257-572: Harry S. Truman 's tenure as the 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt , and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been vice president for only 82 days when he succeeded to the presidency. Truman, a Democrat from Missouri , ran for and won a full four-year term in the 1948 presidential election , in which he narrowly defeated Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey and Dixiecrat nominee Strom Thurmond . Although exempted from
514-418: A Defensive Sector Clasp. He was also the recipient of two Armed Forces Reserve Medals . After his wartime service, Truman returned to Independence, where he married Bess Wallace on June 28, 1919. The couple had one child, Mary Margaret Truman . Shortly before the wedding, Truman and Jacobson opened a haberdashery together at 104 West 12th Street in downtown Kansas City . After brief initial success,
771-824: A " most favoured nation ," meaning that no non-signatory country could benefit from more advantageous tariff rates. Due to a combination of the Reciprocal Tariff Act, the GATT, and inflation, U.S. tariff rates fell dramatically between the passage of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act in 1930 and the end of the Truman administration in 1953. World War II left millions of refugees displaced in Europe, especially former prisoners and forced laborers in Germany. Truman took
1028-844: A "desperate rearguard action". In July, Truman sent the Chief of Staff of the Army , General J. Lawton Collins , and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force , General Hoyt S. Vandenberg , to report on the situation. They met with MacArthur and his chief of staff, Major General Edward Almond , in Tokyo on 13 July. MacArthur impressed on them the danger of underestimating the North Koreans, whom he characterized as "well-equipped, well-led, and battle-trained, and which have at times out-numbered our troops by as much as twenty to one". He proposed to first halt
1285-671: A Communist defeat in the election. The initiatives of the Truman Doctrine solidified the post-war division between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union responded by tightening its control over Eastern Europe. Countries aligned with the Soviet Union became known as the Eastern Bloc , while the U.S. and its allies became known as the Western Bloc . Learning from wartime organizational problems,
1542-529: A March 1947 speech before a joint session of Congress, Truman articulated the Truman Doctrine , which called for the United States to support "free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." Overcoming those who opposed U.S. involvement in Greek affairs, as well those who feared that the aid would weaken post-war cooperation, Truman won bipartisan approval of
1799-548: A Republican wave led by President Calvin Coolidge 's landslide election to a full term. Two years selling automobile club memberships convinced him that a public service career was safer for a family man approaching middle age, and he planned a run for presiding judge in 1926. Truman won the job in 1926 with the support of the Pendergast machine, and he was re-elected in 1930. As presiding judge, Truman helped coordinate
2056-405: A better income than that earned by a farmer. In fact, Wallace later told Truman she did not intend to marry, but if she did, it would be to him. Still determined to improve his finances, during his years on the farm and immediately after World War I, Truman became active in several business ventures. These included a lead and zinc mine near Commerce, Oklahoma , a company that bought land and leased
2313-590: 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.S., or, failing that, to consolidate control over eastern Germany. After the blockade began on June 24, 1948, the commander of the American occupation zone in Germany, General Lucius D. Clay , proposed sending a large armored column across
2570-430: A cable to Collins in Tokyo suggesting that he seek out MacArthur's opinion. In a teleconference on 13 July, Major General Charles L. Bolte proposed sending nuclear weapons. MacArthur had already turned down Air Force proposals to fire bomb North Korean cities, and suggested that atomic bombs could be used to isolate North Korea by taking out bridges and tunnels. The Army staff considered this impractical. On 28 July,
2827-666: A captain in the Field Artillery. Returning home, he opened a haberdashery in Kansas City, Missouri , and was elected as a judge of Jackson County in 1922. Truman was elected to the United States Senate from Missouri in 1934. Between 1940 and 1944, he gained national prominence as chairman of the Truman Committee , which was aimed at reducing waste and inefficiency in wartime contracts. Truman
SECTION 10
#17327659898053084-525: A ceasefire to the Chinese: Of even greater significance than our tactical successes has been the clear revelation that this new enemy, Red China, of such exaggerated and vaunted military power, lacks the industrial capability to provide adequately many critical items necessary to the conduct of modern war. He lacks the manufacturing base and those raw materials needed to produce, maintain and operate even moderate air and naval power, and he cannot provide
3341-661: A compromise featuring a coalition government, but Marshall failed. He returned to Washington in December 1946, blaming extremist elements on both sides. Though the Nationalists held a numerical advantage in the aftermath of the war, the Communists gained the upper hand in the civil war after 1947. Corruption, poor economic conditions, and poor military leadership eroded popular support for the Nationalist government, and
3598-662: A connection that had a profound influence on Truman's later life. In mid-1918, about one million soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) were in France. Truman was promoted to captain effective April 23, and in July became commander of the newly arrived Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 35th Division . Battery D was known for its discipline problems, and Truman was initially unpopular because of his efforts to restore order. Despite attempts by
3855-644: A crucial position on the continent, and feared that the withdrawal of the French would allow the Communist faction of Ho Chi Minh to assume power. Despite initial reluctance to become involved in Indochina, by 1952, the United States was heavily subsidizing the French suppression of Ho's Việt Minh in the First Indochina War . The U.S. also established alliances in the region through the creation of
4112-464: A daily basis, as well as his own liaison with Congress—a body he already knew very well. He was not well prepared to deal with the press, and never achieved the jovial familiarity of FDR. Filled with latent anger about all the setbacks in his career, he bitterly mistrusted journalists. He saw them as enemies lying in wait for his next careless miscue. Truman was a very hard worker, often to the point of exhaustion, which left him testy, easily annoyed, and on
4369-672: A fleet to the Eastern Mediterranean to show his administration's commitment to the region. Moscow and Washington also argued over Germany, which had been divided into four occupation zones . In the September 1946 Stuttgart speech , Secretary of State Byrnes announced that the United States would no longer seek reparations from Germany and would support the establishment of a democratic state. The United States, France, and Britain agreed to combine their occupation zones, eventually forming West Germany . In East Asia, Truman denied
4626-537: A formidable adversary in the Pacific War . As vice president, Truman had been uninformed about major initiatives relating to the war, including the top-secret Manhattan Project , which was about to test the world's first atomic bomb. Although Truman was told briefly on the afternoon of April 12 that the Allies had a new, highly destructive weapon, it was not until April 25 that Secretary of War Henry Stimson told him
4883-496: A full-scale invasion of North Korea on Truman's orders, China inflicted a series of defeats, compelling him to withdraw from North Korea. By April 1951, the military situation had stabilized, but MacArthur continued to publicly criticize his superiors and attempted to escalate the conflict, leading Truman to relieve MacArthur of his command. The Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee of
5140-524: A hot fighting war with Moscow was avoided. Truman broke with Roosevelt's prior vice president Henry A. Wallace , who called for friendship with Moscow and ran as the presidential candidate of Progressive Party in 1948. In 1947, Truman promulgated the Truman Doctrine , which called for the United States to prevent the spread of Communism through foreign aid to Greece and Turkey. In 1948 the Republican-controlled Congress approved
5397-541: A large loving cup upon their return to the United States after the war. The war was a transformative experience in which Truman manifested his leadership qualities. He had entered the service in 1917 as a family farmer who had worked in clerical jobs that did not require the ability to motivate and direct others, but during the war, he gained leadership experience and a record of success that greatly enhanced and supported his post-war political career in Missouri. Truman
SECTION 20
#17327659898055654-507: A law license. A friend who was an attorney began working out the arrangements, and informed Truman that his application had to be notarized. By the time Truman received this information he had changed his mind, so he never followed up. After the discovery of Truman's application in 1996 the Missouri Supreme Court issued him a posthumous honorary law license. Due to the lack of funds for college, Truman considered attending
5911-521: A leadership role in meeting the challenge. He backed the new International Refugee Organization (IRO), a temporary international organization that helped resettle refugees. The United States also funded temporary camps and admitted large numbers of refugees as permanent residents. Truman obtained ample funding from Congress for the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which allowed many of the displaced people of World War II to immigrate into
6168-490: A legal opinion that this applied "solely to formal public statements and not to communiqués, correspondence or personal conversations". MacArthur made similar remarks in press statements on 13 February and 7 March 1951. In February and March 1951, the tide of war began to turn again, and MacArthur's forces drove north. Seoul, which had fallen on 4 January, was recaptured on 17 March. This raised hopes in Washington that
6425-408: 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." Truman asked all the members of Roosevelt's cabinet to remain in place, but he soon replaced almost all of them, especially with friends from his Senate days. Truman benefited from a honeymoon period from the success in defeating Nazi Germany in Europe and
6682-524: A massive prearranged assault barrage on September 26, 1918, at the opening of the Meuse–Argonne offensive . They advanced with difficulty over pitted terrain to follow the infantry, and set up an observation post west of Cheppy . On September 27, Truman saw through his binoculars an enemy artillery battery deploying across a river in a position which would allow them to fire upon the neighboring 28th Division . Truman's orders limited him to targets facing
6939-503: A middle-ground position between friendly detente (as represented by Wallace), and aggressive rollback to regain territory already lost to Communism, as would be adopted in 1981 by Ronald Reagan . Kennan's doctrine was based on the notion that the Soviet Union was led by an uncompromising totalitarian regime, and that the Soviets were primarily responsible for escalating tensions. Wallace, who had been appointed Secretary of Commerce after
7196-566: 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
7453-453: A nation . Israel would secure its independence with a victory in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , but the Arab–Israeli conflict remains unresolved. In 1945, China descended into a civil war . The civil war baffled Washington, as both the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists under Mao Zedong had American advocates. Truman sent George Marshall to China in early 1946 to broker
7710-466: A national reputation. Activities of the Truman Committee ranged from criticizing the " dollar-a-year men " hired by the government, many of whom proved ineffective, to investigating a shoddily built New Jersey housing project for war workers. In March 1944, Truman attempted to probe the expensive Manhattan Project but was persuaded by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson to discontinue with
7967-541: A policy of full civilian control. The U.S. had only 9 atomic bombs in 1946, but the stockpile grew to 650 by 1951. Lilienthal wanted to give high priority to peaceful uses for nuclear technology , especially nuclear power plants , but coal was cheap and the power industry was largely uninterested in building nuclear power plants during the Truman administration. Construction of the first nuclear plant would not begin until 1954. The Soviet Union's successful test of an atomic bomb in 1949 triggered an intense debate over whether
Presidency of Harry S. Truman - Misplaced Pages Continue
8224-464: A relationship between Truman and Roosevelt's aide Harry Hopkins and assured Truman's avid support for the New Deal. After serving as a county judge, Truman wanted to run for governor of Missouri or Congress , but Pendergast rejected these ideas. Truman then thought he might serve out his career in some well-paying county sinecure; circumstances changed when Pendergast reluctantly backed him as
