to an end on Western Front, but the War was still going against Japan on the Far Eastern Front. President Truman was told that if US tries to invade Japan then nearly 500,000 American troops might lose their lives as Japanese were known for their fierce fighting skills. It was this information, it is said, made President Truman to order the use of Atom Bombs against Japan. No doubt, it was very controversial decision and President Truman was criticised by many people for taking this decision. Since June 1941 American government started the serious efforts of making atom bomb. Earlier, world renowned scientist Albert Einstein had warned President Franklin Delano Roosevelt about the possibility of Germans making the atom bomb. The American Project of Making of Atom Bomb was called as the Project. The important scientists and persons involved the Manhattan Project were- Hans Bethe, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, Theodore Hall, Willard Frank Libby, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Sir Rudolf Ernst Peierls, Edward Teller, Harold C. Urey and John von Neumann among others. The successful test of atom bomb was conducted on 16 July 1945 in the desert of southern state of New Mexico. Some people say that Truman's personal experience in World War I where he had closely seen the numerous deaths of American soldiers on battlefield might have prompted him to authorize the use of Atom Bomb against Japan in order to save the lives of Americans fighting on Eastern Front. The first Atom Bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. The B-29 Bomber Plane carried it. The Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima was named as 'Little Boy'. This Bomb resulted in the killing of 70,000 people immediately. On 9 August 1945 the second Atom Bomb named 'Fat Man' was dropped on another Japanese city of Nagasaki. It is estimated that the bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed around 40,000 people at once. This enormous human toll and destruction of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made Japan to surrender on 15 August 1945. Thus, the Second World War came to an end on Eastern Front as well. Meanwhile, President Truman had attended the Potsdam Conference in Germany along-with Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the then Prime Minister of United Kingdom and Joseph Stalin, the then Communist ruler of Soviet Union, this country was also known as Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) till 1991 when Communist Rule in Soviet Union collapsed and USSR got disintegrated. The Potsdam Conference held during the period of 17 July to 2 August 1945. Another important participant at Potsdam Conference was Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee of Walthamstow, Viscount Prestwood, the leader of Labour Party who was the Prime Minister of United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951. During his tenure as the Prime Minister of Great Britain or United Kingdom, India was granted independence from British rule on 15 August 1947. On the side of Soviet Union Molotov, original name Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Skryabin, the Russian Foreign Minister also attended the Potsdam Conference. Infact, Molotov had also attended the previous Wartime (Second World) Conferences of Big Three viz. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (USA), Sir Winston Churchill (UK/Great Britain) and Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union) such as Tehran Conference (1943) and Yalta Conference (1945). During the Presidency of Truman the San Francisco Conference (United Nations Conference on International Organization) was held between 25 April to 26 June 1945 which resulted into the formation of United Nations Organization (UNO) on 24 October 1945. This International Organization was established mainly to maintain peace and promote cooperation among the nations or countries of the world in post World War II period.

During Second World War there was a cooperation and good understanding between the United States and the Soviet Union mainly about various issues related with the war efforts. But, once the Second World War came to an end the differences between these two countries resurfaced. Soviet Union had occupied the Eastern Europe during Second World War by defeating the Germans and under Russian influence in most of these countries the Communist Regimes were established. Americans thought that the sole goal of Soviet Union in post Second World War period was to spread Communism and help estalish Communist Governments in most of the countries, which ultimately led to the Cold War (mainly an ideological warfare between the two Groups of Countries one led by America and second led by the Soviet Union). The Cold War manifested itself through some principal events and controversies like Korean War (fought between 1950- 53 and resulted in the division of this country and creation of Communist ruled North Korea and Democratic South Korea, of course North Korea got support from her Communist friends, especially the People's Republic of China and South Korea remained friendly with America ) and Berlin Blockade (1948-49, Berlin, the capital of Communist East Germany was also divided into East Berlin-under Communist control and West Berlin-friendly to America and her friends. On 24 June 1948, the Soviet Union started what is called as the Berlin Blockade by blockading the railways, roads and canal routes of Western Allies i.e. America and her friends connecting or taking them to West Berlin. The Berlin Blockade was going on between 24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949. The Western Allies of America resorted to Berlin Airlift in order to give fitting reply to Berlin Blockade by flying their cargo planes to West Berlin with supplies such as fuel and food. The United States Air Force, the Royal Air Force-UK, the French Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the South African Air Force did the commendable job during the Berlin Airlift by flying tones of material or necessities needed by the West Berliners. On 12 May 1949 the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade but the Americans and British planes continued the Berlin Airlift till 30 September 1949 as they were thinking that the Russians were just pretending and they may restart the Blockade of Berlin anytime. It is said that the American Air Force had taken the 1,783,573 tones and the Royal Air Force of UK had lifted 541,937 tones material to the West Berliners) during the Truman era. Germany became the first major victim of Cold War and got divided into two countries viz. West Germany also known as the Federal Republic of Germany or Bonn Republic (Democratic country and ally of United States and United Kingdom and there Democratic and Capitalist countries) and East Germany (the follower of the Communist Block led by the Soviet Union).

