TRUMAN PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

David McCullough | 1117 pages | 28 Oct 1993 | SIMON & SCHUSTER | 9780671869205 | English | New York, United States Harry Truman - Facts, Presidency & WWII - HISTORY

He was motivated in part by his desire to defeat Robert A. Taft , the other major contender for the Republican nomination. The Republican primaries became a battle between Dewey's internationalist wing of the party and Taft's conservative, isolationist wing. Eisenhower narrowly prevailed over Taft at the Republican National Convention ; with the approval of Eisenhower, the convention nominated Richard Nixon for vice president. The once good Truman-Eisenhower relationship soured during the campaign. Truman was appalled when Eisenhower appeared on the same platform with Joseph McCarthy in Wisconsin, and failed to defend General George Marshall, who McCarthy had recently denounced as part of a Communist conspiracy. Anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-foreignism" within the Republican Party. Though Stevenson's public service and issue-oriented campaign appealed to many liberals, he was unable to rally support among blacks, ethnic whites, and the working class. In part due to the Checkers speech, television emerged as an important medium in the race; the number of households with televisions had grown from under , in to over 15 million in Eisenhower took Though Eisenhower ran ahead of most congressional Republicans, his party nonetheless took control of both the House and Senate, giving the Republican Party unified control of Congress and the presidency for the first time since the elections. Truman's ranking in polls of historians and political scientists have never fallen lower than ninth, and he has ranked as high as fifth in a C-SPAN poll in When he left office in , the American public saw Truman as one of the most unpopular chief executives in history. Nowhere in the whole Truman record can one point to a single, decisive break-through All his skills and energies—and he was among our hardest-working Presidents—were directed to standing still". American public feeling towards Truman grew steadily warmer with the passing years. Truman died in , when the nation was consumed with crises in Vietnam and Watergate, and his death brought a new wave of attention to his political career. This public reassessment of Truman was aided by the popularity of a book of reminiscences which Truman had told to journalist Merle Miller beginning in , with the agreement that they would not be published until after Truman's death. Scholars who have compared the audio tapes with the published transcripts have concluded the Miller often distorted what Truman said or fabricated statements Truman never said. The fall of the Soviet Union in caused Truman advocates to claim vindication for Truman's decisions in the postwar period. According to Truman biographer Robert Dallek, "His contribution to victory in the cold war without a devastating nuclear conflict elevated him to the stature of a great or near-great president. After a review of information available to Truman about the presence of espionage activities in the U. Harry Truman himself gave a strong and far-from-incorrect impression of being a tough, concerned and direct leader. He was occasionally vulgar, often partisan, and usually nationalistic On his own terms, Truman can be seen as having prevented the coming of a third world war and having preserved from Communist oppression much of what he called the free world. Yet clearly he largely failed to achieve his Wilsonian aim of securing perpetual peace, making the world safe for democracy, and advancing opportunities for individual development internationally. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. US presidential administration from to See also: Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and First inauguration of Harry S. Main articles: Harry S. Further information: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Main article: Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration. Further information: History of the United Nations. See also: Tariffs in United States history. See also: History of nuclear weapons. Further information: Origins of the Cold War. Main article: Marshall Plan. Further information: Berlin Blockade. See also: Israel—United States relations. Further information: Occupation of Japan. See also: Decolonization of Asia. Further information: Korean War. See also: 79th United States Congress. Further information: Strike wave of — Further information: 80th United States Congress. Main article: Fair Deal. See also: History of health care reform in the United States. Further information: History of immigration to the United States. Main article: United States elections. Main article: United States presidential election. Harry S. Truman's Farewell Address. Truman's speech on leaving office, and returning home to Independence, Missouri. January 15, In Margolies, Daniel S. A Companion to Harry S. GDP is calculated for the calendar year. The income, outlay, deficit, and debt figures are calculated for the fiscal year , which ended on June 30 prior to For the purposes of the amendment, a partial term of more than two years would count towards the term limit. The amendment was ratified by the requisite 36 states on February 27, The Truman Presidency. Barkley: Vice President". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 76 2 pp. Senate: Supreme Court Nominations: Present". Retrieved March 28, Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Clinton. Bernstein, "Roosevelt, Truman, and the atomic bomb, — a reinterpretation. U of Nebraska Press. January 1, Retrieved May 27, Fussell, Paul New York: Summit Books. Nuclear Weapons. William K Lambers. Trade Policy in the s". In Bordo, Michael D. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved August 15, Schilling, Paul Y. Hammond, and Glenn H. Satterthwaite, "The Truman doctrine: Turkey. Stevenson Military Review. Campbell, The United States in World affairs: — pp — Miscamble, "Harry S. Truman, the Berlin Blockade and the election. Pogue, George C. Statesman: — pp 51— May, "— When Marshall Kept the U. Stueck, The road to confrontation: American policy toward China and Korea, — U of North Carolina Press, online. Chapin Fire Brigade: U. Marines In The Pusan Perimeter. Lavrakas Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods. Department of State Office of the Historian. The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved February 26, Temple University Press. Olson, "The G. Altschuler and Stuart M. September 30, Constitution" PDF. Congressional Research Service reports. Washington D. Constitution: Amendments". Retrieved April 29, New York Times. April 15, Retrieved May 11, September 5, Has Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance". Retrieved September 5, Milbank Quarterly. Poen, Harry S. Historical Encyclopedia of U. Independent Counsel Investigations. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Filippelli; Mark D. McColloch SUNY Press. Weir Workers in America: A Historical Encyclopedia. Hower, "'Our conception of non-partisanship means a partisan non-partisanship': the search for political identity in the American Federation of Labor, — Hamby, "Henry A. Wallace, the liberals, and Soviet- American relations. Cornfield and Holly J. McCammon, eds. Truman Archived from the original on February 11, Retrieved February 6, Presidential Studies Quarterly. Horses in Midstream. University of Pittsburgh Press. Mueller, "Presidential popularity from Truman to Johnson. Savage, Truman and the Democratic Party pp 30— The Politics of Equality: Hubert H. Humphrey and the African American Freedom Struggle. The Oxford History of the American People. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved June 15, Eisenhower: Campaigns and Elections". Hyman and Paul B. February 19, Retrieved May 14, The Future of American Politics 2nd ed. Anchor Press. Bernstein, ed. Kirkendall, The Truman period as a research field 2nd ed. December 3, May—June American Heritage. Chambers II, John W. Oxford: Oxford University Press. New York: Free Press. Dallek, Robert New York: Times Books. Tumultuous Years: — New York: W. Oxford University Press. From Colony to Superpower; U. Foreign Relations Since A Cross of Iron: Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the National Security State, Cambridge University Press. Truman Encyclopedia. Hall Publishing. American Presidents and the Middle East. Durham: Duke University Press. Integration of the Armed Services — Washington, D. The Presidency of Harry S. University Press of Kansas. Grand Expectations: The United States — Union Square Press. A Short History of the Korean War. New York: Harper Perennial. New York: William Morrow. Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case revised ed. Random House. Main article: Bibliography of Harry S. This further reading section may contain inappropriate or excessive suggestions that may not follow Wikipedia's guidelines. Please ensure that only a reasonable number of balanced , topical , reliable , and notable further reading suggestions are given; removing less relevant or redundant publications with the same point of view where appropriate. Consider utilising appropriate texts as inline sources or creating a separate bibliography article. February Learn how and when to remove this template message. Truman's roles, politics [ edit ] Brembeck, Cole S. Quarterly Journal of Speech. Casey, Steven Ciment, James, ed. Harry Truman and the crisis presidency ; pp. Congressional Quarterly. Congress and the Nation — , Highly detailed and factual coverage of Congress and presidential politics; pages Daniels, Jonathan The Man of Independence. University of Missouri Press. Roger, ed. Immigration and the Legacy of Harry S. Donovan, Robert J. Conflict and crisis: The presidency of Harry S. Truman, — Truman: A Life. The Presidents: A Reference History 2nd ed. Hamby, Alonzo L. Political Science Quarterly. Hartmann, Susan M. Truman and the 80th Congress online Lacey, Michael J. McCoy, Donald R. Mitchell, Franklin D. Truman and the news media: contentious relations, belated respect U of Missouri Press, Oshinsky, David M. In Brinkley, Alan; Dyer, Davis eds. The American Presidency. Houghton Mifflin. Truman and the Democratic Party Schoenebaum, Eleanora W. Political Profiles: The Truman Years pp; short biographies of players in national politics — Woytinsky, W. Beisner, Robert L. U Press of Kentucky. Robert L. Diplomatic History. Cummings, Richard H. Cold War Civil Rights. Falk, Stanley L. Gaddis, John Lewis. George F. Kennan: An American Life Haas, Lawrence J. Harry and Arthur. Hamilton, Lee H. In James A. Thurber ed. Rivals for Power: Presidential—Congressional Relations. The winning weapon: The atomic bomb in the cold war, — Holsti, Ole Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy. U of Michigan Press. The Wise Men. Six Friends and the World They Made. Judis, John B. LaFeber, Walter America, Russia, and the Cold War, — The Journal of Military History. Merrill, Dennis Miscamble, Wilson D. The most controversial decision: Truman, the atomic bombs, and the defeat of Japan Cambridge UP, David E. Lilienthal: The Journey of an American Liberal. University of Tennessee Press, Offner, Arnold A. Paterson, Thomas G. George C. Statesman: — Roberts, Geoffrey. The Korean War. Watson, Robert P. Michael J. Devine, Robert J. Wolz, eds. Truman online. Weissman, Alexander D. History Compass. Corke, Sarah-Jane Intelligence and National Security. Gaddis, John Lewis Griffith, Robert. America in the World. Kirkendall, Richard S. The Truman period as a research field: A Reappraisal, 2nd ed. Kort, Michael. Savage, Sean J. Smith, Geoffrey S. American Political Science Review. Walker, j. Samuel Williams, Robert J. Truman and the American Presidency". Journal of American Studies. Primary sources [ edit ] Acheson, Dean. Present at the creation: My years in the State Department Bernstein, Barton J. Matusow, eds. The Truman administration: A Documentary History ; pp. Clark, Clifford, and Holbrooke Richard. Counsel to the President Gallup, George H. Truman in cartoon and caricature. Kirksville: Truman State University Press. Truman and the Fair Deal ; pp; short excerpts from primary sources and from experts. Martin, Joseph William New York: McGraw-Hill. Merrill, Dennis, ed. Documentary history of the Truman presidency University Publications of America, Miller, Merle New York: Putnam Publishing. Duffield, eds. The Forestall Diaries Truman, Harry S. Public papers of the presidents of the United States 8 vol. Ferrell, Robert H. Memoirs: Year of Decisions. Garden City, NY : Doubleday. Memoirs: Years of Trial and Hope. The China White Paper: August 2 vol. Stanford U. Department of State. China White Paper: vol 1 online at Google ; online vol 1 pdf ; vol 2 is not online; see library holdings via World Cat ; excerpt are in Barton J. Bernstein, and Allen J. The Truman administration: A Documentary History pp — Vandenberg, Arthur Hendrick. University Publications of America, table of contents. Senator from Missouri — Birthplace Harry S. Truman Farm Home Harry S. Postage stamps. Give 'em Hell, Harry! Roosevelt Dwight D. Presidents of the United States. Grant — Rutherford B. Hayes — James A. Cochran and Jacob L. Milligan with the solid support of Jackson County , which was crucial to his candidacy. Also critical were the contacts he had made statewide in his capacity as a county official, member of the Masons, military reservist, and member of the American Legion. Truman assumed office with a reputation as "the Senator from Pendergast". He referred patronage decisions to Pendergast, but maintained that he voted with his own conscience. He later defended the patronage decisions by saying that "by offering a little to the machine, [he] saved a lot". During the U. Truman was politically weakened by Pendergast's imprisonment for income tax evasion the previous year; the senator had remained loyal, having claimed that Republican judges not the Roosevelt administration were responsible for the boss's downfall. Louis party leader Robert E. Hannegan 's support of Truman proved crucial; he later brokered the deal that put Truman on the national ticket. One week after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in , he said:. If we see that Germany is winning we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany, and that way let them kill as many as possible although I don't want to see Hitler victorious under any circumstances. In late , Truman traveled to various military bases. The waste and profiteering he saw led him to use his chairmanship of the Committee on Military Affairs Subcommittee on War Mobilization to start investigations into abuses while the nation prepared for war. A new special committee was set up under Truman to conduct a formal investigation; the Roosevelt administration supported this plan rather than weather a more hostile probe by the House of Representatives. The main mission of the committee was to expose and fight waste and corruption in the gigantic government wartime contracts. Truman's initiative convinced Senate leaders of the necessity for the committee, which reflected his demands for honest and efficient administration and his distrust of big business and Wall Street. Truman managed the committee "with extraordinary skill" and usually achieved consensus, generating heavy media publicity that gave him a national reputation. Roosevelt's advisors knew that Roosevelt might not live out a fourth term, and that his vice president would very likely become the next president. Henry Wallace had served as Roosevelt's vice president for four years and was popular among Democratic voters, but he was viewed as too far to the left and too friendly to labor for some of Roosevelt's advisers. The President and several of his confidantes wanted to replace Wallace with someone more acceptable to Democratic Party leaders. Walker , incoming chairman Hannegan, party treasurer Edwin W. Allen all wanted to keep Wallace off the ticket. State and city party leaders strongly preferred Truman, and Roosevelt agreed. Truman did not campaign for the vice-presidential spot, though he welcomed the attention as evidence that he had become more than the "Senator from Pendergast". Truman was sworn in as vice president on January 20, Truman's brief vice-presidency was relatively uneventful. On April 10, , [] Truman cast his only tie-breaking vote as president of the Senate, against a Robert A. Taft amendment that would have blocked the postwar delivery of Lend-Lease Act items contracted for during the war. In one of his first acts as vice president, Truman created some controversy when he attended the disgraced Pendergast's funeral. He brushed aside the criticism, saying simply, "He was always my friend and I have always been his. Truman asked her if there was anything he could do for her; she replied, "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now! Truman surrounded himself with his old friends, and appointed several to high positions that seemed well beyond their competence, including his two secretaries of the treasury, Fred Vinson and John Snyder. His closest friend in the White House was his military aide Harry H. Vaughan , who was criticized for trading access to the White House for expensive gifts. Alonzo Hamby notes that:. Neither was the intemperant "give 'em hell" campaign style nor the occasional profane phrase uttered in public. Poker exemplified a larger problem: the tension between his attempts at an image of leadership necessarily a cut above the ordinary and an informality that at times appeared to verge on crudeness. Shortly after taking the oath of office, Truman spoke to reporters: "Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me. Upon assuming the presidency, Truman asked all the members of Roosevelt's cabinet to remain in place, and told them he was open to their advice. He emphasized a central principle of his administration: he would be the one making decisions, and they were to support him. Truman benefited from a honeymoon period after Roosevelt's death, and from the Allies' success in Europe, ending the war against Nazi Germany. Truman was pleased to issue the proclamation of V-E Day on May 8, , his 61st birthday. We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark. He was there when he learned the Trinity test —the first atomic bomb—on July 16 had been successful. He hinted to Joseph Stalin that the United States was about to use a new kind of weapon against the Japanese. Though this was the first time the Soviets had been officially given information about the atomic bomb, Stalin was already aware of the bomb project—having learned about it through atomic espionage long before Truman did. In August, the Japanese government refused surrender demands as specifically outlined in the Potsdam Declaration. With the invasion of Japan imminent, Truman approved the schedule for dropping the two available bombs. Japan agreed to surrender the following day. Supporters [c] of Truman's decision argue that, given the tenacious Japanese defense of the outlying islands, the bombings saved hundreds of thousands of lives of prisoners, civilians, and combatants on both sides that would have been lost in an invasion of Japan. Critics have argued that the use of nuclear weapons was unnecessary, given that conventional attacks or a demonstrative bombing of an uninhabited area would have forced Japan's surrender and therefore assert that the attack constituted a crime of war. As President of the United States, I had the fateful responsibility of deciding whether or not to use this weapon for the first time. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. But the President cannot duck hard problems—he cannot pass the buck. I made the decision after discussions with the ablest men in our Government, and after long and prayerful consideration. I decided that the bomb should be used in order to end the war quickly and save countless lives—Japanese as well as American. Truman continued to strongly defend himself in his memoirs in —, stating many lives could have been lost had the United States invaded mainland Japan without the atomic bombs. It probably also saved a half million youngsters on both sides from being maimed for life. The end of World War II was followed by an uneasy transition from war to a peacetime economy. The costs of the war effort had been enormous, and Truman was intent on diminishing military services as quickly as possible to curtail the government's military expenditures. The effect of demobilization on the economy was unknown, proposals were met with skepticism and resistance, and fears existed that the nation would slide back into depression. In Roosevelt's final years, Congress began to reassert legislative power and Truman faced a congressional body where Republicans and conservative southern Democrats formed a powerful voting bloc. Dormant stressors during the war emerged as polarizing issues under Truman's administration. Strikes and labor- management conflicts destabilized major industries while severe housing and consumer good shortages added to public stress over inflation which peaked at six percent in a single month. Truman's response to the widespread dissatisfaction and protest of U. In and , farmers refused to sell grain for months even though it was desperately needed in the United States and to stave off starvation in Europe. It was followed by a coal strike in April and a rail strike in May; however, public opinion on labor action was mixed with one poll reporting a majority of the public in favor of a ban on strikes by public service workers and a year's moratorium on labor actions. When a national rail strike threatened in May , Truman seized the railroads in an attempt to contain the issue, but two key railway unions struck anyway. Every single one of the strikers and their demagogue leaders have been living in luxury Now I want you who are my comrades in arms Let's put transportation and production back to work, hang a few traitors and make our own country safe for democracy. His staff was stunned, but top aide Clark Clifford revised the original draft and Truman delivered a toned down version of the speech to Congress. Truman called for a new law, where any railroad strikers would be drafted into the army. As he concluded his congressional address, he received a message that the strike had been settled on presidential terms; nevertheless, a few hours later, the House voted to draft the strikers. Taft killed the bill in the Senate. After the settlement of the railway strike, labor action continued as an undercurrent of Truman's presidency. The 80th Congress included Republican freshmen who would become prominent in U. Truman cooperated closely with the Republican leaders on foreign policy, but fought them bitterly on domestic issues. The power of the labor unions was significantly curtailed by the Taft—Hartley Act which was enacted over Truman's veto. Truman twice vetoed bills to lower income tax rates in Although the initial vetoes were sustained, Congress overrode his veto of a tax cut bill in In one notable instance of bipartisanship, Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act of , which replaced the secretary of state with the Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate as successor to the president after the vice president. As he readied for the election, Truman made clear his identity as a Democrat in the New Deal tradition, advocating for national health insurance , [] and repeal of the Taft—Hartley Act. He broke with the New Deal by initiating an aggressive civil rights program which he termed a moral priority. His economic and social vision constituted a broad legislative agenda that came to be called the " Fair Deal. The Solid South rejected civil rights as those states still enforced segregation. Only one of the major Fair Deal bills, the Housing Act of , was ever enacted. In this, he matched U. Although he had little personal expertise on foreign matters, Truman listened closely to his top advisors, especially George Marshall and Dean Acheson. The Republicans controlled Congress in —, so he worked with their leaders, especially Senator Arthur H. Vandenburg , chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee. To get Congress to spend the vast sums necessary to restart the moribund European economy, Truman used an ideological argument, arguing that communism flourishes in economically deprived areas. Air Force. Truman did not know what to do about China, where the Nationalists and Communists were fighting a large-scale civil war. The Nationalists had been major wartime allies and had large-scale popular support in the United States, along with a powerful lobby. General George Marshall spent most of in China trying to negotiate a compromise, but failed. He convinced Truman the Nationalists would never win on their own and a very large-scale U. By , the Communists under Mao Zedong had won the civil war, the United States had a new enemy in Asia, and Truman came under fire from conservatives for "losing" China. The Allies had not negotiated a deal to guarantee supply of the sectors deep within the Soviet-occupied zone. The commander of the U. Clay , proposed sending a large armored column across the Soviet zone to West Berlin with instructions to defend itself if it were stopped or attacked. Truman believed this would entail an unacceptable risk of war. He approved Ernest Bevin 's plan to supply the blockaded city by air. On June 25, the Allies initiated the Berlin Airlift , a campaign to deliver food, coal and other supplies using military aircraft on a massive scale. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before, and no single nation had the capability, either logistically or materially, to accomplish it. The airlift worked; ground access was again granted on May 11, Nevertheless, the airlift continued for several months after that. The Berlin Airlift was one of Truman's great foreign policy successes; it significantly aided his election campaign in Truman had long taken an interest in the history of the Middle East, and was sympathetic to Jews who sought to re-establish their ancient homeland in Mandatory Palestine. As a senator, he announced support for Zionism ; in he called for a homeland for those Jews who survived the Nazi regime. However, State Department officials were reluctant to offend the Arabs, who were opposed to the establishment of a Jewish state in the large region long populated and dominated culturally by Arabs. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal warned Truman of the importance of Saudi Arabian oil in another war; Truman replied he would decide his policy on the basis of justice, not oil. Palestine was secondary to the goal of protecting the "Northern Tier" of Greece, Turkey, and Iran from communism, as promised by the Truman Doctrine. Truman decided to recognize Israel over the objections of Secretary of State George Marshall , who feared it would hurt relations with the populous Arab states. Marshall believed the paramount threat to the United States was the Soviet Union and feared Arab oil would be lost to the United States in the event of war; he warned Truman the United States was "playing with fire with nothing to put it out". I saw it, and I dream about it even to this day. The Jews needed some place where they could go. It is my attitude that the American government couldn't stand idly by while the victims [of] Hitler's madness are not allowed to build new lives. The presidential election is remembered for Truman's stunning come-from-behind victory. Eisenhower , a highly popular figure whose political views and party affiliation were totally unknown. Eisenhower emphatically refused to accept, and Truman outflanked opponents to his own nomination. At the Democratic National Convention , Truman attempted to unify the party with a vague civil rights plank in the party platform. His intention was to assuage the internal conflicts between the northern and southern wings of his party. Events overtook his efforts. A sharp address given by Mayor Hubert Humphrey of Minneapolis —as well as the local political interests of a number of urban bosses—convinced the convention to adopt a stronger civil rights plank, which Truman approved wholeheartedly. All of Alabama's delegates, and a portion of Mississippi's, walked out of the convention in protest. Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home—but not for housing. They are strong for labor—but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage—the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all—but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine—for people who can afford them They think American standard of living is a fine thing—so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire the Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it. Within two weeks of the convention Truman issued Executive Order , racially integrating the U. Armed Services [] [] [] and Executive Order to integrate federal agencies. Truman took a considerable political risk in backing civil rights, and many seasoned Democrats were concerned the loss of Dixiecrat support might destroy the Democratic Party. South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond , a segregationist, declared his candidacy for the presidency on a Dixiecrat ticket and led a full-scale revolt of Southern " states' rights " proponents. This rebellion on the right was matched by one on the left, led by Wallace on the Progressive Party ticket. Victory in November seemed unlikely as the party was not simply split but divided three ways. Barkley , though he really wanted Justice William O. Douglas , who turned down the nomination. Truman's political advisors described the political scene as "one unholy, confusing cacophony. Bray said Truman took this advice, and spoke personally and passionately, sometimes even setting aside his notes to talk to Americans "of everything that is in my heart and soul. His combative appearances captured the popular imagination and drew huge crowds. Six stops in Michigan drew a combined half-million people; [] a full million turned out for a New York City ticker-tape parade. The large, mostly spontaneous gatherings at Truman's whistle-stop events were an important sign of a change in momentum in the campaign, but this shift went virtually unnoticed by the national press corps. It continued reporting Republican Thomas Dewey 's apparent impending victory as a certainty. One reason for the press's inaccurate projection was that polls were conducted primarily by telephone, but many people, including much of Truman's populist base, did not yet own a telephone. An unintended and undetected projection error may have contributed to the perception of Truman's bleak chances. The three major polling organizations stopped polling well before the November 2 election date— Roper in September, and Crossley and Gallup in October—thus failing to measure the period when Truman appears to have surged past Dewey. In the end, Truman held his progressive Midwestern base, won most of the Southern states despite the civil rights plank, and squeaked through with narrow victories in a few critical states, notably Ohio, California, and Illinois. Henry Wallace got none. The defining image of the campaign came after Election Day, when an ecstatic Truman held aloft the erroneous front page of the Chicago Tribune with a huge headline proclaiming " Dewey Defeats Truman. Truman's second inauguration was the first ever televised nationally. The Soviet Union's atomic bomb project progressed much faster than had been expected, [] and they detonated their first bomb on August 29, Over the next several months there was an intense debate that split U. H-bomb test on October 31, , which was officially announced by Truman on January 7, In the early weeks of the war, the North Koreans easily pushed back their southern counterparts. Navy could not enforce such a measure. General Douglas MacArthur. Truman decided he did not need formal authorization from Congress, believing that most legislators supported his position; this would come back to haunt him later, when the stalemated conflict was dubbed "Mr. Truman's War" by legislators. Lucas stated Congress supported the use of force, the formal resolution would pass but was unnecessary, and consensus in Congress was to acquiesce. Truman responded he did not want "to appear to be trying to get around Congress and use extra- Constitutional powers," and added that it was "up to Congress whether such a resolution should be introduced. By August , U. Johnson , replacing him with the retired General Marshall. However, China surprised the UN forces with a large-scale invasion in November. The UN forces were forced back to below the 38th parallel , then recovered. Truman rejected MacArthur's request to attack Chinese supply bases north of the Yalu, but MacArthur promoted his plan to Republican house leader Joseph Martin , who leaked it to the press. Truman was gravely concerned further escalation of the war might lead to open conflict with the Soviet Union, which was already supplying weapons and providing warplanes with Korean markings and Soviet aircrew. Therefore, on April 11, , Truman fired MacArthur from his commands. The dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur was among the least politically popular decisions in presidential history. Truman's approval ratings plummeted, and he faced calls for his impeachment from, among others, Senator Robert A. Others, including Eleanor Roosevelt, supported and applauded Truman's decision. MacArthur meanwhile returned to the United States to a hero's welcome, and addressed a joint session of Congress, a speech the president called "a bunch of damn bullshit. Truman and his generals considered the use of nuclear weapons against the Chinese army, but ultimately chose not to escalate the war to a nuclear level. It called for tripling the defense budget, and the globalization and militarization of containment policy whereby the United States and its NATO allies would respond militarily to actual Soviet expansion. The document was drafted by Paul Nitze , who consulted State and Defense officials, and was formally approved by President Truman as official national strategy after the war began in Korea. It called for partial mobilization of the U. The plan called for strengthening Europe, weakening the Soviet Union, and building up the United States both militarily and economically. The treaty establishing it was widely popular and easily passed the Senate in ; Truman appointed General Eisenhower as commander. NATO's goals were to contain Soviet expansion in Europe and to send a clear message to communist leaders that the world's democracies were willing and able to build new security structures in support of democratic ideals. The alliance resulted in the Soviets establishing a similar alliance, called the Warsaw Pact. General Marshall was Truman's principal adviser on foreign policy matters, influencing such decisions as the U. Marshall's opinion was contrary to the counsel of almost all of Truman's other advisers —Marshall thought propping up Chiang's forces would drain U. On June 27, , after the outbreak of fighting in Korea, Truman ordered the U. Truman usually worked well with his top staff—the exceptions were Israel in and Spain — Truman was a very strong opponent of Francisco Franco , the right-wing dictator of Spain. He withdrew the American ambassador but diplomatic relations were not formally broken , kept Spain out of the UN, and rejected any Marshall Plan financial aid to Spain. However, as the Cold War escalated, support for Spain was strong in Congress, the Pentagon, the business community and other influential elements especially Catholics and cotton growers. Liberal opposition to Spain had faded after the Wallace element broke with the Democratic Party in ; the CIO became passive on the issue. As Secretary of State Acheson increased his pressure on Truman, the president, stood alone in his administration as his own top appointees wanted to normalize relations. When China entered the Korean War and pushed American forces back, the argument for allies became irresistible. Admitting he was "overruled and worn down," Truman relented and sent an ambassador and made loans available. He said an underground communist network had worked inside the U. Chambers did not allege any spying during the Truman presidency. Although Hiss denied the allegations, he was convicted in January for perjury for denials under oath. The Soviet Union's success in exploding an atomic weapon in and the fall of the nationalist Chinese the same year led many Americans to conclude subversion by Soviet spies was responsible, and to demand that communists be rooted out from the government and other places of influence. In , Truman described American communist leaders, whom his administration was prosecuting , as "traitors", but in he vetoed the McCarran Internal Security Act. It was passed over his veto. In , Truman ordered an addition to the exterior of the White House : a second-floor balcony in the south portico, which came to be known as the Truman Balcony. The addition was unpopular. Some said it spoiled the appearance of the south facade, but it gave the First Family more living space. As the newer West Wing , including the Oval Office , remained open, Truman walked to and from his work across the street each morning and afternoon. On the street outside the residence, Torresola mortally wounded a White House policeman, Leslie Coffelt. Before he died, the officer shot and killed Torresola. Collazo was wounded and stopped before he entered the house. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death in Truman commuted his sentence to life in prison. To try to settle the question of Puerto Rican independence, Truman allowed a plebiscite in Puerto Rico in to determine the status of its relationship to the United States. Sawyer , to take control of a number of the nation's steel mills in April Truman cited his authority as Commander in Chief and the need to maintain an uninterrupted supply of steel for munitions for the war in Korea. Sawyer The high court's reversal of Truman's order was one of the notable defeats of his presidency. In , the Senate, led by Estes Kefauver , investigated numerous charges of corruption among senior administration officials, some of whom received fur coats and deep freezers in exchange for favors. When Attorney General J. Howard McGrath fired the special prosecutor in early for being too zealous, Truman fired McGrath. On December 6, , Washington Post music critic Paul Hume wrote a critical review of a concert by the president's daughter Margaret Truman:. Miss Truman is a unique American phenomenon with a pleasant voice of little size and fair quality I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. I've come to the conclusion that you are an 'eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay. When you write such poppy-cock as was in the back section of the paper you work for it shows conclusively that you're off the beam and at least four of your ulcers are at work. Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below! Pegler , a gutter snipe, is a gentleman alongside you. I hope you'll accept that statement as a worse insult than a reflection on your ancestry. Truman was criticized by many for the letter. However, he pointed out that he wrote it as a loving father and not as the president. In , William M. Boyle , Truman's longtime friend and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was forced to resign after being charged with financial corruption. A report by the Truman administration titled To Secure These Rights presented a detailed ten-point agenda of civil rights reforms. Speaking about this report, international developments have to be taken into account, for with the UN Charter being passed in , the question whether international human rights law could be applicable also on an inner-land basis became crucial in the United States. Though the report acknowledged such a path was not free from controversy in the s United States, it nevertheless raised the possibility for the UN-Charter to be used as a legal tool to combat racial discrimination in the United States. In February , the president submitted a civil rights agenda to Congress that proposed creating several federal offices devoted to issues such as voting rights and fair employment practices. Tales of the abuse, violence, and persecution suffered by many African-American veterans upon their return from World War II infuriated Truman, and were a major factor in his decision to issue Executive Order , in July , requiring equal opportunity in the armed forces. Executive Order , also in , made it illegal to discriminate against persons applying for civil service positions based on race. This committee ensured defense contractors did not discriminate because of race. Truman made five international trips during his presidency. In , the United States ratified the 22nd Amendment , making a president ineligible for election to a third term or for election to a second full term after serving more than two remaining years of a term of a previously elected president. The latter clause did not apply to Truman's situation in because of a grandfather clause excluding the amendment's application to the incumbent president. Therefore, he seriously considered running for another term in , and left his name on the ballot in the New Hampshire primary. However all his close advisors, pointing to his age, his failing abilities, and his poor showing in the polls, talked him out of it. His first choice, Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson , had declined to run; Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson had also turned Truman down, Vice President Barkley was considered too old, [] [] and Truman distrusted and disliked Senator Kefauver, who had made a name for himself by his investigations of the Truman administration scandals. Truman had hoped to recruit General Eisenhower as a Democratic candidate, but found him more interested in seeking the Republican nomination. Accordingly, Truman let his name be entered in the New Hampshire primary by supporters. Truman was eventually able to persuade Stevenson to run, and the governor gained the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. Eisenhower gained the Republican nomination, with Senator Nixon as his running mate, and campaigned against what he denounced as Truman's failures: "Korea, communism and corruption". He pledged to clean up the "mess in Washington," and promised to "go to Korea. While Truman and Eisenhower had previously been on good terms, Truman felt annoyed Eisenhower did not denounce Joseph McCarthy during the campaign. Anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-foreignism" within the Republican Party. Upon leaving the presidency, Truman returned to Independence, Missouri, to live at the Wallace home he and Bess had shared for years with her mother. He also turned down numerous offers for commercial endorsements. Since his earlier business ventures had proved unsuccessful, he had no personal savings. As a result, he faced financial challenges. In , however, there was no such benefit package for former presidents, and he received no pension for his Senate service. Truman had taken out a personal loan from a Washington bank shortly before leaving office. The writing was a struggle for Truman and he went through a dozen collaborators during the project, [] not all of whom served him well, [] but he remained heavily involved in the end result. Truman: Years of Trial and Hope The former president told House Majority Leader John McCormack in , "Had it not been for the fact that I was able to sell some property that my brother, sister, and I inherited from our mother, I would practically be on relief, but with the sale of that property I am not financially embarrassed. Truman's predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had organized his own presidential library , but legislation to enable future presidents to do something similar had not been enacted. Truman worked to garner private donations to build a presidential library, which he donated to the federal government to maintain and operate—a practice adopted by his successors. He testified before Congress to have money appropriated to have presidential papers copied and organized, and was proud of the bill's passage in Max Skidmore, in his book on the life of former presidents, noted that Truman was a well-read man, especially in history. Skidmore added that the presidential papers legislation and the founding of his library "was the culmination of his interest in history. Together they constitute an enormous contribution to the United States—one of the greatest of any former president. Averell Harriman of New York. In Truman gave a public statement announcing he would not attend the Democratic Convention that year, citing concerns about the way that the supporters of John F. Kennedy had gained control of the nominating process, and called on Kennedy to forgo the nomination for that year. In late , when Lyndon B. Johnson had just become president, Truman wrote a letter to the Washington Post calling for the CIA's responsibilities to be scaled back significantly: "For some time I have been disturbed by the way the CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the government. This has led to trouble and may have compounded our difficulties in several explosive areas. Upon turning 80 in , Truman was feted in Washington, and addressed the Senate, availing himself of a new rule that allowed former presidents to be granted privilege of the floor. After a fall in his home in late , his physical condition declined. In , President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and gave the first two Medicare cards to Truman and his wife Bess to honor the former president's fight for government health care while in office. Bess Truman opted for a simple private service at the library rather than a state funeral in Washington. A week after the funeral, foreign dignitaries and Washington officials attended a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral. Bess died in and is buried next to Harry at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. Vigorous, hard-working, simple, he had grown up close to the soil of the Midwest and understood the struggles of the people on the farms and in the small towns. After 10 years in the Senate, he had risen above the Pendergast organization. Still, he had come from a world of two-bit politicians, and its aura was one that he never was able to shed entirely. And he did retain certain characteristics one often sees in machine-bred politicians: intense partisanship, stubborn loyalty, a certain insensitivity about the transgressions of political associates, and a disinclination for the companionship of intellectuals and artists. Citing continuing divisions within the Democratic Party, the ongoing Cold War, and the boom and bust cycle, journalist Samuel Lubell in stated: "After seven years of Truman's hectic, even furious, activity the nation seemed to be about on the same general spot as when he first came to office Nowhere in the whole Truman record can one point to a single, decisive break-through All his skills and energies—and he was among our hardest-working Presidents—were directed to standing still. Schlesinger Sr. The period following his death consolidated a partial rehabilitation of his legacy among both historians and members of the public. This public reassessment of Truman was aided by the popularity of a book of reminiscences Truman had recounted to journalist Merle Miller beginning in , with the agreement that they would not be published until after Truman's death. Truman has had his latter-day critics as well. After a review of information available to Truman about the presence of espionage activities in the U. The Dissolution of the Soviet Union in caused Truman advocates to claim vindication for his decisions in the postwar period. According to Truman biographer Robert Dallek , "His contribution to victory in the cold war without a devastating nuclear conflict elevated him to the stature of a great or near-great president. McCoy in his book on the Truman presidency:. Harry Truman himself gave a strong and far-from- incorrect impression of being a tough, concerned and direct leader. He was occasionally vulgar, often partisan, and usually nationalistic On his own terms, Truman can be seen as having prevented the coming of a third world war and having preserved from Communist oppression much of what he called the free world. Yet clearly he largely failed to achieve his Wilsonian aim of securing perpetual peace, making the world safe for democracy, and advancing opportunities for individual development internationally. In , Truman traveled to Europe with his wife. Across Britain he was hailed; London's Daily Telegraph characterized Truman as the "Living and kicking symbol of everything that everybody likes best about the United States. In , he helped establish the Grandview Lodge, and he served as its first Worshipful Master. In September , during his Senate re-election campaign, Truman was elected Grand Master of the Missouri Grand Lodge of Freemasonry; Truman said later that the Masonic election assured his victory in the general election. Southern Jurisdiction Headquarters in Washington D. In , the Truman Scholarship was created as a federal program to honor U. Truman Fellowship in National Security Science and Engineering was created as a distinguished postdoctoral three-year appointment at Sandia National Laboratories. Truman School of Public Affairs to advance the study and practice of governance. On July 1, , Northeast Missouri State University became Truman State University —to mark its transformation from a teachers' college to a highly selective liberal arts university and to honor the only Missourian to become president. A member institution of the City Colleges of Chicago , Harry S Truman College in Chicago, Illinois , is named in his honor for his dedication to public colleges and universities. In , the headquarters for the State Department , built in the s but never officially named, was dedicated as the Harry S Truman Building. Truman , was named for him in February In Athens, Greece, a foot-tall bronze statue of Truman was erected in with donations from Greek-Americans. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Harry Truman disambiguation. Official portrait, c. None — [a] Alben W. Barkley — Bess Wallace. Further information: Truman Committee. See also: Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection. Truman visits his mother in Grandview, Missouri , after being nominated the Democratic candidate for vice president , July Roosevelt —Truman poster from Main article: Presidency of Harry S. Further information: Foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration. Further information: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. See also: Strike wave of Further information: Berlin Blockade. Further information: United States presidential election. Truman, October 13, , St. Paul, Minnesota, Radio Broadcast [] [] [] [] []. Further information: Korean War. I fired him [MacArthur] because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail. Further information: steel strike. Further information: President's Committee on Civil Rights. Truman's Farewell Address. Truman's speech on leaving office, and returning home to Independence, Missouri. January 15, See also: Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Roosevelt and became president upon Roosevelt's death on April 12, As this was prior to the adoption of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment in , a vacancy in the office of vice president was not filled until the next ensuing election and inauguration. There is controversy over whether the period after the S should be included, or omitted, or if both forms are equally valid. Truman's own archived correspondence suggests that he regularly used the period when writing his name. New York Summit Books. County History: County Judges. Retrieved April 20, Truman's Name". Retrieved March 5, Truman Library — Genealogy. Retrieved May 6, Truman State University’s Majors & Programs

This solid, theatrical caliber bio of President Harry S. Truman covers much ground and offers Gary Sinise giving one of his finest performances to date. An Emmy-winning production, this also boasts lavish period detail and a strong supporting cast lead by Diana Scarwid as Bess Truman. It also features one of my all-time favorite character actors, Richard Dysart. He plays Secretary of War Henry Stimson and is quite memorable in an otherwise minor supporting role. All in all I gave this an IMDb '10'. Even with a whitewash of some details, this has to be one of the best presidential bios ever. They obviously put lots of time, money and effort into it. Looking for some great streaming picks? Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist. Visit our What to Watch page. Sign In. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Full Cast and Crew. Release Dates. Official Sites. Company Credits. Technical Specs. Plot Summary. Plot Keywords. Parents Guide. External Sites. User Reviews. User Ratings. External Reviews. Metacritic Reviews. Photo Gallery. Trailers and Videos. The Truman Doctrine became the foundation of American foreign policy , and led, in , to the formation of NATO , a military alliance that still exists. Historians often use Truman's speech to date the start of the Cold War. Truman told Congress that "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. Truman made the plea in the midst of the Greek Civil War — He argued that if Greece and Turkey did not receive the aid, they would inevitably fall to communism with grave consequences throughout the region. Because Turkey and Greece were historic rivals, it was considered necessary to help both equally even though the crisis in Greece was far more intense. Critics of the policy have observed that the governments of Greece and Turkey were themselves far from democratic at this time, and neither were facing Soviet subversion in the spring of Historian Eric Foner writes that the Doctrine "set a precedent for American assistance to anticommunist regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union. For years, the United Kingdom had supported Greece, but was now near bankruptcy and was forced to radically reduce its involvement. In February , Britain formally requested for the United States to take over its role in supporting the royalist Greek government. The effect was to end the Greek revolt, and in , both Greece and Turkey joined NATO, a military alliance, to guarantee their stability. The Truman Doctrine was informally extended to become the basis of American Cold War policy throughout Europe and around the world. It was distinguished from rollback by implicitly tolerating the previous Soviet takeovers in Eastern Europe. As the Turkish government would not submit to the Soviet Union's requests, tensions arose in the region, leading to a show of naval force on the side of the Soviets. Since British assistance to Turkey had ended in , the U. The postwar period from started with a " multi-party period " and the Democratic Party government of Adnan Menderes. This began with a mass killing of largely unarmed EAM supporters known as the Dekemvriana on December 3. In line with the Churchill-Stalin " percentages agreement ", the Greek communists received no help from the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia provided them support and sanctuary against Stalin's wishes. The breakdown of Allied cooperation in Germany provided a backdrop of escalating tensions for the Truman Doctrine. In February , Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, sent his famed " Long Telegram ", which predicted the Soviets would only respond to force and that the best way to handle them would be through a long-term strategy of containment, that is stopping their geographical expansion. After the British warned that they could no longer help Greece, and following Prime Minister Konstantinos Tsaldaris 's visit to Washington in December to ask for American assistance, [12] the U. State Department formulated a plan. Aid would be given to both Greece and Turkey, to help cool the long-standing rivalry between them. American policy makers recognized the instability of the region, fearing that if Greece was lost to communism, Turkey would not last long. Similarly, if Turkey yielded to Soviet demands, the position of Greece would be endangered. Greece and Turkey were strategic allies important for geographical reasons as well, for the fall of Greece would put the Soviets on a particularly dangerous flank for the Turks, and strengthen the Soviet Union's ability to cut off allied supply lines in the event of war. To pass any legislation Truman needed the support of the Republicans , who controlled both houses of Congress. The chief Republican spokesman Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg strongly supported Truman and overcame the doubts of isolationists such as Senator Robert A. Acheson laid out the "domino theory" in the starkest terms, comparing a communist state to a rotten apple that could spread its infection to an entire barrel. Vandenberg was impressed, and advised Truman to appear before Congress and "scare the hell out of the American people. When a draft for Truman's address was circulated to policymakers, Marshall, Kennan, and others criticized it for containing excess "rhetoric. On March 12, , Truman appeared before a joint session of Congress. In his eighteen-minute speech, he stated:. I believe 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. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes. The reaction to Truman's speech was broadly positive, though there were dissenters. Anti-communists in both parties supported both Truman's proposed aid package and the doctrine behind it, and Collier's described it as a "popularity jackpot" for the President. Despite these objections, the fear of the growing communist threat almost guaranteed the bill's passage. In the words of historian James T. Patterson , "The Truman Doctrine was a highly publicized commitment of a sort the administration had not previously undertaken. Its sweeping rhetoric, promising that the United States should aid all 'free people' being subjugated, set the stage for innumerable later ventures that led to globalisation commitments. After graduating from high school in in Independence , Missouri, he went to work as a bank clerk in Kansas City. When the United States entered World War I in , Truman—nearly 33 years old and with two tours in the National Guard —11 behind him— immediately volunteered. He was sent overseas a year later and served in France as the captain of Battery D, a field artillery unit that saw action at Saint Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne. The men under his command came to be devoted to him, admiring him for his bravery and evenhanded leadership. With army friend Edward Jacobson he opened a haberdashery, but the business failed in the severe recession of the early s. With the backing of the Pendergast machine, Truman launched his political career in , running successfully for county judge. He served two four-year terms, during which he acquired a reputation for honesty unusual among Pendergast politicians and for skillful management. Senate , however, Pendergast extended the offer to Truman, who quickly accepted. He won the primary with a 40,vote plurality, assuring his election in solidly Democratic Missouri. John Nance Garner. He was responsible for two major pieces of legislation: the Civil Aeronautics Act of , establishing government regulation of the aviation industry, and the Wheeler-Truman Transportation Act of , providing government oversight of railroad reorganization. Following a tough Democratic primary victory in , he won a second term in the Senate, and it was during this term that he gained national recognition for leading an investigation into fraud and waste in the U. Truman Doctrine - Wikipedia