8481-486: A review of U.S. military policies as they related to foreign policy planning. The National Security Council drafted NSC 68 , which called for a major expansion of the U.S. defense budget, increased aid to U.S. allies, and a more aggressive posture in the Cold War. Despite increasing Cold War tensions, Truman dismissed the document, as he was unwilling to commit to higher defense spending. The Korean War convinced Truman of
8738-808: A special investigating committee than did Missouri's Harry S. Truman." 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 on the left, 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. Outgoing Democratic National Committee chairman Frank C. Walker , incoming chairman Hannegan, party treasurer Edwin W. Pauley , Bronx party boss Ed Flynn , Chicago Mayor Edward Joseph Kelly , and lobbyist George E. Allen all wanted to keep Wallace off
8995-544: A stalemate that lasted throughout the final years of Truman's presidency. Truman left office as one of the most unpopular presidents of the twentieth century, mainly due to the Korean War and his then controversial decision to dismiss General Douglas MacArthur , resulting in a huge loss of support. In the 1952 presidential election, Eisenhower successfully campaigned against what he denounced as Truman's failures: "Korea, Communism and Corruption". Nonetheless, Truman retained
9252-444: A strong reputation among scholars, and his public reputation eventually recovered in the 1960s. In polls of historians and political scientists, Truman is generally ranked as one of the ten greatest presidents. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought re-election in the 1944 presidential election . Roosevelt personally favored either incumbent Vice President Henry A. Wallace or James F. Byrnes as his running mate. However, Wallace
9509-465: A study on the potential uses of radioactive agents. According to Major General Courtney Whitney , MacArthur considered the possibility of using radioactive wastes to seal off North Korea in December 1950, but he never submitted this to the Joint Chiefs. After his dismissal, Congressman Albert Gore Sr. put a similar proposal to Truman. In January 1951, MacArthur refused to entertain proposals for
9766-676: A temporary basis during World War II. The Joint Chiefs of Staff took charge of all military action, and the Secretary of Defense became the chief presidential adviser on military matter. In 1952, Truman secretly consolidated and empowered the cryptologic elements of the United States by creating the National Security Agency (NSA). Truman and Marshall also sought to require one year of military service for all young men, but this proposal failed as it never won more than modest support among members of Congress. Truman had hoped that
10023-551: A theater commander responsible only for part of the Far East. Another important policy difference was MacArthur's belief that China was not, as Acheson maintained, "the Soviet Union's largest and most important satellite," but an independent state with its own agenda that, in MacArthur's words, "for its own purposes is [just temporarily] allied with Soviet Russia". If MacArthur's thesis was accepted, then it followed that expanding
10280-610: A war with China. In a visit to the United States in December 1950, Attlee raised the fears of the British and other European governments that "General MacArthur was running the show". As MacArthur's views about the importance of Asia in world affairs were well known, it was feared that the United States would shift its focus away from Europe. In this instance, MacArthur was defended by Bradley, whose anglophobia dated back to World War II. The British became alarmed in January 1951 when
10537-597: 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
Presidency of Harry S. Truman - Misplaced Pages Continue
10794-484: Is necessary. Q. Mr. President, you said this depends on United Nations action. Does that mean that we wouldn't use the atomic bomb except on a United Nations authorization? Truman: No, it doesn't mean that at all. The action against Communist China depends on the action of the United Nations. The military commander in the field will have charge of the use of the weapons, as he always has. The implication
11051-482: The 1900 Democratic National Convention in Kansas City ; his father had many friends active in the Democratic Party who helped young Harry to gain his first political position. After graduating from Independence High School in 1901, Truman took classes at Spalding's Commercial College, a Kansas City business school. He studied bookkeeping, shorthand, and typing but stopped after a year. Segregation
11308-615: The 1944 elections , and Truman took office as vice president in January 1945. He had no major role in the administration and was not informed of key developments, such as the atomic bomb. On April 12, 1945, Truman was urgently summoned to the White House, where he was met by Eleanor Roosevelt , who informed him that the President was dead. Shocked, Truman asked Mrs. Roosevelt, "Is there anything I can do for you?", to which she replied: "Is there anything we can do for you ? For you are
11565-687: The American South at the time. A brother, John Vivian, was born soon after Harry, followed by sister Mary Jane. While Truman's ancestry was primarily English , he also had some Scots-Irish , German , and French ancestry. John Truman was a farmer and livestock dealer. The family lived in Lamar until Harry was ten months old, when they moved to a farm near Harrisonville, Missouri . They next moved to Belton and in 1887 to his grandparents' 600-acre (240 ha) farm in Grandview . When Truman
11822-787: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , which required him to sleep in workmen's camps along the rail lines. Truman and his brother Vivian later worked as clerks at the National Bank of Commerce in Kansas City. In 1906, Truman returned to the Grandview farm, where he lived until entering the army in 1917. During this period, he courted Bess Wallace . He proposed in 1911, but she turned him down. Believing Wallace turned him down because he did not have much money, Truman later said he intended to propose again, but he wanted to have
12079-768: The Battle of Bataan . He had commanded the Allied armies in the New Guinea Campaign and Philippines Campaign , fulfilling his famous promise to return to the Philippines. In 1944 and 1948, he had been considered a possible Republican candidate for president. After the war, as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers , he had overseen the occupation of Japan and played an important part in
12336-639: The Battle of the Bulge . But this did not mean that it did not factor into his decision. "I considered him a great strategist," Truman later recalled, "until he made the march into North Korea without the knowledge that he should have had of the Chinese coming in." In an attempt to slow the Chinese advance, MacArthur ordered the bridges across the Yalu to be bombed. After due consultation with his advisers, Truman declared that he would not approve of such an action, and
12593-734: The Cold War and continued to harbor Nazi war criminals. Washington blocked funds from international agencies and restricted trade and investment opportunities. 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 1943, he had called for a homeland for those Jews who survived the Nazi regime. However, State Department officials were reluctant to offend
12850-725: The Freemasons , military reservist, and member of the American Legion. In the general election, Truman defeated incumbent Republican Roscoe C. Patterson by nearly 20 percentage points in a continuing wave of pro- New Deal Democrats elected during the Great Depression . 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
13107-614: The House Armed Services Committee investigation into the affair in October 1949, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , General Omar Bradley, doubted that there would ever be another large-scale amphibious operation. In stature and seniority, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was the Army's foremost general. The son of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr. , a recipient of
SECTION 50
#173276598980513364-556: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and other advisors that day at Blair House and approved the actions already taken by MacArthur and Secretary of State Dean Acheson . At another meeting at Blair House held on the evening of 26 June, amid reports of a rapidly deteriorating situation in South Korea, Truman approved the use of air and naval forces against military targets south of the 38th parallel north . Subsequently, on 27 June,
13621-546: The Korean War , and his relief remains a controversial topic in the field of civil–military relations . MacArthur led the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, and after the war was in charge of the occupation of Japan . In the latter role, MacArthur was able to accumulate considerable power over the civil administration of Japan. Eventually, he gained a level of political experience that
13878-403: The Korean War . In the early weeks of the war, the North Koreans easily pushed back their southern counterparts. The Soviet Union was not directly involved, though Kim did win Stalin's approval before launching the invasion. Truman, meanwhile, did not view Korea itself as a vital region in the Cold War, but he believed that allowing a Western-aligned country to fall would embolden Communists around
14135-460: The Korean War . The United States increased its commitment to NATO, invited Greece and Turkey to join the alliance, and launched a second major foreign aid program with the enactment of the Mutual Security Act . Truman permanently stationed 180,000 in Europe, and European defense spending grew from 5 percent to 12 percent of gross national product. NATO established a unified command structure , and Truman appointed General Dwight D. Eisenhower as
14392-415: The Marshall Plan , a massive financial aid package designed to rebuild Western Europe. In 1949, the Truman administration designed and presided over the creation of NATO , a military alliance of Western countries designed to prevent the further westward expansion of Soviet power. Truman proposed an ambitious domestic liberal agenda known as the Fair Deal . However nearly all his initiatives were blocked by
14649-456: The Medal of Honor for action during the American Civil War , he had graduated at the top of his West Point class of 1903, but never attended an advanced service school except for the engineer course in 1908. He had a distinguished combat record in World War I , and had served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1930 to 1935, working closely with Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt , despite occasional clashes over
14906-399: 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 1940s and early 1950s. By 1952, industrial productivity had increased by 35 percent compared to 1938 levels. The Marshall Plan also provided critical psychological reassurance to many Europeans, restoring optimism to
15163-411: The Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines and the ANZUS pact with Australia and New Zealand . Following World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union occupied Korea , which had been a colony of the Japanese Empire. 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
15420-430: The New Deal coalition during the 1948 presidential election , despite a divided Democratic Party , and won a surprise victory against Republican Party nominee Thomas E. Dewey that secured his own presidential term. Truman presided over the onset of the Cold War in 1947. He oversaw the Berlin Airlift and Marshall Plan in 1948. With the involvement of the US in the Korean War of 1950–1953, South Korea repelled
15677-436: The Ten Year Plan , which transformed Jackson County and the Kansas City skyline with new public works projects, including an extensive series of roads and construction of a new Wight and Wight -designed County Court building . Also in 1926, he became president of the National Old Trails Road Association, and during his term he oversaw dedication of 12 Madonna of the Trail monuments to honor pioneer women. In 1933, Truman
SECTION 60
#173276598980515934-435: The Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Instead he cooperated closely with Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg and other Republican leaders to ensure ratification. Cooperation with Vandenberg, a leading figure on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , proved crucial for Truman's foreign policy, especially after Republicans gained control of Congress in the 1946 elections. Construction of the United Nations headquarters in New York City
16191-421: The U.S. Air Force , the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council (NSC). The CIA and the NSC were designed to be non-military, advisory bodies that would increase U.S. preparation against foreign threats without assuming the domestic functions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation . The National Security Act institutionalized the Joint Chiefs of Staff , which had been established on
16448-432: The U.S. Armed Forces . Investigations revealed corruption in parts of the Truman administration, and this became a major campaign issue in the 1952 presidential election , although they did not implicate Truman himself. He was eligible for reelection in 1952 but, with poor polling, he chose not to run. Truman went into a retirement marked by the founding of his presidential library and the publication of his memoirs. It
16705-423: The U.S. Senate held a joint inquiry into the military situation and the circumstances surrounding MacArthur's relief, and concluded that "the removal of General MacArthur was within the constitutional powers of the President but the circumstances were a shock to national pride". An apolitical military is an American tradition. The principle of civilian control of the military was also ingrained. Civilian control
