Changes

Although the Democrats organized Congress in 1949, the [[Conservative Coalition]] of Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats was in control, and Truman was to pass any of his liberal [[Fair Deal|Fair Deal program]]. Nevertheless, he pursued civil rights through executive orders, especially a 1948 order to end racial discrimination in the military. Blacks remained in segregated units, but were to receive equal treatment. Truman's failures to deal with "Korea, Communism and Corruption" forced him to withdraw from reelection in 1952 and gave the Republicans an opportunity to crusade against him and elect [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] in 1952.

Although the Democrats organized Congress in 1949, the [[Conservative Coalition]] of Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats was in control, and Truman was to pass any of his liberal [[Fair Deal|Fair Deal program]]. Nevertheless, he pursued civil rights through executive orders, especially a 1948 order to end racial discrimination in the military. Blacks remained in segregated units, but were to receive equal treatment. Truman's failures to deal with "Korea, Communism and Corruption" forced him to withdraw from reelection in 1952 and gave the Republicans an opportunity to crusade against him and elect [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] in 1952.

Overshadowed at first by his predecessor, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Truman established a reputation as a blunt, unsophisticated fighter for the common man, who took responsibility for his actions because, he said, "the buck stops here."  His stunning reelection victory in 1948 baffled the experts and has inspired underdogs ever since.  He is more popular in 2009 than ever.  His policy positions make him a heroic icon for liberals.

Overshadowed at first by his predecessor, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Truman established a reputation as a blunt, unsophisticated fighter for the common man, who took responsibility for his actions because, he said, "the buck stops here."  His stunning reelection victory in 1948 baffled the experts and has inspired underdogs ever since.  He is more popular in the present day, than he when he left office.  His policy positions make him an icon for liberals.

==Early life==

==Early life==

President Truman pledged that in office he would carry on the liberal domestic policies of Roosevelt. He distrusted most of FDR's cabinet and set about to assemble his own team.

President Truman pledged that in office he would carry on the liberal domestic policies of Roosevelt. He distrusted most of FDR's cabinet and set about to assemble his own team.

===Winning World War II===

===Winning World War II===

During his term as President, he presided over the conclusion of [[World War II]] in both [[Europe]] and [[Japan]].  

During his term as President, he presided over the conclusion of [[World War II]] in both [[Europe]] and [[Japan]].  

On April 25 his telephoned speech opened the San Francisco Conference establishing the [[United Nations]]. A week later Germany surrendered, and from July 17 to August 2, 1945, Truman attended the [[Potsdam Conference]] with Britain's [[Winston Churchill]] (soon replaced by the new prime minister [[Clement Attlee]]) and [[Joseph Stalin]] of the Soviet Union.  

On April 25 his telephoned speech opened the San Francisco Conference establishing the [[United Nations]]. A week later Germany surrendered, and from July 17 to August 2, 1945, Truman attended the [[Potsdam Conference]] with Britain's [[Winston Churchill]] (soon replaced by the new prime minister [[Clement Attlee]]) and [[Joseph Stalin]] of the Soviet Union.  

===Reconversion of the economy to peacetime===

===Reconversion of the economy to peacetime===

The process of reconversion to peacetime was rocky. It was impossible to bring soldiers home fast enough, and they and their families protected loudly.  All war contract were canceled, shutting down munitions plants and throwing millions of workers (many of them women) out of jobs, just as the 12 million service members were coming home. Truman sought to retain price controls against the vehement opposition of business but yielded somewhat in the face of bitter popular opposition. Large-scale strikes disrupted the economy, especially a coal miners strike and a threatened nationwide strike by railroad workers. He threatened to draft the railroad workers and the strike was called off; unions began to oppose him but he regained union support by his later attempts to veto or repeal the [[Taft-Hartley]] labor relations law. Truman's opposition to tax cuts, his insistence on price controls, and his lack of aggressive support of labor programs weakened his party. To voters frustrated with shortages and controls, Truman seemed indecisive and inconsistent; his efforts to deal with a postwar wave of strikes managed to alienate both organized labor and those who wanted more restraints on unions. Voters who normally supported liberal and labor candidates stayed home, resulting in a Republican landslide in 1946, giving the GOP a majority in both houses of Congress. Ohio Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] became the main GOP spokesman in Congress, tangling often with Truman.