Less than three months later, on April 12, , the president died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage at age Upon assuming the presidency, Harry Truman, who had met privately with Roosevelt only a few times before his death and had never been informed by the president about the construction of the atomic bomb, faced a series of monumental challenges and decisions. In an effort to end the war in the Pacific and prevent the massive U. In the aftermath of the war, the Truman administration had to contend with deteriorating U. The president adopted a policy of containment toward Soviet expansion and the spread of communism. In , he introduced the Truman Doctrine to provide aid to Greece and Turkey in an effort to protect them from communist aggression. That same year, Truman also instituted the Marshall Plan , which gave billions of dollars in aid to help stimulate economic recovery in European nations. The president defended the plan by stating that communism would thrive in economically depressed regions. In , Truman initiated an airlift of food and other supplies to the Western-held sectors of Berlin, Germany, that were blockaded by the Soviets. He also recognized the new state of Israel. On the home front, Truman was faced with the challenge of transitioning America to a peacetime economy. Amid labor disputes, a shortage of consumer goods and a national railroad strike, he saw his approval ratings plummet. He ran for reelection in and was widely expected to lose to Republican challenger Thomas Dewey. However, Truman conducted a vigorous whistle-stop campaign in which he traveled by train around the country, giving hundreds of speeches. The president and his running mate Alben Barkley , a U. Dixiecrat candidate Strom Thurmond earned 39 electoral votes and 2. Harry Truman was sworn in for his second term in January ; his inauguration was the first to be nationally televised. The president set forth an ambitious social reform agenda, known as the Fair Deal, which included national medical insurance, federal housing programs, a higher minimum wage, assistance for farmers, repeal of the Taft-Hartley labor act, increases in Social Security and civil rights reforms. The president supported the creation in of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO , a military alliance of democratic nations, including the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and eight other countries, and appointed Dwight Eisenhower as its first commander. Also that year, a revolution in China brought the Communists to power, and the Soviets tested their first nuclear weapon. Additionally, during his second term Truman had to contend with unproven accusations made by U. State Department, among other organizations, had been infiltrated by communist spies. Although he was eligible to run for another presidential term, Truman announced in March that he would not do so. There, the former president penned his memoirs, met with visitors, continued his habit of brisk daily walks and raised funds for the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, which opened in Independence in After hospitalization for lung congestion, heart irregularity, kidney blockages and digestive system failure, Truman died at age 88 on December 26, , in Kansas City, Missouri. He was buried in the courtyard of the Truman Library. His wife, who died at age 97 in , was buried beside him. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Ulysses Grant commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War and served as the 18th U. During the Civil Truman, the 33rd president of the United States. An intensely private woman, Bess reluctantly agreed to attend political events with her husband throughout his career. When Harry S. Truman enlisted in the army in World War I, he was struck by the number of men deemed unfit for service due to poor health. Ever since August 6, , when the first atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima, the human race has lived in fear of nuclear annihilation. In the annals of history, few events have had more import than this first atomic bombing, and no historical figure has been associated with Educated at West Point, George S. Patton began his military career leading cavalry troops against Mexican forces and became the first officer assigned to the new U. Truman Doctrine , pronouncement by U. Harry S. Truman declaring immediate economic and military aid to the governments of Greece , threatened by communist insurrection , and Turkey , under pressure from Soviet expansion in the Mediterranean area. As the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to reach a balance of power during the Cold War that followed World War II , Great Britain announced that it could no longer afford to aid those Mediterranean countries, which the West feared were in danger of falling under Soviet influence. Truman outlined what became known as the Truman Doctrine in a speech to a joint session of Congress on March 12, , in which he emphasized the broader consequences of a failure to protect democracy in Greece and Turkey by saying:. The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members. We shall not realize our objectives, however, unless we are willing to help free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to impose upon them totalitarian regimes. This is no more than a frank recognition that totalitarian regimes imposed on free peoples, by direct or indirect aggression, undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States. Print Cite. Facebook Twitter. Give Feedback External Websites. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article requires login.

Presidency of Harry S. Truman - Wikipedia

Harry S. Truman , born May 8, , Lamar , Missouri , U. Truman was the eldest of three children of John A. Truman; his father was a mule trader and farmer. After graduating from high school in in Independence , Missouri, he went to work as a bank clerk in Kansas City. When the United States entered World War I in , Truman—nearly 33 years old and with two tours in the National Guard —11 behind him—immediately volunteered. He was sent overseas a year later and served in France as the captain of Battery D, a field artillery unit that saw action at Saint Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne. The men under his command came to be devoted to him, admiring him for his bravery and evenhanded leadership. With army friend Edward Jacobson he opened a haberdashery, but the business failed in the severe recession of the early s. With the backing of the Pendergast machine, Truman launched his political career in , running successfully for county judge. He served two four- year terms, during which he acquired a reputation for honesty unusual among Pendergast politicians and for skillful management. Senate , however, Pendergast extended the offer to Truman, who quickly accepted. During congressional hearings, public opinion shifted strongly against the navy, which ultimately kept control of marine aviation but lost control over strategic bombing. Military budgets following the hearings prioritized the development of air force heavy bomber designs, and the United States accumulated a combat ready force of over 1, long-range strategic bombers capable of supporting nuclear mission scenarios. Following the end of World War II, Truman gave a low priority to defense budgets—he was interested in curtailing military expenditures and had priorities he wanted to address with domestic spending. Despite increasing Cold War tensions, Truman dismissed the document, as he was unwilling to commit to higher defense spending. The United States had terminated the war-time Lend-Lease program in August , dashing the hopes of those who hoped it would continue as a post-war aid program, but the U. Congress, under the control of conservative Republicans, agreed to fund the program for multiple reasons. Wherry , argued that the Marshall Plan would be "a wasteful 'operation rat-hole'". Wherry held that it made no sense to oppose communism by supporting the socialist governments in Western Europe and that American goods would reach Russia and increase its war potential. Wherry was outmaneuvered by the emerging internationalist wing in the Republican Party, led by Senator Arthur H. In addition to aid, the Marshall Plan also focused on efficiency along the lines of American industry and removing tariffs and trade barriers. Though the United States allowed each recipient to develop its own plan for the aid, it set several rules and guidelines on the use of the funding. Governments were required to exclude Communists, socialist policies were discouraged, and balanced budgets were favored. Additionally, the United States conditioned aid to the French and British on their acceptance of the reindustrialization of Germany and support for European integration. To avoid exacerbating tensions, the U. The Soviets set up their own program for aid, the Molotov Plan , and the competing plans resulted in reduced trade between the Eastern bloc and the Western bloc. The Marshall Plan helped European economies recover in the late s and early s. By , industrial productivity had increased by 35 percent compared to levels. The Marshall Plan also provided critical psychological reassurance to many Europeans, restoring optimism to a war-torn continent. Though European countries did not adopt American economic structures and ideas to the degree hoped for by some Americans, they remained firmly rooted in mixed economic systems. The European integration process led to the creation of the European Economic Community , which eventually formed the basis of the European Union. In reaction to Western moves aimed at reindustrializing their German occupation zones, Stalin ordered a blockade of the Western-held sectors of Berlin , which was deep in the Soviet occupation zone. Stalin hoped to prevent the creation of a western German state aligned with the U. Clay , proposed sending a large armored column across the Soviet zone to West Berlin with instructions to defend itself if it were stopped or attacked. Truman believed this would entail an unacceptable risk of war, and instead approved Ernest Bevin 's plan to supply the blockaded city by air. On June 25, the Allies initiated the Berlin Airlift , a campaign that delivered food and other supplies, such as coal, using military aircraft on a massive scale. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before, and no single nation had the capability, either logistically or materially, to accomplish it. The airlift worked, and ground access was again granted on May 11, The Berlin Airlift was one of Truman's great foreign policy successes, and it significantly aided his election campaign in Rising tensions with the Soviets, along with the Soviet veto of numerous United Nations Resolutions, convinced Truman, Senator Vandenberg, and other American leaders of the necessity of creating a defensive alliance devoted to collective security. NATO's goals were to contain Soviet expansion in Europe and to send a clear message to communist leaders that the world's democracies were willing and able to build new security structures in support of democratic ideals. The treaty also re-assured France that the United States would come to its defense, paving the way for continuing French cooperation in the re-establishment of an independent German state. Cold War tensions heightened following Soviet acquisition of nuclear weapons and the beginning of the Korean War. Truman permanently stationed , in Europe, and European defense spending grew from 5 percent to 12 percent of gross national product. The United States had historically focused its foreign policy on upholding the Monroe Doctrine in the Western Hemisphere, but new commitments in Europe and Asia diminished U. Partially in reaction to fears of expanding Soviet influence, the U. The following year, the independent states of the Americas formed the Organization of American States OAS , an intergovernmental organization designed to foster regional unity. Truman had long taken an interest in the history of the Middle East, and was sympathetic to Jews who sought a homeland in British-controlled Mandatory Palestine. In , he had called for a homeland for those Jews who survived the Nazi regime. However, State Department officials were reluctant to offend the Arabs, who were opposed to the establishment of a Jewish state in the region. In the months leading up to the British withdrawal from the region, the Truman administration debated whether or not to recognize the fledgling state of Israel]. Following the defeat of the Japanese Empire, China descended into a civil war. Corruption, poor economic conditions, and poor military leadership eroded popular support for the Nationalist government, and the Communists won many peasants to their side. As the Nationalists collapsed in , the Truman administration faced the question of whether to intervene on the side of the Nationalists or seek good relations with Mao. Chiang's strong support among sections of the American public, along with desire to assure other allies that the U. However, Truman held out little hope for a Nationalist victory, and he refused