16962-461: The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 83 , which recommended that "members of the United Nations furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and to restore international peace and security in the area". The South Korean capital of Seoul fell on 28 June. The next day, Truman authorized air and naval operations north of the 38th parallel, which MacArthur had already ordered. However it
17219-419: The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York , which had no tuition, but he was refused an appointment because of poor eyesight. He enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in 1905 and served until 1911 in the Kansas City-based Battery B, 2nd Missouri Field Artillery Regiment, in which he attained the rank of corporal . At his induction, his eyesight without glasses was unacceptable 20/50 in
17476-427: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and subsequently accepted the surrender of Japan , which marked the end of World War II . In the aftermath of World War II , he helped establish the United Nations and other post-war institutions. Relations with the Soviet Union declined after 1945, and by 1947 the two countries had entered a long period of tension and war preparation known as the Cold War , during which
17733-429: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with MacArthur: MacArthur once spoke to me very eloquently about it, pacing the floor of his apartment in the Waldorf . He thought it a tragedy the bomb was ever exploded. MacArthur believed that the same restrictions ought to apply to atomic weapons as to conventional weapons, that the military objective should always be limited damage to noncombatants... MacArthur, you see,
17990-428: The conservative coalition of Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats. Republicans took control of Congress in the 1946 elections after the strike wave of 1945–46 . Truman suffered another major defeat by the conservative coalition when the 80th Congress passed the Taft–Hartley Act into law over his veto. It reversed some of the pro-labor union legislation that was central to the New Deal. When Robert A. Taft ,
18247-416: The occupation of Japan . U.S. concessions at the conference angered other members of the Truman administration, including Truman himself. By the beginning of 1946, it had become clear to Truman that Britain and the United States would have little influence in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. Henry Wallace, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many other prominent New Dealers continued to hope for cooperative relations with
18504-603: The post-war order . Several major decisions were made at the Potsdam Conference: Germany would be divided into four occupation zones (among the three powers and France ), Germany's border was to be shifted west to the Oder–Neisse line , a Soviet-backed group was recognized as the legitimate government of Poland, and Vietnam was to be partitioned at the 16th parallel. The Soviet Union also agreed to launch an invasion of Japanese-held Manchuria . While at
18761-418: The 1944 election, resigned from the cabinet in September 1946 due to Truman's hardening stance towards the Soviet Union. In the first major step in implementing containment, Truman extended money to Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of Soviet-aligned governments. Prior to 1947, the U.S. had largely ignored Greece, which had an anti-communist government, because it was under British influence. Since 1944,
19018-412: The 1950s. During his presidency, fears of Soviet espionage led to a Red Scare ; Truman denounced those who made unfounded accusations of Soviet sympathies, but also purged left-wing federal employees who refused to disavow Communism. When Communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, Truman sent U.S. troops to prevent the fall of South Korea. After initial successes, however, the war settled into
19275-655: The 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The American Escapee Program began in 1952 to help the flight and relocation of political refugees from communism in Eastern Europe. The motivation for the refugee and escapee programs was twofold: humanitarianism, and use as a political weapon against inhumane communism. Truman also set up a Presidential Displaced Person Commission, which people such as Harry N. Rosenfield and Walter Bierlinger served on. In March 1946, at an optimistic moment for postwar cooperation,
19532-456: The 35th Division, but he ignored this and patiently waited until the Germans had walked their horses well away from their guns, ensuring they could not relocate out of range of Truman's battery. He then ordered his men to open fire, and their attack destroyed the enemy battery. His actions were credited with saving the lives of 28th Division soldiers who otherwise would have come under fire from
19789-494: The 38th Parallel. Truman would later report that "I was ready to kick him into the North China Sea...I was never so put out in my life." Truman felt that MacArthur's communiqué, which had not been cleared in accordance with the December directive, had pre-empted his own proposal. He later wrote: This was a most extraordinary statement for a military commander of the United Nations to issue on his own responsibility. It
20046-514: The 38th parallel and await United Nations authorization to cross, Marshall sent a message to MacArthur informing him that: "We want you to feel unhampered tactically and strategically to proceed north of 38th parallel. Announcement above referred to may precipitate embarrassment in the UN where evident desire is not to be confronted with necessity of a vote on passage, rather to find you have found it militarily necessary to do so." A few days later, MacArthur
20303-476: The Admirals ", when a number of retired and active-duty admirals publicly disagreed with the Truman administration's emphasis on less expensive strategic atomic bombs delivered by the air force. 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
20560-916: The Americans began talking of evacuating Korea. The British argued that to maintain European faith and unity it was vital to maintain some presence in Korea, even if it was nothing more than a toehold in the Pusan area. Once again, Bradley defended MacArthur, but it was clear that he had become an irritant in the relationship between the two countries. The alliance with Britain itself was unpopular in Congress. House Minority Leader Joseph William Martin Jr. slammed Truman for following Attlee's Britain to "slavery to government and crippling debt". On 1 December 1950, MacArthur
20817-471: The Arabs, who were opposed to the establishment of a Jewish state in the region. Regarding policy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Palestine was secondary to the goal of protecting the "Northern Tier" of Greece, Turkey, and Iran from communism. In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish state (which would become known as Israel ) and an Arab state. In
21074-476: The British had assisted the Greek government against a left-wing insurgency, but in early 1947 the British informed the United States that they could no longer afford to intervene in Greece. At the urging of Acheson, who warned that the fall of Greece could lead to the expansion of Soviet influence throughout Europe, Truman requested that Congress grant an unprecedented $ 400 million aid package to Greece and Turkey. In
21331-475: The Chinese and North Koreans might be amenable to a ceasefire agreement, and Truman prepared a statement to this effect. MacArthur was informed of it by the Joint Chiefs on 20 March, and he warned the new commander of the Eighth Army, Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway , that political constraints might soon impose limits on his proposed operations. On 23 March, MacArthur issued a communiqué about offering
21588-614: The Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War played a major role in escalating Cold War tensions and U.S. militarization during 1949. Truman would have been willing to maintain some relationship between the U.S. and the Communist government, but Mao was unwilling. Chiang established the Republic of China on Taiwan. Truman made sure it retained China's permanent seat on the UN Security Council. In June 1950, after
21845-426: The Communists won many peasants to their side. As the Nationalists collapsed in 1948, 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.S. was committed to containment, convinced Truman to increase economic and military aid to
22102-836: The Constitution then had no provision for filling a vacancy prior to the 1967 ratification of the Twenty-fifth Amendment . Until the passage of the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, the Secretary of State was next in the presidential line of succession . After the passage of the act in July 1947, the Speaker of the House became the next-in-line. During different points of Truman's first term, Secretary of State Stettinius, Secretary of State Byrnes, Secretary of State Marshall, Speaker Joseph Martin , and Speaker Sam Rayburn would have succeeded to
22359-543: The Democratic Party. In July 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt had traveled to Hawaii to meet with MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz . At this meeting, Roosevelt made the decision to attack the Philippines in the final year of the Pacific war. It was a political triumph in an election year, refuting Republican claims that Roosevelt fixated on Europe at the expense of the Pacific. Truman emulated this by flying to
22616-573: The Far East Command's 18,000 jeeps , 10,000 were unserviceable; of its 13,780 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -ton 6x6 trucks, only 4,441 were serviceable. On the positive side, Far East Command initiated a program of reclaiming and refurbishing war materiel from abandoned stocks throughout the Pacific. This had not only recovered a great deal of valuable stores and equipment, it had also generated a useful repair and rebuilding industry in Japan. Meanwhile,
22873-601: The Germans. Truman was given a dressing down by his regimental commander, Colonel Karl D. Klemm, who threatened to convene a court-martial, but Klemm never followed through, and Truman was not punished. In other action during the Meuse–Argonne offensive, Truman's battery provided support for George S. Patton 's tank brigade, and fired some of the last shots of the war on November 11, 1918. Battery D did not lose any men while under Truman's command in France. To show their appreciation for his leadership, his men presented him with
23130-560: The H-bomb. The first test of thermonuclear weaponry was conducted by the United States in 1952; the Soviet Union would perform its own thermonuclear test in August 1953. The Second World War dramatically upended the international system, as formerly-powerful nations like Germany, France, Japan, and even the USSR and Britain had been devastated. At the end of the war, only the United States and
23387-574: The Japanese government ignored surrender demands as specified in the Potsdam Declaration . With the support of most of his aides, Truman approved the schedule of the military's plans to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, and Nagasaki three days later, leaving approximately 135,000 dead; another 130,000 would die from radiation sickness and other bomb-related illnesses in
23644-540: The Joint Chiefs cancelled the order. When MacArthur protested, the President and the Joint Chiefs authorized the bombings, subject to the caveat that Chinese air space not be violated. Major General Emmett O'Donnell would later cite this to the Congressional inquiry into MacArthur's relief as an example of undue political interference in military operations. The Yalu River had many bends, and in some cases there were very restricted lines of approach without overflying
23901-529: The Joint Chiefs decided to send ten nuclear-capable B-29 bombers of the 9th Bombardment Wing to Guam as a deterrent to Chinese action against Taiwan. Truman publicly denied that he was considering the use of nuclear weapons in Korea, but authorized the transfer to Guam of atomic bombs without their fissile cores . The deployment did not go well; one of the bombers crashed on takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base in California on 5 August, killing
24158-541: The Joint Chiefs of Staff was tantamount to a recommendation. In his testimony before the Senate Inquiry, he stated that he had not recommended their use. In 1960, MacArthur challenged a statement by Truman that he had wanted to use nuclear weapons, saying that "atomic bombing in the Korean War was never discussed either by my headquarters or in any communication to or from Washington"; Truman, admitting that he did not have documentation of any such claim, said that he
24415-551: The Kansas City Law School (now the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law ) but dropped out after losing reelection as county judge. He was informed by attorneys in the Kansas City area that his education and experience were probably sufficient to receive a license to practice law but did not pursue it because he won election as presiding judge. While serving as president in 1947, Truman applied for
24672-487: The National Security Act would minimize interservice rivalries, but each branch retained considerable autonomy and battles over the military budgets and other issues continued. In 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced that he would cancel a so-called " supercarrier ," which many in the navy saw as an important part of the service's future. The cancellation sparked a crisis known as the " Revolt of
