Harry Truman By: Santana Mahone

● Harry Truman was the 33 rd president of the United States.During World War I, Truman served as an artillery officer, making him the only president to have seen combat in World War I.After the war he became part of the political machine of Tom Pendergast and was elected a county commissioner in Missouri and eventually a Democratic United States senator. After he gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee, Truman replaced vice president Henry A. Wallace as Roosevelt's running mate in 1944.

Problems faced in Office Truman faced many challenges in domestic affairs. The disorderly postwar reconversion of the economy of the United States was marked by severe shortages, numerous strikes, and the passage of the Taft–Hartley Act over his veto. He confounded all predictions to win election in 1948, helped by his famous Whistle Stop Tour of rural America. After his election he was able to pass only one of the proposals in his Fair Deal program. He used executive orders to begin desegregation of the military and create loyalty checks that dismissed thousands of communist supporters from office, even though he strongly opposed mandatory loyalty oaths for governmental employees, a stance that led to charges that his administration was soft on communism. Truman's presidency was also eventful in foreign affairs, with the end of World War II and his decision to use nuclear weapons against Japan, the founding of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, the Truman Doctrine to contain communism, the beginning of the Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Chinese Civil War, and the Korean War. Corruption in Truman's administration, which was linked to certain members in the cabinet and senior White House staff, was a central issue in the 1952 presidential campaign and helped cause Adlai Stevenson, Truman's successor for the Democratic nomination for president, to lose to Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.

World War 1 ● Truman enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard in 1905, and served until At his physical in 1905, his eyesight had been an unacceptable 20/50 in the right eye and 20/40 in the left. He passed by secretly memorizing the eye chart.Truman became an officer, and then battery commander in an artillery regiment in France. His unit was Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 60th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division, known for its discipline problems. During a sudden attack by the Germans in the Vosges Mountains, the battery started to disperse; Truman ordered them back into position using profanities that he had learned while working on the Santa Fe railroad.The war was a experience that brought out Truman's leadership qualities; he later rose to the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserves, and his war record made possible his later political career in Missour i.

Family, Education,and early business career At the war's conclusion, Truman returned to Independence as a captain and married his girlfriend, Bess Wallace, on June 28, 1919.Truman was the only president who served after 1897 without a college degree: poor eyesight prevented him from applying to West Point (his childhood dream). When his high school buddies went off to the state university in 1901, Truman instead enrolled in a local business school, but only lasted a semester. In he took night courses toward a law degree at the Kansas City Law School, but dropped out after losing his government job.After a few successful years, the store went bankrupt during the recession of Truman worked to pay off the debts until 1934.

U.S. Senator First term ● After serving as judge, Truman wanted to run for Governor or Congress, but Pendergast rejected these ideas. In 1934, Pendergast's aides suggested Harry Truman as a candidate for Senator; after three other men turned him down, Pendergast reluctantly backed Truman as the candidate for the 1934 U.S. Senate election for Missouri. During the Democratic primary, Truman defeated John J. Cochran and Tuck Milligan, the brother of federal prosecutor Maurice M. Milligan. Truman then defeated the incumbent Republican, Roscoe C. Patterson, by nearly 20%.Truman assumed office as "the senator from Pendergast.

Assuming Office ● Truman had been vice president for only 82 days when President Roosevelt died, April 12, He had had very little communication with Roosevelt about world affairs or domestic politics and was uninformed about major initiatives relating to the war and the top secret Manhattan Project, which was about to test the world's first atomic bomb.Truman asked all the members of FDR's cabinet to remain in place, told them that he was open to their advice, and laid down a central principle of his administration: he would be the one making decisions, and they were to support him.

Famous Quotes ● Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. ● If you cannot convince them, confuse them. ● It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. ● I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell. ● It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours.