Harry S. Truman

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Harry S. Truman (Why the period?)* 33rd President of the United States (April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953) Nickname: “Give ‘Em Hell Harry” Born: May 8, 1884, in Lamar, Missouri Died: December 26, 1972, in Kansas City, Missouri

Father: John Anderson Truman Mother: Martha Ellen Young Truman Married: Elizabeth “Bess” Virginia Wallace Truman (1885-1982), on June 28, 1919 Children: Mary Margaret Truman (1924-2008) Religion: Baptist Education: Attended the University of Kansas City Law School Occupation: Farmer, public official Political Party: Democrat Other Government Positions:

• Judge on Jackson County Court, 1922-24
• Presiding Judge of Jackson County Court, 1926-34
• United States Senator, 1935-45
• Vice President, 1945 (under F.D. Roosevelt)

Presidential Salary: $75,000/year (increased to $100,000 + $50,000 expense account in 1949)

Vice President: Alben W. Barkley (1949-53) Cabinet:

Secretary of State

Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. (1945)

James F. Byrnes (1945-47)

George C. Marshall (1947-49)

Dean G. Acheson (1949-53)

Secretary of the Treasury

Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (1945)

Frederick M. Vinson (1945-46)

John W. Snyder (1946-53)

Secretary of War

Henry L. Stimson (1945)

Robert P. Patterson (1945-47)

Kenneth C. Royall (1947)

Secretary of Defense

James V. Forrestal (1947-49)

Louis A. Johnson (1949-50)

George C. Marshall (1950-51)

Robert A. Lovett (1951-53)

Attorney General

Francis B. Biddle (1945)

Thomas C. Clark (1945-49)

J. Howard McGrath (1949-52)

Postmaster General

Frank C. Walker (1945)

Robert E. Hannegan (1945-47)

Jesse M. Donaldson (1947-53)

Secretary of the Navy

James V. Forrestal (1945-47)

Secretary of the Interior

Harold L. Ickes (1945-46)

Julius A. Krug (1946-49)

Oscar L. Chapman (1950-53)

Secretary of Agriculture

Claude R. Wickard (1945)

Clinton P. Anderson (1945-48)

Charles F. Brannan (1948-53)

Secretary of Commerce

Henry A. Wallace (1945-46)

William Averell Harriman (1946-48)

Charles Sawyer (1948-53)

Secretary of Labor

Frances Perkins (1945)

Lewis B. Schwellenbach (1945-48)

Maurice J. Tobin (1949-53)

Supreme Court Appointments:

Chief Justice

Fred Moore Vinson (1946-53)

Associate Justice

Harold Hitz Burton (1945-58)

Tom Campbell Clark (1949-67)

Sherman Minton (1949-56)

Notable Events:

• 1945

• • President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies.
  • Germany surrenders on May 8th, and the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, bringing an end to World War II.
  • The US is the first country to join the United Nations Organization.

• 1946

• • Former British PM Winston Churchill gives his Iron Curtain speech at Westminster College in Missouri. The speech is a significant event, spurring Cold War hostilities.

• 1947

• • Major league baseball is integrated when the Brooklyn Dodgers play their first game with Jackie Robinson.
  • The Truman Doctrine is passed.
  • The National Security Act is passed, creating multiple agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency.

• 1948

• • President Truman requests Congress to frame and pass civil rights legislation.
  • The Marshall Plan is passed.
  • The US formally recognizes the newly-created state of Israel.
  • The Soviet Union begins the Berlin Blockade.
  • President Truman desegregates the Armed Forces.
  • Harry Truman is re-elected.

• 1949

• • The ‘Fair Deal’ program is announced by President Truman during his State of the Union address.
  • NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is created.
  • The Berlin Blockade comes to an end.
  • The Soviet Union acquires the atom bomb.
  • The People’s Republic of China is established by Mao Zedong.

• 1950

• • The Sino-Soviet alliance is formed between Stalin and Mao.
  • The Korean War begins with the North invading the South.
  • President Truman declares a state of emergency.

• 1951

• • The Mutual Security Act is passed.

• 1952

• • The US tests the first H-bomb.

Internet Biographies:

Harry S. Truman — from The Presidents of the United States of America

Compiled by the White House.

Harry S. Truman — from American Presidents: Life Portraits — C-SPAN

Biographical information, trivia, key events, video, and other reference materials. Website created to accompany C-SPAN’s 20th Anniversary Television Series, American Presidents: Life Portraits.

Harry Truman — from U.S. Presidents

From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.

Harry S. Truman — from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum

A complete biography with a list of books for further reading.

Harry S Truman Commemoration — by Robert H. Ferrell

A commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Truman’s presidency. A complete biography with photographs.

Harry S. Truman — from Character Above All

From a PBS broadcast by the same name, this essay excerpt by David McCullough discusses some of the issues and events that molded Truman.

Historical Documents:

Inaugural Address (1949)

Truman Doctrine (1947)

Media Resources:

Audio

From his 1949 inaugural address. (1:14)

MP3 (582K)

From the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University.

Audio & Video

The American Presidency Project’s Presidential Audio/Video Archive for Harry S. Truman site

Other Internet Resources:

Harry S. Truman National Historic Site

The house where Truman lived from 1919 to his death is located in Independence, Missouri. The Truman Farm House, where Harry grew up, is located in Grandview, Missouri. Both are located in the Kansas City metropolitan area and both are part of the Truman NHS. Maintained by the National Park Service.

Harry S. Truman Library & Museum

Located in Independence, Missouri, this site contains an exhibit hall, press room, educational resources, and of course the papers of the former president.

Points of Interest:

• There has been considerable controversy regarding the use of a period after the S in Truman’s name. The Harry S. Truman Library website explains the controversy and the reason to use the period.

• Truman was the third left-handed president of the United States.

Previous President: Franklin Delano Roosevelt | Next President: Dwight David Eisenhower

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