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
Truman had to tackle these momentous challenges in the first months of his presidency presidency He came into office with great energy helping to arrange Germany’s surrender and then meeting with Allied leaders to discuss the fate of postwar Germany He also sent a final demand to Japan to surrender or face utter devastation When Japan did not surrender surrender Truman authorized the dropping of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki More than 100,000 men women and children were killed This decision decision remains perhaps the most controversial decision ever made by a US president one that scholars continue to debate today Japan surrendered days after the bombs fell Victory and peace brought their problems too Soon after the end of World War II a new crisis emerged as the Soviet Union began to expand communism into Eastern Europe This was the start of the Cold War a tense decades-long rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States Truman led the country through the early years of the Cold War pledging that the United States would fight the spread of communism throughout throughout the world This declaration called the Truman Doctrine was put to the test in 8 Harry S Truman
Introduction 1950 when communist North Korea invaded South Korea Truman ordered US military forces to join the United Nations effort to help South Korea The Korean War dragged on past the end of Truman’s presidency Truman was plunged into the presidency at a key moment in US history Readers of this book will understand the character intellect and politics that shaped this pivotal leader one whom many scholars now rank among the country’s best presidents 9