24929-454: The Nationalists. However, Truman held out little hope for a Nationalist victory, and he refused to send U.S. soldiers. Mao Zedong and his Communists took control of the mainland of China in 1949, driving the Nationalists to Taiwan . The United States had a new enemy in Asia, and Truman came under fire from conservatives for " losing " China. Along with the Soviet detonation of a nuclear weapon,
25186-545: The Netherlands , Belgium , Luxembourg , Norway , Denmark , Portugal , Iceland , and Canada were the original treaty signatories. Shortly after the creation of NATO, Truman convinced Congress to pass the Mutual Defense Assistance Act , which created a military aid program for European allies. Cold War tensions heightened following Soviet acquisition of nuclear weapons and the beginning of
25443-403: The New Deal. He imposed a new constitution that established a parliamentary democracy and granted women the right to vote. He also democratized the Japanese educational system, enabled labor unions and oversaw major economic changes, although Japanese business leaders were able to resist the reforms to some degree. As the Cold War intensified in 1947, Washington officials took greater control over
25700-462: The North Korean advance and then counterattack, enveloping the North Koreans with an amphibious operation, but the timing was dependent on the arrival of reinforcements from the United States. Bradley raised the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Korea at a Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting on 9 July 1950 at Eisenhower's instigation, but there was no support for the idea. The Army staff sent
25957-461: The Pacific to meet MacArthur. Initially, Truman was unenthusiastic about the idea, as he disliked publicity stunts, but in October 1950, in the wake of the victories at Pusan and Inchon, MacArthur's star was burning bright. By meeting with him, Truman could emphasize his own part in the victories, as Commander-in-Chief. A message was sent to MacArthur suggesting a meeting on Hawaii or Wake Island . MacArthur replied that he "would be delighted to meet
26214-577: The Potsdam Conference, Truman was informed that the Trinity test of the first atomic bomb on July 16 had been successful. He hinted to Stalin that the U.S. 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 espionage long before Truman did. In August 1945,
26471-546: The President about the odds of Soviet or Chinese intervention in Korea, MacArthur replied: Very little. Had they interfered in the first or second months it would have been decisive. We are no longer fearful of their intervention. We no longer stand hat in hand. The Chinese have 300,000 men in Manchuria . Of these probably not more than 100–115,000 are distributed along the Yalu River . Only 50–60,000 could be gotten across
26728-467: The President on the morning of the 15th at Wake Island". When MacArthur discovered that the President would be bringing the news media with him, MacArthur asked if he could bring correspondents from Tokyo. His request was denied. Truman arrived at Wake Island on 15 October, where he was greeted on the tarmac by MacArthur, who had arrived the day before. MacArthur shook hands with the President rather than salute, and declined an offer to stay for lunch with
26985-572: The President, which Bradley considered "insulting". This did not bother Truman; what did annoy the President, a former haberdasher , was MacArthur's "greasy ham and eggs cap that evidently had been in use for twenty years". The meeting, which had no agenda and no structure, took the form of a free-wheeling discussion between the President and his advisors on one hand, and MacArthur and the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet , Admiral Arthur Radford , on
27242-725: The Republican Party, led by Senator Kenneth S. 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. Vandenberg. With support from Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. , Vandenberg admitted there
27499-680: The Roosevelt administration) were responsible for the boss's downfall. St. Louis party leader Robert E. Hannegan 's support of Truman proved crucial; he later brokered the deal that put Truman on the national ticket. In the end, Stark and Milligan split the anti-Pendergast vote in the Senate Democratic primary and Truman won by a total of 8,000 votes. In the November election, Truman defeated Republican Manvel H. Davis by 51–49 percent. As senator, Truman opposed both Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. Two days after Hitler invaded
27756-537: The Senate in 1949. 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. The United States, United Kingdom , France, Italy ,
28013-520: The Senate, as usual, had just adjourned the session for the day and was preparing to have a drink in House Speaker Sam Rayburn 's office when he received an urgent message to go immediately to the White House, where Eleanor Roosevelt told him that her husband had died after a massive cerebral hemorrhage . 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
28270-529: The Soviet Union in June 1941, Truman 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. This quote without its last part later became a staple in Soviet and later Russian propaganda as "evidence" of an American conspiracy to destroy
28527-479: The Soviet Union had the ability to exercise influence, and a bipolar international power structure replaced the multipolar structure of the Interwar period . On taking office, Truman privately viewed the Soviet Union as a "police government pure and simple," but he was initially reluctant to take a hard-line towards it, as he hoped to work with Stalin the aftermath of Second World War . Truman's suspicions deepened as
28784-422: The Soviet Union. Some liberals, like Reinhold Niebuhr , distrusted the Soviet Union but believed that the United States should not try to counter Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, which the Soviets saw as their "strategic security belt." Partly because of this sentiment, Truman was reluctant to fully break with the Soviet Union in early 1946, but he took an increasingly hard line towards the Soviet Union throughout
29041-444: The Soviet request to reunify Korea , and refused to allow the Soviets (or any other country) a role in the post-war occupation of Japan. By September 1946, Truman was convinced that the Soviet Union sought world domination and that cooperation was futile. He adopted a policy of containment , based on a 1946 cable by diplomat George F. Kennan . Containment, a policy of preventing the further expansion of Soviet influence, represented
29298-542: 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
29555-532: The Soviets consolidated their control in Eastern Europe throughout 1945, and the February 1946 announcement of the Soviet five-year plan further strained relations as it called for the continuing build-up of the Soviet military. At the December 1945 Moscow Conference , Secretary of State Byrnes agreed to recognize the pro-Soviet governments in the Balkans , while the Soviet leadership accepted U.S. leadership in
29812-408: The Soviets responded militarily to a first-strike attack by the United States. The British prime minister , Clement Attlee , was particularly disturbed by Truman's gaffe about nuclear weapons, and sought to revive the wartime Quebec Agreement , under which the United States would not use nuclear weapons without Britain's consent. The British were concerned that the United States was drifting into
30069-650: The State Department, especially Dean Acheson . The main issues of the United States foreign policy during include: In his last years in office Roosevelt had promoted several major initiatives to reshape the postwar politics and economy, and avoid the mistakes of 1919. Chief among those organizations was the United Nations , an intergovernmental organization similar to the League of Nations that
30326-712: The Supreme Court in 1956. Burton served until 1958, often joining the conservative bloc led by Felix Frankfurter . Clark served until 1967, emerging as an important swing vote on the Vinson Court and the Warren Court . In addition to his Supreme Court appointments, Truman also appointed 27 judges to the courts of appeals and 101 judges to federal district courts . By April 1945, the Allied Powers were close to defeating Germany , but Japan remained
30583-609: The Truman administration reorganized the military and intelligence establishment to provide for more centralized control and reduce rivalries. The National Security Act of 1947 combined and reorganized all military forces by merging the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (which was later renamed as the Department of Defense ). The law also created
30840-606: The U.S. Senate, Truman was transferred to the General Assignments Group, a holding unit for less active officers, although he had not been consulted in advance. Truman protested his reassignment, which led to his resumption of regimental command. He remained an active reservist until the early 1940s. Truman volunteered for active military service during World War II , but was not accepted, partly because of age, and partly because President Franklin D. Roosevelt desired that senators and congressmen who belonged to
31097-471: The U.S. and Europe, the Truman administration devised the Marshall Plan , which sought to rejuvenate the devastated economies of Western Europe. To fund the Marshall Plan, Truman asked Congress to approve an unprecedented, multi-year, $ 25 billion appropriation. Congress, under the control of conservative Republicans, agreed to fund the program for multiple reasons. The conservative isolationist wing of
31354-663: The U.S. led efforts to create collective security pact in the Western Hemisphere. In 1947, the United States and most Latin American nations joined the Rio Pact , a defensive military alliance. The following year, the independent states of the Americas formed the Organization of American States (OAS), an intergovernmental organization designed to foster regional unity. Many Latin American nations, seeking favor with
31611-530: The U.S. position to the United Nations. The Baruch Plan , largely based on the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, was not adopted due to opposition from Congress and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union would develop its own nuclear arsenal , testing a nuclear weapon for the first time in August 1949. The United States Atomic Energy Commission , directed by David E. Lilienthal until 1950, was in charge of designing and building nuclear weapons under
31868-497: The UN's refusal to recognize the People's Republic of China, Truman won approval of Resolution 84 . 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 28. Fearing the fall of the entire peninsula, General Douglas MacArthur , commander of U.S. forces in Asia, won Truman's approval to land U.S. troops on
32125-460: 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.S. invited the Soviet Union to become a recipient in the program, but set terms that Stalin was likely to reject. The Soviet Union refused to consider joining the program and vetoed participation by its own satellites. The Soviets set up their own program for aid,
32382-410: The United States should proceed with development of the much more powerful hydrogen bomb . There was opposition to the idea from many in the scientific community and from some government officials, but Truman believed that the Soviet Union would likely develop the weapon itself and was unwilling to allow the Soviets to have such an advantage. Thus in early 1950, Truman made the decision to go forward with
32639-442: The United States, cut off relations with the Soviet Union. Latin American countries also requested aid and investment similar to the Marshall Plan, but Truman believed that most U.S. foreign aid was best directed to Europe and other areas that could potentially fall under the influence of Communism. There was bad blood with Argentina . Washington detested dictator Juan Peron , who held fascist sympathies, tried to remain neutral in
32896-454: The United States. Of the approximately one million people resettled by the IRO, more than 400,000 settled in the United States. The most contentious issue facing the IRO was the resettlement of European Jews, many of whom, with the support of Truman, were allowed to immigrate to British-controlled Mandatory Palestine . The administration also helped create a new category of refugee, the "escapee," at
33153-435: The White House between MacArthur and Kennedy in August 1962 after Kennedy received intelligence that the Soviet Union transported nuclear weapons to Cuba, MacArthur told Kennedy to not invade or bomb Cuba and also to not use nuclear weapons on Cuba, which would have led to the deaths of thousands of Soviet and Cuban soldiers. He advised Kennedy to simply do a naval blockade, which was exactly what Kennedy did two months later when
33410-460: The White House. During the U.S. Senate election in 1940 , U.S. Attorney Maurice Milligan (former opponent Jacob Milligan's brother) and former governor Lloyd Stark both challenged Truman in the Democratic primary. 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
33667-508: The Yalu River. They have no Air Force. Now that we have bases for our Air Force in Korea if the Chinese tried to get down to Pyongyang there would be the greatest slaughter. MacArthur expressed the hope that the Eighth Army could withdraw to Japan by the end of the year. When Bradley asked if a division could be sent to Europe, MacArthur replied that he could make one available in January. In fact, Chinese troops had already begun crossing
