Introduction 6 Chapter 1 A Missouri Son 10 Chapter 2 A Soldier and a Politician 18 Chapter 3 First President from Missouri 28 Chapter 4 Postwar Challenges 39 Chapter 5 A Second Term 54 Conclusion 66 Glossary 68 For More Information 70 For Further Reading 75 Index 78 Table of Contents
Introduction Vice President Harry S Truman left is sworn in as the thirty third president of the United States on the evening of April 12 1945 Truman’s wife Bess solemnly witnesses the historic occasion 6
It was late afternoon of a warm spring day Vice President Harry S Truman had just finished listening listening to a Senate debate He was given a telephone message It asked him to get to the White House as soon as possible President Franklin D Roosevelt had died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage at Warm Springs Georgia where he had gone for a short rest That evening April 12 1945 at 7 09 p m Harry S Truman took the oath of office as the thirty-third president of the United States Later President Truman said to several White House newspapermen I feel as though the moon and all the stars and all the planets have fallen upon me Please boys give me your prayers I need them very much The new president faced many difficulties difficulties The end of World War II was in sight but American forces were still fighting in Europe and the Pacific The people at home were supplying the needs of their own fighting fighting forces and helping their Allies at a total cost of nearly 90 billion a year An atomic bomb had been developed It was the most powerful weapon the world had ever known Truman knew that he must decide whether or not to use the bomb in the war with Japan 7
