The Life Of Harry S. Truman In A Nutshell

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The Life of Harry S. Truman in a Nutshell

On April 12, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. That same day vice president Harry S. Truman was sworn in to succeed him.

Truman became president at a particularly critical time. World War II was coming to an end, and the Cold War with the Soviet Union was in its beginning stages. The new president was immediately called on to make a number of difficult and important decisions. A man of down-to-earth directness, he learned quickly and was willing to act vigorously. As a result, he was able to establish many of the basic foreign policies adopted by the United States following World War II. These included the Truman Doctrine to restrain Communist expansion and the Marshall Plan to aid war-devastated countries. Truman also is remembered for his resistance to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin and for his action in halting Communist aggression in South Korea.

Truman's domestic policy was known as the Fair Deal program. It emphasized the need for greater employment opportunities and for increased civil rights for members of minority groups.

Early Years

Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, on May 8, 1884. He was the eldest of three children of Martha Ellen Young and John Anderson Truman. Because his parents could not decide which of his grandfathers to name him after, they gave young Harry the letter "S" instead of a middle name.

When Harry was 6, the Trumans moved to Independence, Missouri. There he grew up, a bookish boy, so nearsighted that he had to wear thick glasses. After he finished high school, his father's financial difficulties prevented Harry from entering college. He held a number of jobs, eventually becoming a bank clerk. In 1906, at the age of 22, he went to work on the family farm, where he spent the next 11 years.

The entrance of the United States into World War I in 1917 gave Truman an opportunity to show his ab...