1940's Government and Politics | Truman, Harry S 1884-1972

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 1945-1953

Burdened President.

Harry S Truman became the thirty-third president of the United States upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. Compared inevitably to his predecessor at first, Truman seemed poorly suited to the office. Unlike many national politicians, he had never been ambitious for the presidency. A politician specializing in domestic issues, he found himself overwhelmed by foreign affairs. Beginning his presidency with the terrible burden of having to decide whether to use the atomic bomb, he ended it embroiled in war in Korea. He was a New Dealer through and through, committed to social and racial justice at home. While his own "Fair Deal" went largely unimplemented, it nevertheless set the agenda for the "Great Society" reforms of a later generation.

Soldier and Politician.

The son of farmers, Truman was born on 8 May 1884 and grew up in...