to send U. Mao Zedong and his Communists took control of the mainland of China in , driving the Nationalists to Taiwan. The United States had a new enemy in Asia, and Truman came under fire from conservatives for " losing " China. MacArthur presided over extensive reforms of the Japanese government and society, implementing a new constitution that established a parliamentary democracy and granted women the right to vote. He also reformed the Japanese educational system and oversaw major economic changes, although Japanese business leaders were able to resist the reforms to some degree. As the Cold War intensified in , the Truman administration took greater control over the occupation, ending Japanese reparations to the Allied Powers and prioritizing economic growth over long-term reform. The Japanese suffered from poor economic conditions until the beginning of the Korean War, when U. The 38th parallel was chosen as a line of partition between the occupying powers since it was approximately halfway between Korea's northernmost and southernmost regions, and was always intended to mark a temporary separation before the eventual reunification of Korea. The Soviet Union also withdrew their soldiers from Korea in , but continued to supply North Korea with military aid. In the early weeks of the war, the North Koreans easily pushed back their southern counterparts. The resolution denounced North Korea's actions and empowered other nations to defend South Korea. North Korean forces experienced early successes, capturing the city of Seoul on June Rather than asking Congress for a declaration of war , Truman argued that the UN Resolution provided the presidency the constitutional power to deploy soldiers as a " police action " under the aegis of the UN. Defying those predictions, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu River in November and forced the overstretched UN soldiers to retreat. MacArthur made several public demands for an escalation of the war, leading to a break with Truman in late and early Fierce criticism from virtually all quarters accused Truman of refusing to shoulder the blame for a war gone sour and blaming his generals instead. Others, including Eleanor Roosevelt, supported and applauded Truman's decision. MacArthur meanwhile returned to the U. Bush in , the all-time lowest approval mark for an active American president. The war remained a frustrating stalemate for two years. Truman made five international trips during his presidency. Although foreign affairs dominated much of Truman's time in office, reconversion to a peacetime economy became his administration's central focus in late Truman faced several major challenges in presiding over the transition to a post-war economy, including a large national debt and persistent inflation. The United States had emerged from the Great Depression in part due to the war production that accompanied World War II, and many Americans feared that the nation would sink into another depression with the end of the war. While the country had been unified in winning the war, there was no consensus on the best methods of post-war economic reconversion after the war, or the level of involvement that the federal government should have in economic affairs. This group, which had generally dominated Congress since Roosevelt's second term, opposed many of Truman's policies and did not welcome strong presidential leadership. Truman was particularly concerned about keeping unemployment levels low; nearly 2 million people lost jobs within days of the Japanese surrender, and he feared that even more would lose their jobs in the following months. The act created the Council of Economic Advisers and mandated the federal government "to foster and promote free competitive enterprise and the general welfare The United States had instituted price controls and wage controls during the war in order to avoid large-scale inflation or deflation. Within the Truman administration, some advocated lifting these controls immediately in order to allow private industries to hire new workers, while others feared that immediately lifting the controls would lead to runaway inflation. Truman sought to find a middle course between the two camps; price controls on many nonessential items were lifted by the end of September , but others remained in place by the end of Conflict between management and labor presented one of the biggest challenges to the conversion of the economy to peacetime production. Organized labor had adhered to its pledge to refrain from striking during the war, but labor leaders were eager to share in the gains from a postwar economic resurgence. After several labor disputes broke out in September and October , Truman convened a national conference between leaders of business and organized labor in November, at which he advocated collective bargaining in order to avoid labor-related economic disruptions. The conference failed to have a major impact; an unprecedented wave of major strikes affected the United States, and by February nearly 2 million workers were engaged in strikes or other labor disputes. When a national rail strike threatened in May , Truman seized the railroads to continue operations, but two key railway unions struck anyway. The entire national railroad system was shut down—24, freight trains and , passenger trains a day stopped moving. As he was concluding his speech he read a message just handed to him that the strike was settled on presidential terms; Truman nevertheless finished the speech, making clear his displeasure with the strike. The strikes damaged the political standing of unions, and the real wages of blue collar workers fell by over twelve percent in the year after the surrender of Japan. The G. Bill had been passed in by a conservative coalition that wanted to restrict benefits to "deserving" wartime veterans, as opposed to the larger welfare program favored by the Roosevelt administration that would reach both veterans and non-veterans. Bill provided free collegiate, vocational, and high school education for veterans — not only free tuition, but also full housing and subsistence allowances for the veterans and their families. There was a remarkable transformation of higher education, as 2. Bill, the number of college degrees awarded rose from just over , in to nearly , in In addition to education and housing benefits, the bill included aid to veterans who wanted to start a small business or farm, as well one year of unemployment compensation. Bill also guaranteed low cost loans for veterans, with very low down payments and low interest rates. Developers purchased empty land just outside the city, installed tract houses based on a handful of designs, and provided streets and utilities. Together with the growth of the automobile industry, the G. Bill's housing benefits helped provide for a major expansion of suburbs in the United States. The mid- term election left Republicans in control of Congress for the first time since the early s. Truman initially hoped to work Republican leaders in Congress, focusing on the passage of housing programs and other potential areas of common ground. Congress also assented to the creation of the Hoover Commission , which proposed a series of reorganizations to the executive branch. One of its first major acts was to approve what would become the Twenty-second Amendment , which established presidential term limits in an implicit rebuke to Franklin Roosevelt, the only president who had ever served more than two terms. Truman vetoed the bill, denouncing it as "slave-labor bill," but Congress overrode the veto. Taft-Hartley prohibited jurisdictional strikes , in which a union strikes in order to pressure an employer to assign particular work to the employees that union represents, and secondary boycotts and "common situs" picketing, in which unions picket, strike, or refuse to handle the goods of a business with which they have no primary dispute but which is associated with a targeted business. Despite his vocal opposition to the Taft—Hartley Act, Truman used its emergency provisions a number of times to halt strikes and lockouts. Repeated union efforts to repeal or modify it always failed, and it remains in effect today. Patterson concludes that:. In his first major address to Congress after taking office, Truman articulated a liberal domestic program, but his early domestic policy was dominated by post-war reconversion. Truman's proposals were not well received by Congress, even with renewed Democratic majorities in Congress after Only one of the major Fair Deal bills, the Housing Act of , was ever enacted. Historians Donald R. McCoy and Richard T. Ruetten write that Truman "was the first president to have a civil rights program, the first to try to come to grips with the basic problems of minorities, and the first to condemn, vigorously and consistently, the presence of discrimination and inequality in America. In February , the president submitted a civil rights agenda to Congress that proposed creating several federal offices devoted to issues such as voting rights and fair employment practices. Southern senators blocked this reform, thereby ensuring that civil rights would not emerge as an important legislative issue until the late s. With his civil rights agenda blocked by Congress, Truman turned to executive actions. Another executive order, also in , made it illegal to discriminate against persons applying for civil service positions based on race. Truman also appointed non-whites to unprecedented positions of power in the executive and judicial branches. Painter , the Justice Department issued amicus curiae briefs that supported ending segregation. Board of Education ; two years later, the Supreme Court's holding in that case would effectively overturn the " separate but equal " doctrine that allowed for racial segregation in public education. By the time Truman took office, National health insurance had been on the table for decades, but it had never gained much traction. Starting in the late s hospitals promoted private insurance plans such as Blue Cross , [] and between and , the percentage of Americans with health insurance rose from 9 percent to above 50 percent. With more young men back on the streets and more money in circulation, petty crime rates went up after Far more serious was organized crime run by professional criminal gangs, which became a favorite attack theme of Republican politicians and the media. The Justice Department in organized a 'racket squad' to build evidence for grand jury investigations in several major cities, and the income tax returns of many gambling entrepreneurs and racketeers were audited. However, federal officials were reluctant to share their new information with local law enforcement; Truman and his Attorney General J. Howard McGrath told local officials that they had to bear the chief burden in defeating organized crime. Kefauver, although only a freshman in the Senate, received large-scale national coverage and became a presidential contender. The Kefauver committee exposed numerous charges of corruption among senior administration officials, some of whom received expensive fur coats and deep freezers in exchange for favors. Kefauver also found that over Internal Revenue Service IRS officials took bribes, used their offices to run private businesses, embezzled federal funds, or tolerated corrupt behavior by their subordinates. The various scandals of organized crime did not directly touch Truman, but they highlighted and exacerbated his problems with scandals inside his administration, such as influence peddling. The onset of the Cold War produced turmoil in the left wing of the Democratic Party in turmoil over foreign policy issues, especially regarding the role of the Soviet Union and the response to domestic communism. After the elections the Congress of Industrial Organizations CIO systematically purged communists and far-left sympathizers from leadership roles in its unions. Truman established the Temporary Commission on Employee Loyalty in November to create employee loyalty standards designed to weed out communist sympathizers from the federal workforce. It removed about federal employees who currently were members of or associated with any organization identified by the Attorney General as communist, fascist, or totalitarian. Anti-communist liberals by —48 thus played a central role in the Democratic Party, and enthusiastically supported Truman's anti-communist foreign policy. He accused a former State Department official, Alger Hiss , of being a member of that network; Hiss denied the allegations but was convicted in January for perjury. The Soviet Union's success in exploding an atomic weapon in and the fall of the nationalist Chinese the same year led many Americans to conclude that subversion by Soviet spies had been responsible for American setbacks and Soviet successes, and many Americans demand that communists be rooted out from the government and other places of influence. However, Truman did not fully share such opinions, and throughout his tenure he would balance a desire to maintain internal security against the fear that a red scare could hurt innocents and impede government operations. Secretary of State Acheson's public support for Hiss, the revelation that British atomic bomb scientist Klaus Fuchs was a spy, and various other events led current and former members of HUAC to decry the Truman administration, especially the State Department, as soft on communism. Republican Congressmen Karl E. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy used a speech in West Virginia to accuse the State Department of harboring communists, and rode the controversy to political fame. It also affected members of Congress and other political leaders, who now worried that the embrace of left-wing policies would leave themselves vulnerable to accusations of being "soft" on Communism. The outbreak of the Korean War led to renewed interest in such an internal security bill, which had previously been debated during the 80th Congress. Senator Pat McCarran of Nevada put forward a bill that would require Communist organizations to register with the government, and allowed the president to indefinitely detain those who were suspected of having engaged in espionage. The bill received little opposition from members of Congress, who feared being labeled as pro-Communist, and it passed both the House and the Senate as the McCarran Internal Security Act. Truman vetoed the bill in September , arguing that it infringed on personal liberties and would be ineffective at protecting against subversion, but Congress overrode the veto. Immigration had been at a low level in the Great Depression and war years. It surged as the war ended, with the arrival of refugees and family members of citizens. The issue was not a high priority for the Truman administration, but there was great interest in Congress and among various ethnic groups. In , the Luce—Celler Act extended the right to become naturalized citizens to Filipinos Asian Indians, setting the immigration quota at people per year. It kept the quota system of the Immigration Act of but added many new opportunities for immigration from Europe and elsewhere. In practice two-thirds of the new arrivals entered outside the old quota system. Immigration law was effectively controlled by Congressman Francis E. Walter of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who wanted to minimize immigration. Though they never reached the severity of the strike wave of —, labor disruptions continued to affect the country after Sawyer to seize and continue operations of the nation's steel mills. Truman cited his authority as Commander in Chief and the need to maintain an uninterrupted supply of steel for munitions to be used in the war in Korea. Sawyer The 6—3 decision, which held that Truman's assertion of authority was too vague and was not rooted in any legislative action by Congress, was delivered by a Court composed entirely of Justices appointed by either Truman or Roosevelt. The high court's reversal of Truman's order was his most notable legal defeat. Truman sought to grant greater rights to the territories and dependencies of the United States. He unsuccessfully pushed for the admission of Hawaii and Alaska as states in order to solidify their status as integral parts of the United States, but Congress did not act on this proposal. This legislation, passed in and , transferred the territories from military to civilian administration, though the Navy continued to exercise considerable influence. In the mid-term elections, Truman's Democrats suffered losses in both houses of Congress. Republicans, who had not controlled a chamber of Congress since the elections, took control of both the House and the Senate. Truman's party was hurt by a disappointing postwar economy, [] and the election was a major blow to Truman's hopes of passing his domestic policies. Eisenhower , a highly popular figure whose political views and party affiliation were totally unknown. Douglas , but both Eisenhower and Douglas refused to enter the race, and the "Stop Truman" movement failed to unite around any other candidate. At the Democratic National Convention , Truman attempted to unify the Northern delegations with a vague civil rights plank in the party platform. He was upstaged by liberals like Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey , who convinced Truman and the convention to adopt a stronger civil rights plank. Unfazed, Truman delivered an aggressive acceptance speech attacking the 80th Congress, labeling it the "Do Nothing Congress. Barkley after his preferred candidate, Justice William O. Douglas, turned down the nomination. South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond , a segregationist, declared his candidacy for the presidency on a Dixiecrat ticket and led a full-scale revolt of Southern " states' rights " proponents. This rebellion on the right was matched by one on the left, led by Wallace on the Progressive Party ticket. Dewey , who had been the party's presidential nominee. Dewey waged a low-risk campaign and issued vague generalities on his plans once in office, while Thurmond found less support in the South than many had expected, as most white Southerners believed him to be too extreme. Wallace was unable to galvanize support behind his domestic policies, and his conciliatory attitude towards the Soviet Union alienated many potential supporters. His combative appearances, such as those at the town square of Harrisburg , Illinois, captured the popular imagination and drew huge crowds. The three major polling organizations stopped polling well before the November 2 election date— Roper in September, and Crossley and Gallup in October—thus failing to measure the period when Truman may have surged past Dewey in public support. In the end, Truman held his progressive Midwestern base, won most of the Southern states despite the civil rights plank, and squeaked through with narrow victories in a few critical states, notably Ohio, California, and Illinois. He won over 50 percent of the popular vote and secured electoral votes. Dewey received only electoral votes; Thurmond garnered 39, and Henry Wallace none. The defining image of the campaign was a photograph snapped in the early morning hours of the day after the election, when an ecstatic Truman held aloft the erroneous front page of the Chicago Tribune with a huge headline proclaiming " Dewey Defeats Truman. In Truman's second mid-term election, Republicans ran against Truman's proposed domestic policies and his handling of the Korean War. They picked up seats in both the House and the senate, but failed to gain control of either house of Congress. By the time of the New Hampshire primary, one of the first major contests held in the Democratic Party presidential primaries , Truman had not stated whether he would seek re-election, and no other candidate had won Truman's backing. Although the Twenty-second Amendment had been ratified, Truman could run for another term due to a grandfather clause in the amendment. Accordingly, Truman let his name be entered in the New Hampshire primary by supporters. The highly unpopular Truman was handily defeated by Kefauver; 18 days later the president announced he would not seek a second full term. Truman was eventually able to persuade Stevenson to run, and the governor ultimately gained the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's public stature, along with his unknown views on domestic issues, had made him appealing as a potential candidate for both parties in the election. Though he had generally supported Truman's foreign policy, Eisenhower privately held conservative views on most domestic issues and never seriously considered running for office as a Democrat. Eisenhower initially resisted these efforts, but in March he agreed to allow his name to be entered into the New Hampshire primary. He was motivated in part by his desire to defeat Robert A. Taft , the other major contender for the Republican nomination. The Republican primaries became a battle between Dewey's internationalist wing of the party and Taft's conservative, isolationist wing. Eisenhower narrowly prevailed over Taft at the Republican National Convention ; with the approval of Eisenhower, the convention nominated Richard Nixon for vice president. The once good Truman-Eisenhower relationship soured during the campaign. Truman was appalled when Eisenhower appeared on the same platform with Joseph McCarthy in Wisconsin, and failed to defend General George Marshall, who McCarthy had recently denounced as part of a Communist conspiracy. Anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-foreignism" within the Republican Party. Though Stevenson's public service and issue-oriented campaign appealed to many liberals, he was unable to rally support among blacks, ethnic whites, and the working class. In part due to the Checkers speech, television emerged as an important medium in the race; the number of households with televisions had grown from under , in to over 15 million in Eisenhower took Though Eisenhower ran ahead of most congressional Republicans, his party nonetheless took control of both the House and Senate, giving the Republican Party unified control of Congress and the presidency for the first time since the elections. Truman's ranking in polls of historians and political scientists have never fallen lower than ninth, and he has ranked as high as fifth in a C-SPAN poll in When he left office in , the American public saw Truman as one of the most unpopular chief executives in history. Nowhere in the whole Truman record can one point to a single, decisive break-through All his skills and energies—and he was among our hardest-working Presidents—were directed to standing still". American public feeling towards Truman grew steadily warmer with the passing years. Truman died in , when the nation was consumed with crises in Vietnam and Watergate, and his death brought a new wave of attention to his political career. This public reassessment of Truman was aided by the popularity of a book of reminiscences which Truman had told to journalist Merle Miller beginning in , with the agreement that they would not be published until after Truman's death. Scholars who have compared the audio tapes with the published transcripts have concluded the Miller often distorted what Truman said or fabricated statements Truman never said. The fall of the Soviet Union in caused Truman advocates to claim vindication for Truman's decisions in the postwar period. According to Truman biographer Robert Dallek, "His contribution to victory in the cold war without a devastating nuclear conflict elevated him to the stature of a great or near-great president. After a review of information available to Truman about the presence of espionage activities in the U. Harry Truman himself gave a strong and far-from-incorrect impression of being a tough, concerned and direct leader. He was occasionally vulgar, often partisan, and usually nationalistic Facebook Twitter. Give Feedback External Websites. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article requires login. External Websites. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Alternative Title: Truman Streckfus Persons. Get exclusive access to content from our First Edition with your subscription. Subscribe today. Learn More in these related Britannica articles:. Norman Mailer, in The Armies of the Night ….

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