Harry Truman was determined to play active role in the international politics, especially by taking on i e. controlling the efforts of Soviet Union to spread the Communism worldwide. Thus, Harry Truman can be credited for effectively ending the isolationist approach of USA vis-a-vis international affairs. Actually, America had fought during First World War as well but immediately after the war she refused to play active role in European and world affairs. American Senate, even had refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles signed with Germany by Allies after First World War. During 1920s when Republicans were in White House, America was giving more attention to domestic issues than foreign affairs, this approach has been described by many historians as isolationism. Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the entry of USA in Second World War due to the Pearl Harbour attack carried out by Japan on 7 December 1941. One never knows what stand Roosevelt would have taken after Second World War in context with international politics if he was alive, but for Truman, his stand was clear i.e. Policy of Containment in order to stop the activities of spread of Communism carried out by Soviet Union, and active involvement of America in international affairs including that of United Nations Organization, thus declaring the entry of USA on the Chessboard of World Politics with big bang. The goal of containing Communism and helping those countries who may become the soft target for Communist Propaganda, was defined by the foreign policy statement of Truman, which came to be called as the 'Truman Doctrine'. It was presented to the American Congress on 12 March 1947 by President Truman. According to 'Truman Doctrine', Turkey and Greece got active support and help from America in order to deal and fight with the Communists activists in these two countries who were percieved to be having the support of Soviets. The American Congress immediately made the provision of $400 millions for giving as an aid to Greece and Turkey and helping them to fight against the Communists who were trying to capture political power in these two countries.

Another important decision taken by Truman Administration was to design the Marshall Plan or European Recovery Programme in order to give economic aid mainly to Western and Southern European countries. The idea behind giving this economic help was to help them to improve their economies and by doing so stopping the people from those countries to get attracted towards Communism. The Marshall Plan or European Recovery Programme was approved by the US Congress and susequently became law when it was signed by President Harry S. Truman on 3 April 1948. The countries which were benefitted by Marshall Plan were- Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and West Germany. The Marshall Plan was in action from April 1948 to December 1951 and during this period America gave as much as $ 13 Billion in aid to these European countries. Indeed, it was one of the massive economic help programmes in the history. The European Recovery Programme was also called as Marshall Plan because George C. Marshall, the then Secretary of State of United States (he was Secretary of State from 21 January 1947 to 20 January 1949) had played important role in conceptualising and implementing this plan. The European countries were immensely benefitted by the Marshall Plan and witnessed the economic recovery as envisaged by it. The economic aid under this Plan was also given to other poor or developing countries in the world under the title of Point Four Programme (it was called as the Point Four Programme because it was point number four in the Inaugural Address delivered by Truman in 1949).

Truman, had made his mind to take on Soviet Union with full swing. He along-with his European allies felt the need to have military organisation with its presence mainly in Europe in order to contain the Soviet acts and provide security cover to American allies in Europe like United Kingdom, France and others. And the outcome was the signing of the Washington or North Atlantic Treaty (4 April 1949) and creation of the Military Organization called as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Dwight Eisenhower, became the first commander of NATO forces. The signatories to NATO were- Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. Even though, these twelve countries were founder members of NATO, susequently other countries also joined it, these countries are- Greece (1952), Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955), United Germany (1990), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic (1999), Hungary (1999), Poland (1999), Bulgaria (2004), Estonia (2004), Latvia (2004), Lithuania (2004), Romania (2004), Slovakia (2004), Slovenia (2004), Albania (2009), Croatia (2009) and Montenegro (2017). Through Article 5 the NATO gave stern warning to the countries which would try to create trouble for them (here one should read the Soviet Union and Communist Block), this article clearly stated that 'an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all...... ' The Article 5 of NATO was put into effect when Osama-bin-Laden's terrorist outfit al-Qaeda attacked and destroyed the World Trade Centre Towers in on 11 September 2001.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Foreign Intelligence Agency of the Federal Government of USA was created on 26 July 1947 when President Truman signed the National Security Act. The Headquarters of CIA are located at Langley, Virginia. President Truman recognized Isreal, the Jewish state in middle- east when it was founded on 14 May 1948.

Truman contested the Presidential election in 1948. Some Democrats were opposed to nominating Truman in 1948 as Democratic Presidential candidate, but he got the nomination and his Running Mate (Candidate for the post of Vice President) was Alben Barkley, the Senator from Kentucky. The Republican candidate was Thomas Edmund Dewey, the incumbent Governor of New York state. He had ran against Franklin D. Roosevelt as well in 1944. Dewey's Running Mate was Earl Warren, the incumbent Governor of California. Warren had sought the Republican nomination as the Presidential candidate in the election of 1952 but lost it to Dwight Eisenhower. Later on Earl Warren served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States. The popularity of Truman had declined immensely by the time of this election. There were lots of differences and factions within Democratic Party and there was a general feeling that Truman- Barkley ticket will lose the election. Against all these odds Truman swung the surprise and won the election. The Chicago Daily Tribune had published the Headline saying-'DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN' on 3 November 1948. Truman used to travel in train in order to reach various places during the campaign.