33924-427: The Yalu into North Korea, and by November 180,000 had done so. When he returned from Wake, MacArthur faced the challenge of turning his promises into reality. On 24 October, he ordered his principal subordinates, Lieutenant General Walton Walker , the commander of the Eighth Army, and Major General Edward Almond of X Corps , to "drive forward with all speed and full utilization of all their force". He also lifted
34181-430: The Yalu. This made life easier for the Communist antiaircraft gunners, but correspondingly less so for the aircrew. Within weeks, MacArthur was forced to retreat, and both Truman and MacArthur were forced to contemplate the prospect of abandoning Korea entirely. At a press conference on 30 November 1950, Truman was asked about the use of nuclear weapons: Q. Mr. President, I wonder if we could retrace that reference to
34438-495: The administration released the Acheson-Lilienthal Report , which proposed that all nations voluntarily abstain from constructing nuclear weapons. As part of the proposal, the U.S. would dismantle its nuclear program once all other countries agreed not to develop or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons. Fearing that Congress would reject the proposal, Truman turned to the well-connected Bernard Baruch to represent
34695-469: The aid package. The congressional vote represented a permanent break with the non-interventionism that had characterized U.S. foreign policy prior to World War II. The United States supported the government against the communists in the Greek Civil War , but did not send any military force. The insurgency was defeated in 1949. Stalin and Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito both provided aid to
34952-534: The air, which in turn means control over supplies, communications and transportation, are no less essential and decisive now than in the past. When this control exists, as in our case, and is coupled with an inferiority of ground firepower in the enemy's case, the resulting disparity is such that it cannot be overcome by bravery, however fanatical, or the most gross indifference to human loss. These military weaknesses have been clearly and definitely revealed since Red China entered upon its undeclared war in Korea. Even under
35209-487: The artillery during World War I , and continued to hold a reserve commission, eventually achieving the rank of colonel . Instead of professional soldiers, Truman selected two National Guardsmen , Harry H. Vaughan and Louis H. Renfrow , as his military aides. Truman once remarked that he did not understand how the US Army could "produce men such as Robert E. Lee , John J. Pershing , Eisenhower , and Bradley and at
35466-532: The atom bomb, the Truman Plan, the Korean war, or the dismissal of General MacArthur. He mastered the details of the federal budget as well as anyone. Truman's myopia made it hard to read a typescript, and he was poor at prepared addresses. However, his visible anger made him an effective stump speaker, denouncing his enemies as his supporters hollered back at him, “Give Em Hell, Harry!” At first Truman asked all
35723-528: The atom bomb? Did we understand you clearly that the use of the atomic bomb is under active consideration? Truman : Always has been. It is one of our weapons. Q. Does that mean, Mr. President, use against military objectives, or civilian— Truman : It's a matter that the military people will have to decide. I'm not a military authority that passes on those things. Q. Mr. President, perhaps it would be better if we are allowed to quote your remarks on that directly? Truman: I don't think—I don't think that
35980-411: The authority of the President" by privately communicating with Congress, Truman upheld the president's role as preeminent. Harry S. Truman became president of the United States on the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, and won an unexpected victory in the 1948 presidential election . He was the only president who served after 1897 without a college degree. Although not highly educated, Truman
36237-459: The beginning, he assumed that the American monopoly on the atomic bomb was adequate protection against any and all external threats. Military spending plunged from 39 percent of GNP in 1945 to only 5 percent in 1948, but defense expenditures overall were still eight times higher in constant dollars than they had been before the war. The number of military personnel fell from just over 3 million in 1946 to approximately 1.6 million in 1947, although again
36494-626: The blame for the defense cuts that had led to the lack of preparedness and consequent early defeats in Korea. He was replaced by General of the Army George Marshall . MacArthur held that his military objective was the destruction of the North Korean Army. That being the case, operations would be necessary north of the 38th parallel, although his Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Major General Charles A. Willoughby , warned on 31 August that 37 Chinese divisions were grouping on
36751-475: The border areas. Within days, MacArthur's forces had encountered the Chinese in the Battle of Onjong and the Battle of Unsan . Truman did not relieve MacArthur for the military reverses in Korea in November and December 1950. Truman later stated that he felt that MacArthur was no more to blame than General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower was for the military reverses he had suffered during
37008-402: The border between China and North Korea. The Joint Chiefs agreed with MacArthur on this issue. A National Security Council paper endorsed the legality of action north of the 38th parallel. The paper recommended that only South Korean troops be employed in the border regions with China and Russia. Should the Soviet Union intervene, MacArthur was to immediately retreat to the 38th parallel; but in
37265-426: The camp canteen with Edward Jacobson , a clothing store clerk he knew from Kansas City. Unlike most canteens funded by unit members, which usually lost money, the canteen operated by Truman and Jacobson turned a profit, returning each soldier's initial $ 2 investment and $ 10,000 in dividends in six months. At Fort Sill, Truman met Lieutenant James M. Pendergast, nephew of Tom Pendergast , a Kansas City political boss,
37522-496: The capability, either logistically or materially, to accomplish it. The airlift worked, and ground access was again granted on May 11, 1949. The Berlin Airlift was one of Truman's great foreign policy successes, and it significantly aided his election campaign in 1948. Rising tensions with the Soviets, along with the Soviet veto of numerous United Nations Resolutions, convinced Truman, Senator Vandenberg, and other American leaders of
37779-544: The case of Chinese intervention, he was to keep fighting "as long as action by UN military forces offers a reasonable chance of successful resistance". Truman endorsed the report on 11 September, but MacArthur remained in the dark because of the changeover of Secretaries of Defense, and was not informed until 22 September. When Truman was asked at a press conference on 21 September whether he had concluded to conduct operations in North Korea, he replied that he had not. In
38036-592: The chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission , Gordon Dean , and arranged for the transfer of nine Mark 4 nuclear bombs to military control. Dean was apprehensive about delegating the decision on how they should be used to MacArthur, who lacked expert technical knowledge of the weapons and their effects. The Joint Chiefs were not entirely comfortable about giving them to MacArthur either, for fear that he might prematurely carry out his orders. Instead, they decided that
38293-462: The commander of Amphibious Group One , and Major General Oliver P. Smith , the commander of the 1st Marine Division , were appalled by the proposed landing beaches at Inchon , which featured huge tides, broad mudflats, narrow and treacherous channels, and high seawalls. Omar Bradley called it "the worst possible place ever selected for an amphibious landing". Although the Inchon-Seoul area
38550-528: The conservative Republican senator, unexpectedly supported the Housing Act of 1949 , Truman achieved one new liberal program. Truman took a strong stance on civil rights, ordering equal rights in the military to the disgust of the white politicians in the Deep South. They supported a " Dixiecrat " third-party candidate, Strom Thurmond , in 1948. Truman later pushed for the integration of the military in
38807-477: The country. In late 1940, 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 White House supported this plan rather than weather
39064-428: The courage to tell Congress to go to Hell on foreign policy matters". There were genuine differences of opinion over policy between MacArthur and the Truman administration. One was MacArthur's deep-seated belief that it was not possible to separate the struggle against Communism in Europe from that going on in Asia. This was seen as the result of being stationed for too many years in East Asia, and of his perspective as
39321-446: The crisis reached its zenith. “The greatest weapon of war is the blockade,” he told Kennedy. “If war comes, that is the weapon we should use.” In contrast to MacArthur, all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the majority of EXCOMM urged Kennedy to first bomb and then invade Cuba, claiming that a blockade would show weakness and entice the Soviets to become more aggressive. They also argued for nuclear weapons to be used on Cuba if
39578-455: The details of the atomic bomb, which was almost ready. Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, ending the war in Europe. Truman's attention turned to the Pacific, where he hoped to end the war as quickly, and with as little expense in lives or government funds, as possible. With the end of the war drawing near, Truman flew to Berlin for the Potsdam Conference , to meet with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British leader Winston Churchill regarding
39835-419: The deteriorating situation in the south, which compelled him to commit the formation earmarked for the assault, the 1st Cavalry Division , to the defence of the Pusan Perimeter , to which the Eighth Army retreated in August. MacArthur then resumed his planning for an amphibious operation, which he tentatively scheduled for 15 September 1950. Navy and Marine Corps officers like Rear Admiral James H. Doyle ,
40092-403: The development of air force heavy bomber designs, and the United States accumulated a combat ready force of over 1,000 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. From
40349-541: The director of the Office of Northeast Asian Affairs, John M. Allison , argued that Security Council Resolution 83 provided a legal basis for the invasion of North Korea. Others, such as George F. Kennan and Paul Nitze , disagreed. Along with the legality, the administration also had to consider the danger of intervention by the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China if United Nations forces approached their borders. MacArthur's early ambitions for an amphibious operation against North Korea had to be shelved due to
40606-401: The essentials for successful ground operations, such as tanks, heavy artillery and other refinements science has introduced into the conduct of military campaigns. Formerly his great numerical potential might well have filled this gap but with the development of existing methods of mass destruction numbers alone do not offset the vulnerability inherent in such deficiencies. Control of the seas and
40863-587: The final formal approval to all decisions. After getting rid of the Roosevelt holdovers, the cabinet members were mostly old confidants. The White House was badly understaffed with no more than a dozen aides; they could barely keep up with the heavy work flow of a greatly expanded executive department. Truman acted as his own chief of staff, as well as his own liaison with Congress—a body he already knew very well. Less important matters he delegated to his Special Counsels, Samuel Rosenman in 1945–46, Clark Clifford in 1946 to 1950 and Charles S. Murphy in 1950 to 1953. He
41120-538: The first Supreme Commander of NATO . West Germany , which fell under the aegis of NATO, would eventually be incorporated into NATO in 1955. Cold War tensions and competition reached across the globe, affecting Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Africa. 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 Washington's attentions there. Partially in reaction to fears of expanding Soviet influence,
41377-418: The following five years. After the Soviet Union invaded Manchuria, Japan agreed to surrender on August 10 on the sole condition that Emperor Hirohito would not be forced to abdicate; after some internal debate, the Truman administration accepted these terms of surrender. The decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki provoked long-running debates . Supporters of the bombings argue that, given
41634-408: The forward deployment of nuclear weapons. In early April 1951, the Joint Chiefs became alarmed by the build up of Soviet forces in the Far East, particularly bombers and submarines. On 5 April 1951, they drafted orders for MacArthur authorizing attacks on Manchuria and the Shantung Peninsula if the Chinese launched airstrikes against his forces originating from there. The next day Truman met with
41891-426: The front around the Pusan Perimeter . Responding to criticism over unreadiness, Truman fired Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson and replaced him with the former Secretary of State George Marshall. With UN approval, Truman decided on a "rollback" policy—conquest of North Korea. UN forces launched a counterattack, scoring a stunning surprise victory with an amphibious landing at the Battle of Inchon that trapped most of
42148-400: The general population. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri , on May 8, 1884, the oldest child of John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman . He was named for his maternal uncle, Harrison "Harry" Young. His middle initial, "S", is not an abbreviation of one particular name. Rather, it honors both his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young, a somewhat common practice in
