Harry Truman was the 33rd US President. He served from April 12, 1945, after the death of Franklin Roosevelt, until January 20, 1953. Hailing from Missouri, Truman was a senator for 10 years before being named Vice President in FDR’s 4th term. He would go on to be VP for just a few months.
Truman served during World War I as a captain of a field artillery unit. After he returned home he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City and was eventually elected as judge of Jackson County in 1922.
Truman had an interesting presidency as he ushered in the use of the atomic bomb in 1945 and presided over the start of the Cold War. One of his longstanding declarations was the Truman Doctrine, which essentially became the basis of the United States policy towards communism during the Cold War.
He implemented the Marshall Plan at the end of World War II to help rebuild western Europe, helped establish NATO as a protection against Soviet and communist aggression, and won a surprising election over Thomas Dewey despite a split Democratic Party in 1948. Truman also saw the beginning of the Korean War, oversaw the Berlin Airlift in 1948-49, and fought for control with Douglas McArthur prior to firing the general.
After poor poling leading up to the 1952 election, Truman decided to enter retirement and not run for reelection.
Immediately after his retirement, his presidency was not seen as a great one. However, as time has passed, he has received more credit and a higher standing among his fellow presidents. Truman was married for 53 years until his death in 1972. He and Bess had one daughter, Margaret.
David McCullough wrote the preeminent biography on Truman simply named Truman which was released in 1993.
You can visit his presidential library and museum in Independence, Missouri. It is 1 of 13 presidential libraries administered by the National Archives.
Harry S. Truman Fun Fact:
The S. in his name actually doesn’t stand for anything. It was s compromise between his 2 grandfathers whose names started with S.
Stay tuned for more posts concerning the history within the song We Didn’t Start the Fire.