In January 1949 Truman was sworn in as the President of America for second time. Truman had come up with the new doestic programme named as 'Fair Deal', it promised national medical insurance, federal housing programmes, higher minimum wage, help for farmers, civil rights reforms among other things. Truman had also promised to repeal the Taft-Hartley Labour Act (it was passed by the American Congress in 1947, even though it was vetoed by President Truman. The Act had put ban on jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, picketing, monetary donations by the unions to the federal political campaigns among other things. This Act remains in force even today).

Truman issued the Executive Order on 26 July 1948 which abolished the discrimination in the American armed forces on the basis of race, colour, religion or national origin. It brought the black servicemen on equal footing with that of their white counterparts and ended the segragation during the Korean War (1950-53).

Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy shocked the entire nation when he said that the Communist and Soviet spies were active in Government, Hollywood, Educational Institutes and other important establishments. He created a sensation in the country with his accusations. McCarthy was the Republican Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 3 January 1947 to 2 May 1957. He was not able to prove his allegations. The American Senate censured McCarthy on 2 December 1954 for his such type of actions (censuring means formal statement of reprimand). Nowadays, in America term 'McCarthyism' is used in order to describe the unsubstantiated allegations.

By 1949, the Soviet Union also made the Atom Bomb and the monopoly of US over this deadly nuclear weapon came to an end. Truman, in order to keep and edge on Soviets in respects with the deadly weapons and war material approved the programme of making hydrogen bomb in the beginning of 1950.

After the Second World War, President Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur as the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan in order to oversee the transformation of Japan into a peacetime country. The period of SCAP Occupation helped Japan to restart its journey of economic development which ultimately proved to be an Economic Miracle (tremendous economic development) in Japan in the period of 1945 to 1991.

The Congress passed the 22nd Constitutional amendment on 21 March 1947 and ratified the same on 27 February 1951 declaring a person could become the US President only for two terms in lifetime. Thus, President , President George W. Bush Junior and President could not run for third term after getting elected President twice. Truman was an exception to this amendment as he was the incumbent President when the amendment was proposed and passed, hence he was eligible to run for Presidency in 1952 but he declined to run.

In 1952 Presidential election the Democratic Party nominated Adlai Stevenson, the incumbent Governor of Illinois. His Running Mate was John Jackson Sparkman, the Alabama Senator. The Republican Party nominated the Second World War veteran and very popular Five Star General, Dwight Eisenhower (IKE) as the Presidential candidate and his Running Mate was Richard Nixon, the California Senator (He served as the US President from 20 January 1969 to 9 August 1974. Watergate Scandal forced Richard Nixon to resign as the President of US on 9 August 1974 as it was certain that he would get impeached and forced to resign. It was alleged and proved on great extent that he was involved in spying his political opponents, harrassing political opponents as well as activists. These Acts of President Nixon became known when five persons were arrested while forcefully entering into the 'Watergate', the Headquarters of the Democratic Party in Washington DC. Watergate is a complex of six buildings located in Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington DC. President Nixon was misleading the nation about all these activities, but once it became clear that he could not escape the impeachment and removal from office he chose to resign as stated earlier).

Dwight Eisenhower got elected as the 34th President of USA in 1952. Election of Eisenhower as President brought an end to 20 years of Democratic occupation of White House, as between 1932 to 1952 Roosevelt and Truman had served as the Presidents who belonged to the Democratic Party.

Dwight Eisenhower was inaugurated as the President of America in January 1953. Truman decided to spend his post Presidency years in Independence, his hometown in Missouri. He along-with his wife Bess Truman travelled back to Missouri in train.

Truman spent his time in Independence very peacefully. He used to take brist morning walks. He was also involved in reading and writing his memoirs. He collected funds for Harry S. Truman Presidential Library. This Library opened in 1957 in Independence. Truman died on 26 December 1972 in Kansas City at the age of 88. His wife died in 1982 at the age of 97. Both, Harry and Bess Truman were buried in the courtyard of Truman Library.

Earlier an attempt was made to assassinate Harry Truman in 1950 at Blair House but he was unhurt. Truman remains one of the highly respected Presidents from the 20th Century inspite of his controversial statements given and unusual behaviour displayed on certain occasions. He will be remembered in History as the President who provided strong leadership to America at critical juncture during the last stages of Second World War and intial phase of Cold War and laid down the foundation of US Foreign Policy in years to come in 20th century.

Asst. Prof. Subhash G. Shinde Vice Principal and HoD, History VPM's Joshi-Bedekar College, Thane