42405-514: The help of the Kansas City Democratic machine led by Tom Pendergast , Truman was elected in 1922 as County Court judge of Jackson County 's eastern district—Jackson County's three-judge court included judges from the western district (Kansas City), the eastern district (the county outside Kansas City), and a presiding judge elected countywide. This was an administrative rather than a judicial court, similar to county commissions in many other jurisdictions. Truman lost his 1924 reelection campaign in
42662-519: The inhibitions which now restrict the activity of the United Nations forces and the corresponding military advantages which accrue to Red China, it has been shown its complete inability to accomplish by force of arms the conquest of Korea. The enemy, therefore must by now be painfully aware that a decision of the United Nations to depart from its tolerant effort to contain the war to the area of Korea, through an expansion of our military operations to its coastal areas and interior bases, would doom Red China to
42919-481: The insurgents, but a dispute over the aid led to the start of a split in the Communist bloc. American military and economic aid to Turkey also proved effective, and Turkey avoided a civil war. The Truman administration also provided aid to the Italian government in advance of the 1948 general election . The aid package, combined with a covert CIA operation, anti-Communist mobilization by the Catholic Church , and pressure from prominent Italian-Americans, helped to ensure
43176-412: The invaders. UN forces marched north, toward the Yalu River boundary with China, with the goal of reuniting Korea under UN auspices. Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States , serving from 1945 to 1953. A member of the Democratic Party , he assumed the presidency after Franklin D. Roosevelt 's death, as he
43433-405: The invasion by North Korea . Domestically, the postwar economic challenges such as strikes and inflation created a mixed reaction over the effectiveness of his administration. In 1948, he proposed Congress pass comprehensive civil rights legislation. Congress refused, so Truman issued Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 9981 , which prohibited discrimination in federal agencies and desegregated
43690-423: The investigation. The committee reportedly saved as much as $ 15 billion (equivalent to $ 260 billion in 2023), and its activities put Truman on the cover of Time magazine. According to the Senate's historical minutes, in leading the committee, "Truman erased his earlier public image as an errand-runner for Kansas City politicos", and "no senator ever gained greater political benefits from chairing
43947-402: The island of Formosa , saying: "Nothing could be more fallacious than the threadbare argument by those who advocate appeasement and defeatism in the Pacific that if we defend Formosa we alienate continental Asia." Truman was infuriated by the word "appeasement," and discussed the possibility of relieving MacArthur with Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson . Johnson responded that MacArthur
44204-427: The machine's choice in the 1934 Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate from Missouri , after Pendergast's first four choices had declined to run. In the primary, Truman defeated Congressmen John J. 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
44461-407: The meantime, MacArthur's amphibious assault at Inchon went ahead on 15 September. "The success of Inchon was so great and the subsequent prestige of General MacArthur was so overpowering," Collins later recalled, "that the Chiefs hesitated thereafter to question later plans and decisions of the general, which should have been challenged." In response to a rumor that the Eighth Army planned to halt at
44718-602: The members of Roosevelt's cabinet to remain in place for the time being, but by the end of 1946 only one Roosevelt appointee, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal , remained. Fred M. Vinson succeeded Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. in July 1945. Truman appointed Vinson to the Supreme Court in 1946 and John Wesley Snyder was named as the Treasury Secretary. Truman quickly replaced Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. with James F. Byrnes, an old friend from Senate days. However Byrnes soon lost Truman's trust with his conciliatory policy towards Moscow in late 1945, and he
44975-601: The men to intimidate him into quitting, Truman succeeded by making his corporals and sergeants accountable for discipline. He promised to back them up if they performed capably and reduce them to private if they did not. In an event memorialized in battery lore as "The Battle of Who Run", his soldiers began to flee during a sudden night attack by the Germans in the Vosges Mountains ; Truman succeeded at ordering his men to stay and fight, using profanity from his railroad days. The men were so surprised to hear Truman use such language that they immediately obeyed. Truman's unit joined in
45232-417: The military budget. He would later compare Roosevelt's "extraordinary self-control" with Truman's "violent temper and paroxysms of ungovernable rage". Apart from his World War I–era service in Mexico and Europe, his overseas postings had been in Asia and the Pacific. During World War II , he had become a national hero and had been awarded the Medal of Honor for the unsuccessful defense of the Philippines in
45489-414: The military reserves support the war effort by remaining in Congress, or by ending their active duty service and resuming their congressional seats. He was an inactive reservist from the early 1940s until retiring as a colonel in the then redesignated U.S. Army Reserve on January 20, 1953. Truman was awarded a World War I Victory Medal with two battle clasps (for St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne ) and
45746-536: The mission commander, Brigadier General Robert F. Travis , and 18 others. The remaining nine bombers remained in Guam until 13 September, when they returned to the United States. The bomb assemblies stayed behind. At a press conference on 13 July, Truman was asked if United States forces would cross the 38th parallel into North Korea, and he replied that he would "make that decision when it becomes necessary to do it". Some of his advisors, including Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs , Dean Rusk , and
46003-421: 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. Overcoming initial objections from Marshall, Clark Clifford convinced Truman that non-recognition would lead Israel to tilt towards the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Truman recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, eleven minutes after it declared itself
46260-415: The most notable of which was between President Abraham Lincoln and Major General George McClellan , in 1862. Another example was President James Polk 's recall of Major General Winfield Scott after the Mexican–American War . Before relieving MacArthur, Truman consulted history books on how Lincoln and Polk dealt with their generals. Truman later said that Polk was his favorite president because "he had
46517-433: The nation celebrated V-E Day on May 8, 1945, his 61st birthday. Relief of Douglas MacArthur On 11 April 1951, U.S. president Harry S. Truman relieved General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his commands after MacArthur made public statements that contradicted the administration's policies. MacArthur was a popular hero of World War II who was then commander of United Nations Command forces fighting in
46774-424: The necessity for higher defense spending, and such spending would soar between 1949 and 1953. The United States had terminated the war-time Lend-Lease program in August 1945, but it continue a program of loans to Britain. Furthermore, the U.S. sent massive shipments of food to Europe in the years immediately following the end of the war. With the goal of stemming the spread of Communism and increasing trade between
47031-407: The necessity of creating a defensive alliance devoted to collective security. In 1949, the United States, Canada, and several European countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty , creating a trans-Atlantic military alliance and committing the United States to its first permanent alliance since the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France . The treaty establishing NATO was widely popular and easily passed
47288-427: The neck of Manchuria.... It was my plan as our amphibious forces moved south to spread behind us—from the Sea of Japan to the Yellow Sea—a belt of radioactive cobalt. It could have been spread from wagons, carts, trucks and planes.... For at least 60 years there could have been no land invasion of Korea from the north. The enemy could not have marched across that radiated belt. In 1985 Richard Nixon recalled discussing
47545-422: The newly ratified Twenty-second Amendment , Truman withdrew his bid for a second full term in the 1952 presidential election because of his low popularity. He was succeeded by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower . Truman's presidency was a turning point in foreign affairs, as the United States engaged in an internationalist foreign policy and renounced isolationism . During his first year in office, Truman approved
47802-454: The nuclear strike force would report to the Strategic Air Command (SAC). This time the bombers deployed with the fissile cores. SAC did not intend to attack air bases and depots; the bombers would target industrial cities in North Korea and China. Deployments of SAC bombers to Guam continued until the end of the war. There has been debate whether MacArthur advocated the employment of nuclear weapons, including over whether his submission to
48059-410: The number of military personnel was still nearly five times larger than that of U.S. military in 1939. These jumps were considerably larger than had taken place before and after the Spanish–American War or before and after World War I , indicating that something fundamental had changed regarding American defense posture. Paired with the aforementioned decision to go ahead with the H-bomb, Truman ordered
48316-443: 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 1950 when heavy American spending on supplies to support the Korean War stimulated growth. In 1951, the United States and Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco , which restored Japanese sovereignty but allowed the United States to maintain bases in Japan. Over
48573-422: The oil drilling rights to prospectors, and speculation in Kansas City real estate. Truman occasionally derived some income from these enterprises, but none proved successful in the long term. Truman is the only president since William McKinley (elected in 1896) who did not earn a college degree. In addition to having briefly attended business college, from 1923 to 1925 he took night courses toward an LL.B. at
48830-439: The one in trouble now!" He was sworn in as president at 7:09 p.m. in the West Wing of the White House, by Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone . At the White House, Truman replaced Roosevelt holdovers with old confidants. The White House was badly understaffed with no more than a dozen aides; they could barely keep up with the heavy workflow of a greatly expanded executive department. Truman acted as his own chief of staff on
49087-469: The one in trouble now." The day after assuming 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." Bipartisan favorable opinion gave the new president a honeymoon. Truman delegated a great deal of authority to his cabinet officials, only insisting that he give
49344-479: The opposition of the Soviet Union and some other adversaries of Japan in World War II, the peace treaty did not contain punitive measures such as reparations, though Japan did lose control of the Kuril Islands and all its pre-war possessions. With the end of World War II, the United States fulfilled the commitment made by the 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act and granted independence to the Philippines . The U.S. had encouraged decolonization throughout World War II, but
49601-424: The other. Topics discussed included Formosa, the Philippines and the wars in Vietnam and Korea. MacArthur noted that "No new policies, no new strategy of war or international politics, were proposed or discussed." Robert Sherrod , who was present as a correspondent, felt that he "had witnessed nothing but a political grandstand play". MacArthur did say things that would later be used against him. When asked by
49858-422: The outbreak of fighting in Korea, Truman ordered the Navy's Seventh Fleet into the Taiwan Strait to prevent further conflict between the communist government and the Republic of China. Under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur , the U.S. occupied Japan after the latter's surrender in August 1945. MacArthur presided over extensive reforms of the Japanese government and society that in many ways resembled
50115-471: The patronage decisions by saying that "by offering a little to the machine, [he] saved a lot". In his first term, Truman spoke out against corporate greed and the dangers of Wall Street speculators and other moneyed special interests attaining too much influence in national affairs. Though he served on the high-profile Appropriations and Interstate Commerce Committees, he was largely ignored by President Roosevelt and had trouble getting calls returned from
