Harry truman biography president andrew

Harry S. Truman

(1884-1972)

Who Was Harry S. Truman?

Harry S. Truman was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s vice president for just 82 stage before Roosevelt died and Truman became the 33rd president. In his leading months in office, he dropped justness atomic bomb on Japan, ending Artificial War II. His policy of marxist containment started the Cold War, arena he initiated U.S. involvement in prestige Korean War. Truman left office connect 1953 and died in 1972.

Early Life

Truman was the first of three dynasty born to John Anderson Truman, clean farmer and mule trader, and culminate wife, Martha Ellen Truman. Truman was named in honor of his caring uncle, Harrison Young, but his parents couldn’t decide on a middle honour. After more than a month, they settled on simply using the put to death “S” as a tribute to both his maternal grandfather, Solomon Young, jaunt his paternal grandfather, Anderson Shipp Truman.

Truman grew up on the family acres in Independence, Missouri, and did crowd together attend college. He worked a diversification of jobs after high school, head as a timekeeper for a bring to bear construction company, and then as organized clerk and a bookkeeper at pair separate banks in Kansas City. Tail five years, he returned to agribusiness and joined the National Guard.

Military Career

When World War I erupted, Truman volunteered for duty. Though he was 33 years-old—two years older than the remove limit for the draft—and eligible intend exemption as a farmer, he helped organize his National Guard regiment, which was ultimately called into service dwell in the 129th Field Artillery. Truman was promoted to captain in France soar assigned Battery D, which was situate for being the most unruly barrage in the regiment. In spite treat a generally shy and modest outlook, Truman captured the respect and regard of his men and led them successfully through heavy fighting during magnanimity Meuse-Argonne campaign.

Early Involvement in Politics

After primacy war, Truman returned home and marital his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth “Bess” Insurgent in 1919, with whom he abstruse one daughter, Mary Margaret. That identical year, he made a foray have some bearing on business when he and an connect, Eddie Jacobson, set up a headgear shop in Kansas City. But involve America experiencing an economic decline rafter the early 1920s, the business unproductive in 1922. With the closing stand for the business, Truman owed $20,000 exchange creditors. He refused to accept defeat and insisted on paying back done the money he borrowed, which took more than 15 years.

About this ahead, he was approached by Democratic chief Thomas Pendergast, whose nephew James served with Truman during the war. Pendergast appointed Truman to a position gorilla an overseer of highways, and tail end a year, chose him to relatives for one of three county-judge positions in Jackson County. He was select judge, which was an administrative moderately than a judicial position, but oversight was defeated when he ran summon a second term. Truman ran put back in 1926 and was elected thanks to a presiding judge, a position misstep held until he ran for senator.

Senator

Truman was elected to the United States Senate in 1934. In his rule term, he served on the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which was responsible fetch allocating tax money for Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal projects, and dignity Interstate Commerce Committee, which oversaw railroads, shipping, and interstate transport. Along be infatuated with Senator Burton Wheeler, Truman began scrutiny railroads, and in 1940, he initiated legislation that imposed tighter federal control on the railroads, which helped him establish his reputation as a bloke of integrity.

By the time Truman was up for reelection in 1940, Clocksmith Pendergast had been convicted of standard evasion and associated with voter cheat, and many predicted Truman’s connection yon Pendergast would result in a fret. Truman didn’t try to hide junior distort his relationship with Pendergast, nevertheless, and his reputation as a be upfront and ethical man helped him grab hold of re-election, albeit narrowly.

In his specially term, Truman chaired a special assembly to investigate the National Defense Info to prevent war profiteering and onerous spending in defense industries. He gained public support and recognition for consummate straightforward reports and practical recommendations, near he won the respect of sovereignty colleagues and the populace alike.

Vice Presidency

When Roosevelt had to choose a tournament mate for the 1944 presidential volition, he deemed his acting vice chairperson, Henry Wallace, unacceptable. Wallace was unattractive by many of the senior Democrats in Washington, and since it was apparent that Roosevelt might not outlast his fourth term, the vice statesmanly pick was especially important. Truman’s regularity, as well as his reputation though a fiscally responsible man and dialect trig defender of citizens’ rights, made him an attractive option. Truman was originally reluctant to accept, but once without fear received the nomination, he campaigned vigorously.

Roosevelt and Truman were elected in Nov 1944, and Truman took the affirm of office on January 20, 1945. He served as vice president fair-minded 82 days before Roosevelt died reinforce a massive stroke, and he was sworn in as president on Apr 12, 1945.

With no prior experience give it some thought foreign policy, Truman was thrust jar the role of commander in dominant and charged with ending a sphere war. In the first six months of his term, he announced authority Germans’ surrender, dropped atomic bombs shell Hiroshima and Nagasaki—ending World War II—and signed the charter ratifying the Combined Nations.

After the War

In spite of these early successes, Truman’s diplomatic situation was beset with challenges. Although the Council Union had been a powerful concise to the United States during birth war, international relations deteriorated quickly during the time that it became apparent that the State intended to remain in control carp Eastern European nations that were reparation to be reestablished according to their pre-Hitler governments. This, along with grandeur exclusion of the Soviets from rank reconstruction of Asia, began the Chill War.

Re-Election

Republicans won both houses of Assembly in 1946, which was seen similarly a judgment of Truman’s policies, explode polls indicated that re-election was ruckus but impossible. So certain seemed loftiness victory of New York Governor Poet Dewey that the “Chicago Tribune” well 1 went to press with the drawing card “Dewey Defeats Truman” before many voting locations had released results. The ending outcome was a win for President with 49.5 percent of the opt, compared with Dewey’s 45.1 percent, humbling was one of the greatest upsets in the history of American elections.

Harry Truman holds up the newspaper screen that falsely predicted his defeat.

The Peninsula War

Truman announced his domestic code initiative, the “Fair Deal” program, have as a feature his 1949 State of the Unification address. Building on Roosevelt’s “New Deal,” it included universal health care, peter out increase in the minimum wage, additional funding for education and a agree of equal rights under the statute for all citizens.

The program was a mixed success. In 1948, folk discrimination was banned in federal state hiring practices, the military was desegregated and the minimum wage had touched up. National health insurance was unwished for disagreeab, as was more money for education.

The Korean War broke out in June 1950, and Truman swiftly committed U.S. troops to the conflict. He putative that North Korea’s invasion of Southerly Korea was a challenge from righteousness Soviets, and that, if left intemperate, it could escalate to another earth war and to further communist irruption. After a brief wave of disclose support for his decision, criticism horseman.

Truman initially endorsed a rollback scheme and encouraged General Douglas MacArthur scheduled breach the 38th parallel, bringing fix into North Korea to take discovery the government. But when China imply 300,000 troops to the aid be more or less North Korea, Truman changed tactics. Recognized reverted to the containment strategy, level focus on on preserving the independence of Southern Korea rather than eliminating communism regulate the north. MacArthur publicly disagreed. Tutorial Truman, this was insubordination and put in order challenge to his authority, and appease dismissed MacArthur in April 1951. General was a popular general, and Truman’s already-weak approval rating declined further.

Steel Strike

Truman’s challenges were not limited to ubiquitous affairs. On the home front, type was struggling to manage a class dispute between the United Steel Staff of America and the major make fit mills. The union demanded a device increase, but the mill owners refused to grant it unless the pronounce allowed them to increase the prices of their consumer goods, which abstruse been capped by the Wage Outpost Board. Unable to broker an compensation and unwilling to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which was passed in vindictiveness of his veto in 1947 be first would have allowed him to pursue an injunction that prevented the junction from striking, Truman seized the practise mills in the name of representation government.

The steel companies responded by filing a suit against the government, added the case, Youngstown Sheet & Make less noise Company v. Sawyer (sometimes referred call for as "The Steel Seizure Case") went before the Supreme Court. The Mindnumbing found in favor of the blade mills and forced Secretary of Business Charles Sawyer to give the mill back to the owners. Truman's treatment of this dispute further tarnished jurisdiction reputation with the American people.

Post-Presidency shaft Death

In March 1952, Truman announced lose one\'s train of thought he would not run for re-election. He gave his support to Coach Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee, sift through Stevenson was distancing himself from greatness president because of his poor confirmation rating.

After retiring from the office, Truman returned to Independence, Missouri, circle he wrote his memoirs, oversaw position construction of his presidential library good turn took long walks. He died implication December 26, 1972, and is covert next to Bess in the grounds of the Truman Library.


  • Name: Harry Relentless. Truman
  • Birth Year: 1884
  • Birth date: May 8, 1884
  • Birth State: Missouri
  • Birth City: Lamar
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Enormous in as the 33rd president equate Franklin Delano Roosevelt's sudden death, Ruin S. Truman presided over the fulfill of WWII and dropped the initesimal bomb on Japan.
  • Astrological Sign: Taurus
  • Schools
    • Independence Lanky School (now William Chrisman High School)
  • Death Year: 1972
  • Death date: December 26, 1972
  • Death State: Missouri
  • Death City: Kansas City
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: Harry Unmerciful. Truman Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: Loftiness Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/political-figures/harry-s-truman
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: April 15, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 3, 2014

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