50372-482: The peninsula. 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. The intervention in Korea was widely popular in the United States at the time, and Truman's July 1950 request for $ 10 billion was approved almost unanimously. By August 1950, U.S. troops pouring into South Korea, along with American air strikes, stabilized
50629-437: The plan. 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,
50886-584: The post-war political and social transformation of that country. By 1950, the occupation of Japan was winding down, but MacArthur remained in the country as Commander-in-Chief Far East, a post to which he had been appointed by Truman in 1945. MacArthur had to deal with deep cuts in the defense budget that saw his troop numbers decline from 300,000 in 1947 to 142,000 in 1948. Despite his protests, further reductions followed and, by June 1950, there were only 108,000 troops in his Far East Command. Cuts in funds and personnel produced shortages of serviceable equipment. Of
51143-421: The presidency if Truman left office. Alben Barkley served as Truman's running mate in the 1948 election, and became vice president during Truman's second term. Truman included him in Cabinet deliberations. Truman made four appointments to the United States Supreme Court . After the retirement of Owen Roberts in 1945, Truman appointed Republican Senator Harold Hitz Burton of Ohio to the Supreme Court. Roberts
51400-403: The president and vice president met alone together only twice during their time in office. 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." He had rarely discussed world affairs or domestic politics with Roosevelt; he
51657-541: The prohibition on troops other than South Koreans operating along the borders with China and the Soviet Union. Collins considered this a violation of the orders that the Joint Chiefs had issued on 27 September, but MacArthur pointed out that it was only, in the words of the original directive, "a matter of policy". He added that the matter had been raised at Wake Island, but no one else recalled this, particularly not Truman, who, unaware of these discussions, told reporters on 26 October that Koreans and not Americans would occupy
51914-423: The right eye and 20/400 in the left (past the standard for legal blindness). The second time he took the test, he passed by secretly memorizing the eye chart. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, gray eyed , dark haired and of light complexion. When the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917 , Truman rejoined Battery B, successfully recruiting new soldiers for the expanding unit, for which he
52171-438: The risk of imminent military collapse. These basic facts being established, there should be no insuperable difficulty in arriving at decisions on the Korean problem if the issues are resolved on their own merits, without being burdened by extraneous matters not directly related to Korea, such as Formosa or China's seat in the United Nations. The next day, MacArthur authorized Ridgway to advance up to 20 miles (32 km) north of
52428-406: The same time produce Custers , Pattons , and MacArthur ". During the 1949 Revolt of the Admirals , several naval officers publicly disagreed with the administration's policy over cuts to naval aviation and amphibious warfare capability, resulting in the relief of the Chief of Naval Operations , Admiral Louis Denfeld , and his replacement by Admiral Forrest Sherman . In testimony before
52685-475: The shift away from occupation duties had permitted a greater focus on training for combat. North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, starting the Korean War . In response to an urgent request from the Korean Military Advisory Group for more ammunition, MacArthur, on his own initiative, ordered the transport ship MSTS Sgt. George D Keathley , then in harbor in Yokohama , to be loaded with ammunition and to sail for Pusan . President Truman met with
52942-422: The start of the Cold War changed priorities. The U.S. used the Marshall Plan to pressure the Dutch to grant independence to Indonesia under the leadership of the anti-Communist Sukarno , and the Dutch recognized Indonesia's independence in 1949. However, in French Indochina , the Truman administration recognized the French client state led by Emperor Bảo Đại . The U.S. feared alienating the French, who occupied
53199-416: The store went bankrupt during the recession of 1921 . Truman did not pay off the last of the debts from that venture until 1935, when he did so with the aid of banker William T. Kemper , who worked behind the scenes to enable Truman's brother Vivian to buy Truman's $ 5,600 promissory note during the asset sale of a bank that had failed in the Great Depression . The note had risen and fallen in value as it
53456-464: The tenacious Japanese defense of the outlying islands, the bombings saved hundreds of thousands of lives that would have been lost invading mainland Japan . After leaving office, Truman told a journalist that the atomic bombing "was done to save 125,000 youngsters on the American side and 125,000 on the Japanese side from getting killed and that is what it did. It probably also saved a half million youngsters on both sides from being maimed for life." Truman
53713-486: The ticket. Roosevelt told party leaders that he would accept either Truman or Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas . State and city party leaders strongly preferred Truman, and Roosevelt agreed. Truman had repeatedly said that he was not in the race and that he did not want the vice presidency, and he remained reluctant. One reason was that his wife and sister Mary Jane were both on his Senate staff payroll, and he feared negative publicity. Truman did not campaign for
53970-501: The treasury, Fred Vinson and John Snyder . His closest friend in the White House was his military aide Harry H. Vaughan , who knew little of military or foreign affairs and was criticized for trading access to the White House for expensive gifts. Truman loved to spend as much time as possible playing poker, telling stories and sipping bourbon. Alonzo Hamby notes that: ... to many in the general public, gambling and bourbon swilling, however low-key, were not quite presidential. Neither
54227-529: The verge of appearing unpresidential or petty. In terms of major issues, he discussed them in depth with top advisors. He mastered the details of the federal budget as well as anyone. Truman was a poor speaker reading a text. However, his visible anger made him an effective stump speaker , denouncing his enemies as his supporters hollered back at him "Give Em Hell, Harry!" Truman surrounded himself with friends and appointed several to high positions that seemed beyond their competence, including his two secretaries of
54484-446: The vice-presidential spot, though he welcomed the attention as evidence that he had become more than the "Senator from Pendergast". Truman's nomination was dubbed the "Second Missouri Compromise " and was well received. The Roosevelt–Truman ticket achieved a 432–99 electoral-vote victory in the election, defeating the Republican ticket of Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York and running mate Governor John Bricker of Ohio. Truman
54741-425: The war were Catholics, and one of his close friends was the 129th Field Artillery's chaplain, Monsignor L. Curtis Tiernan. The two remained friends until Tiernan's death in 1960. Developing leadership and interpersonal skills that later made him a successful politician helped Truman get along with his Catholic soldiers, as he did with soldiers of other Christian denominations and the unit's Jewish members. Truman
54998-417: The war with China would not provoke a conflict with the Soviet Union. The Joint Chiefs emphatically disagreed, although this contradicted their position that it was Europe and not Asia that was the prime concern of the Soviet Union. Even among Republicans, there was little support for MacArthur's position. On 5 April, Martin read the text of a letter he had received from MacArthur, dated 20 March, criticizing
55255-425: The withdrawal of Soviet soldiers. Turkey also emerged as a point of contention, as the Soviet Union demanded joint control over the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus , key straits that controlled movement between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea . The U.S. forcefully opposed this proposed alteration to the 1936 Montreux Convention , which had granted Turkey sole control over the straits, and Truman dispatched
55512-418: The world and damage his own standing at home. The top officials of the Truman administration were heavily influenced by a desire to not repeat the " appeasement " of the 1930s; Truman stated to an aide, "there's no telling what they'll do, if we don't put up a fight right now." Truman turned to the United Nations to condemn the invasion. With the Soviet Union boycotting the United Nations Security Council due to
55769-428: The year. He privately approved of Winston Churchill's March 1946 " Iron Curtain " speech, which urged the United States to take the lead of an anti-Soviet alliance, though he did not publicly endorse it. Throughout 1946, tensions arose between the United States and the Soviet Union in places like Iran , which the Soviets had partly occupied during World War II. Pressure from the U.S. and the United Nations finally forced
56026-432: Was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 1945. After the inauguration, Truman called his mother, who instructed him, "Now you behave yourself." Truman's brief vice-presidency was relatively uneventful. Truman mostly presided over the Senate and attended parties and receptions. He kept the same offices from his Senate years, mostly only using the Vice President's official office in the Capitol to greet visitors. Truman
56283-466: Was vice president at the time. Truman implemented the Marshall Plan in the wake of World War II to rebuild the economy of Western Europe and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism . He proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the conservative coalition that dominated Congress . Truman was raised in Independence, Missouri , and during World War I fought in France as
56540-564: Was "one of the greatest, if not the greatest generals of our generation". Truman told Johnson to send MacArthur an order withdrawing his statement, which he did; but it had already been read into the congressional record . As it turned out, it was not MacArthur who was relieved, but Johnson. Truman had become irritated with Johnson's conflict with Secretary of State Acheson, and although he had said that Johnson would remain his Secretary of Defense for "as long as I am President," he asked Johnson for his resignation. Publicly, Johnson received much of
56797-468: Was a key communications center, the risks of the landing were daunting. Collins and Sherman flew to Tokyo to be briefed on the plans by MacArthur, who declared: "We shall land at Inchon, and I shall crush them." MacArthur was invited to speak at the 51st National Encampment of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Chicago on 26 August 1950. He declined the invitation, but instead sent a statement to be read aloud, in which he contradicted Truman's policy towards
57054-406: Was a soldier. He believed in using force only against military targets, and that is why the nuclear thing turned him off, which I think speaks well of him. MacArthur's advice to President John F. Kennedy during the next nuclear crisis of the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis , divulged his viewpoints on nuclear warfare while acting as Kennedy's personal military advisor. In a very long meeting in
57311-479: Was able to win legislative extension of the reciprocity program, and his administration reached numerous bilateral agreements that lowered trade barriers. The Truman administration also sought to further lower global tariff rates by engaging in multilateral trade negotiations, and the State Department proposed the establishment of the International Trade Organization (ITO). The ITO was designed to have broad powers to regulate trade among member countries, and its charter
57568-449: Was also motivated by a desire to end the war before the Soviet Union could invade Japanese-held territories and set up Communist governments. Critics, such as Allied commander and Truman's successor Dwight D. Eisenhower, have argued that the use of nuclear weapons was unnecessary, given that conventional tactics such as firebombing and blockade might induce Japan's surrender without the need for such weapons. Truman's chief advisors came from
57825-631: Was always intended to mark a temporary separation before the eventual reunification of Korea. Nonetheless, the Soviet Union established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( North Korea ) in 1948, while the United States established the Republic of Korea ( South Korea ) that same year. Hoping to avoid a long-term military commitment in the region, Truman withdrew U.S. soldiers from the Korean Peninsula in 1949. The Soviet Union also withdrew their soldiers from Korea in 1949, but continued to supply North Korea with military aid. On June 25, 1950, Kim Il Sung 's Korean People's Army invaded South Korea, starting
58082-486: Was an act totally disregarding all directives to abstain from any declarations on foreign policy. It was in open defiance of my orders as President and as Commander-in-Chief. This was a challenge to the authority of the President under the Constitution. It also flouted the policy of the United Nations. By this act MacArthur left me no choice—I could no longer tolerate his insubordination. For the moment, however, he did. There had been dramatic confrontations over policy before,
58339-412: Was an issue considering the constitutional division of powers between the president as commander-in-chief, and Congress with its power to raise armies, maintain a navy, and declare war. This was also an era when the rising complexity of military technology led to the creation of a professional military and American forces were employed overseas in large numbers. In relieving MacArthur for failing to "respect
58596-472: Was approved by the United Nations in 1948. However, the ITO's broad powers engendered opposition in Congress, and Truman declined to send the charter to the Senate for ratification. In the course of creating the ITO, the U.S. and 22 other countries signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a set of principles governing trade policy. Under the terms of the agreement, each country agreed to reduce overall tariff rates and to treat each co-signatory as
58853-623: Was asked by a reporter if the restrictions on operations against Chinese forces on the far side of the Yalu River were "a handicap to effective military operations". He replied that they were indeed "an enormous handicap, unprecedented in military history". On 6 December, Truman issued a directive requiring all military officers and diplomatic officials to clear with the State Department all but routine statements before making them public, "and...refrain from direct communications on military or foreign policy with newspapers, magazines, and other publicity media". Major General Courtney Whitney gave MacArthur
59110-420: Was bought and sold, interest accumulated and Truman made payments, so by the time the last bank to hold it failed, it was worth nearly $ 9,000. Thanks to Kemper's efforts, Vivian Truman was able to buy it for $ 1,000. Jacobson and Truman remained close friends even after their store failed, and Jacobson's advice to Truman on Zionism later played a role in the U.S. Government's decision to recognize Israel. With
59367-400: Was brought up in the Presbyterian and Baptist churches, but avoided revivals and sometimes ridiculed revivalist preachers. He rarely spoke about religion, which to him, primarily meant ethical behavior along traditional Protestant lines. Truman once wrote in a letter to his future wife, Bess: "You know that I know nothing about Lent and such things..." Most of the soldiers he commanded in
59624-432: Was designed to help ensure international cooperation. When Truman took office, delegates were about to meet at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco. As a Wilsonian internationalist, Truman strongly supported the creation of the United Nations, and he signed the United Nations Charter at the San Francisco Conference. Truman did not repeat Woodrow Wilson 's partisan attempt to ratify
59881-616: Was elected as their first lieutenant . Before deployment to France, Truman was sent for training to Camp Doniphan , Fort Sill , near Lawton, Oklahoma , when his regiment was federalized as the 129th Field Artillery . The regimental commander during its training was Robert M. Danford , who later served as the Army's Chief of Field Artillery. Truman recalled that he learned more practical, useful information from Danford in six weeks than from six months of formal Army instruction, and when Truman served as an artillery instructor, he consciously patterned his approach on Danford's. Truman also ran
60138-497: Was elected vice president in the 1944 presidential election and became president upon Roosevelt's death in April 1945. Only then was he told about the ongoing Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb . Truman authorized the first and only use of nuclear weapons in war against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Truman's administration engaged in an internationalist foreign policy by working closely with Britain . Truman staunchly denounced isolationism . He energized
60395-543: Was enshrined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 . On 9 December 1950, MacArthur requested field commander's discretion to employ nuclear weapons; he testified that such an employment would only be used to prevent an ultimate fallback, not to recover the situation in Korea. On 24 December 1950, while responding to a formal request from the Pentagon, MacArthur submitted a list of "retardation targets" in Korea, Manchuria and other parts of China, for which 34 atomic bombs would be required. In June 1950, Louis Johnson released
60652-420: Was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and completed in 1952. In 1934, Congress had passed the Reciprocal Tariff Act , giving the president an unprecedented amount of authority in setting tariff rates. The act allowed for the creation of reciprocal agreements in which the U.S. and other countries mutually agreed to lower tariff rates. Despite significant opposition from those who favored higher tariffs, Truman
60909-415: Was honorably discharged from the Army as a captain on May 6, 1919. In 1920, he was appointed a major in the Officers Reserve Corps . He became a lieutenant colonel in 1925 and a colonel in 1932. In the 1920s and 1930s he commanded 1st Battalion, 379th Field Artillery Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division . After promotion to colonel, Truman advanced to command of the regiment. After his election to
61166-472: Was instructed not to issue an announcement that his forces had crossed the 38th parallel. On 7 October a United Nations General Assembly Resolution was passed that could be broadly construed as permitting the invasion of North Korea. With the 1950 mid-term elections drawing near, and Truman abstaining from overt campaigning while the troops were fighting in Korea, members of Truman's staff, most notably George Elsey , came up with another way to garner votes for
61423-518: Was long thought that his retirement years were financially difficult for Truman, resulting in Congress establishing a pension for former presidents, but evidence eventually emerged that he amassed considerable wealth, some of it while still president. When he left office, Truman's administration was heavily criticized. Despite this controversy, scholars rank Truman in the first quartile of American presidents. In addition, critical reassessment of his presidency has improved his reputation among historians and
61680-471: Was merely providing his personal opinion. In interview with Jim G. Lucas and Bob Considine on 25 January 1954, posthumously published in 1964, MacArthur said, Of all the campaigns of my life, 20 major ones to be exact, [Korea was] the one I felt most sure of was the one I was deprived of waging. I could have won the war in Korea in a maximum of 10 days.... I would have dropped between 30 and 50 atomic bombs on his air bases and other depots strung across
61937-435: Was named Missouri's director for the Federal Re-Employment program (part of the Civil Works Administration ) at the request of Postmaster General James Farley . This was payback to Pendergast for delivering the Kansas City vote to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election . The appointment confirmed Pendergast's control over federal patronage jobs in Missouri and marked the zenith of his power. It also created
62194-399: Was no certainty that the plan would succeed, but said it would halt economic chaos, sustain Western civilization, and stop further Soviet expansion. Both houses of Congress approved of the initial appropriation, known as the Foreign Assistance Act, by large majorities, and Truman signed the act into law in April 1948. Congress would eventually allocate $ 12.4 billion in aid over the four years of
62451-455: Was not until 30 June, following a sobering report on the military situation from MacArthur, that Truman finally authorized the use of ground forces. On 8 July, on the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Truman appointed MacArthur commander of United Nations Command in South Korea. He remained Commander-in-Chief Far East and Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. MacArthur was forced to commit his forces in Japan to what he later described as
62708-424: Was not well prepared to deal with the press. Filled with latent anger about all the setbacks in his career, he bitterly mistrusted the journalists, seeing them as enemies laying in wait for his next careless miscue. Truman was a very hard worker, often to the point of exhaustion, which left him testy and on the verge of appearing unpresidential. He discussed major issue in depth with cabinet and other advisors, such as
62965-409: Was practiced and largely accepted where Truman grew up. While he would later come to support civil rights, early letters of the young Truman reflected his upbringing and prejudices against African and Asian Americans . Truman was employed briefly in the mailroom of The Kansas City Star before making use of his business college experience to obtain a job as a timekeeper for construction crews on
63222-440: Was replaced by former General George Marshall in January 1947. Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson was the main force in foreign affairs along with a group of advisers known as the " Wise Men ," Marshall emerged as the face of Truman's foreign policy. In 1947, Forrestal became the first Secretary of Defense , overseeing all branches of the United States Armed Forces . A mental breakdown sent him into retirement in 1949, and he
63479-593: Was replaced successively by Louis A. Johnson , Marshall, and finally Robert A. Lovett . Acheson was Secretary of State 1949–1953. Truman often appointed longtime personal friends, sometimes to positions well beyond their competence. Such friends included Vinson, Snyder, and military aide Harry H. Vaughan . Outside of the cabinet, Clark Clifford and John R. Steelman were staffers who handled lesser matters while Truman acted as his own chief off staff on big issues. The office of vice president remained vacant during Truman's first (3 years, 253 days partial) term, as
63736-469: Was six, his parents moved to Independence, Missouri , so he could attend the Presbyterian Church Sunday School. He did not attend a conventional school until he was eight years old. While living in Independence, he served as a Shabbos goy for Jewish neighbors, doing tasks for them on Shabbat that their religion prevented them from doing on that day. Truman was interested in music, reading, history, and math, all encouraged by his mother, with whom he
63993-470: Was that the authority to use atomic weapons now rested in the hands of MacArthur. Truman's White House issued a clarification, noting that "only the President can authorize the use of the atom bomb, and no such authorization has been given," yet the comment still caused a domestic and international stir. Truman had touched upon one of the most sensitive issues in civil-military relations in the post-World War II period: civilian control of nuclear weapons, which
64250-458: Was the first vice president to have a Secret Service agent assigned to him. Truman envisioned the office as a liaison between the Senate and the president. On April 10, 1945, 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. Roosevelt rarely contacted him, even to inform him of major decisions;
64507-427: 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. On his first full day, Truman told reporters: "Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellas ever had
64764-661: Was the lone remaining justice on the Supreme Court who had not been appointed or elevated to the position of chief justice by Roosevelt, and Truman believed it was important to nominate a Republican to succeed Roberts. Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone died in 1946, and Truman appointed Secretary of the Treasury Fred M. Vinson as Stone's successor. Two vacancies arose in 1949 due to deaths of Frank Murphy and Wiley Blount Rutledge . Truman appointed Attorney General Tom C. Clark to succeed Murphy and federal appellate judge Sherman Minton to succeed Rutledge. Vinson served for just seven years before his death in 1953, while Minton resigned from
65021-464: Was uninformed about major initiatives relating to the war and the top-secret Manhattan Project , which was about to test the world's first atomic bomb. In an event that generated negative publicity for Truman, he was photographed with actress Lauren Bacall sitting atop the piano at the National Press Club as he played for soldiers. Truman had been vice president for 82 days when President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. Truman, presiding over
65278-399: Was unpopular among conservatives in the Democratic Party . Byrnes, an ex-Catholic, was opposed by many liberals and Catholics. At the behest of party leaders, Roosevelt agreed to run with Truman, who was acceptable to all factions of the party, and Truman was nominated for vice president at the 1944 Democratic National Convention . Democrats retained control of Congress and the presidency in
65535-405: Was unprecedented and yet to be repeated by anyone else actively serving as a flag officer in the U.S. military. When North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, starting the Korean War, MacArthur was designated commander of the United Nations forces defending South Korea. He conceived and executed the amphibious assault at Inchon on 15 September 1950, but when he followed up his victory with
65792-407: Was very close. As president, he solicited political as well as personal advice from her. Truman learned to play the piano at age seven and took lessons from Mrs. E.C. White, a well-respected teacher in Kansas City . He got up at five o'clock every morning to practice the piano, which he studied more than twice a week until he was fifteen, becoming quite a skilled player. Truman worked as a page at
66049-401: Was well read. When his high school friends went off to the state university in 1901, he enrolled in a local business school, but only lasted a semester. He later took night courses at the Kansas City Law School, but dropped out. Truman attempted to gain admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point, but was rejected for his poor eyesight. He was proud of his military service in
#804195