The process of reconversion to peacetime was rocky. It was impossible to bring soldiers home fast enough, and they and their families protected loudly.  All war contract were canceled, shutting down munitions plants and throwing millions of workers (many of them women) out of jobs, just as the 12 million service members were coming home. Truman sought to retain price controls against the vehement opposition of business but yielded somewhat in the face of bitter popular opposition. Large-scale strikes disrupted the economy, especially a coal miners strike and a threatened nationwide strike by railroad workers. He threatened to draft the railroad workers and the strike was called off; unions began to oppose him but he regained union support by his later attempts to veto or repeal the [[Taft-Hartley]] labor relations law. Truman's opposition to tax cuts, his insistence on price controls, and his lack of aggressive support of labor programs weakened his party. To voters frustrated with shortages and controls, Truman seemed indecisive and inconsistent; his efforts to deal with a postwar wave of strikes managed to alienate both organized labor and those who wanted more restraints on unions. Voters who normally supported liberal and labor candidates stayed home, resulting in a Republican landslide in 1946, giving the GOP a majority in both houses of Congress. Ohio Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] became the main GOP spokesman in Congress, tangling often with Truman.

===Moving left===

===Moving left===

Gradually Truman created his own administration, using the '''''Fair Deal''''' label to express its goals in domestic affairs.  Truman systematically removed the Roosevelt cabinet and inner circle of advisers. The most dramatic episode was firing [[Henry A. Wallace]] in 1946 because of his outspoken criticism of the administration's foreign policy as too harsh on the Soviet Union.  Liberals saw themselves in a struggle with conservatives for Truman's soul after the 1946 election. Linked to the President through top aide [[Clark Clifford]], these liberals included Oscar Ewing, former party official and director of the Federal Security Agency, Leon Keyserling, member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and David Morse, assistant secretary of labor. They embraced the memo plotting 1948 campaign strategy written by former Roosevelt adviser James Rowe, which urged Truman to "move to the left and focus on building a coalition of groups that centered on organized labor, liberals, and northern urban African Americans."<ref>The memo until 1991 was mis-attributed to Clifford, who passed it along to Truman.</ref> Liberals had national support from the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), led by [[Walter Reuther]], [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], Joseph Rauh, James Rowe, [[Reinhold Niebuhr]], [[Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.]], [[Hubert Humphrey]], and [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref>Reagan was an energetic liberal supporter of Truman. He moved to the right in the late 1950s.</ref> The ADA was hostile to the Soviet Union, battled American Communists and fellow travelers like Wallace, and supported the purge of Communists from the [[CIO]] labor unions. Truman agreed with the ADA and moved left after 1946.<ref>Steven M. Gillon, ''Politics and Vision: the ADA and American Liberalism, 1947-1985'' (1987).</ref>   

Gradually Truman created his own administration, using the '''''Fair Deal''''' label to express its goals in domestic affairs.  Truman systematically removed the Roosevelt cabinet and inner circle of advisers. The most dramatic episode was firing [[Henry A. Wallace]] in 1946 because of his outspoken criticism of the administration's foreign policy as too harsh on the Soviet Union.  Liberals saw themselves in a struggle with conservatives for Truman's soul after the 1946 election. Linked to the President through top aide [[Clark Clifford]], these liberals included Oscar Ewing, former party official and director of the Federal Security Agency, Leon Keyserling, member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and David Morse, assistant secretary of labor. They embraced the memo plotting 1948 campaign strategy written by former Roosevelt adviser James Rowe, which urged Truman to "move to the left and focus on building a coalition of groups that centered on organized labor, liberals, and northern urban African Americans."<ref>The memo until 1991 was mis-attributed to Clifford, who passed it along to Truman.</ref> Liberals had national support from the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), led by [[Walter Reuther]], [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], Joseph Rauh, James Rowe, [[Reinhold Niebuhr]], [[Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.]], [[Hubert Humphrey]], and [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref>Reagan was an energetic liberal supporter of Truman. He moved to the right in the late 1950s.</ref> The ADA was hostile to the Soviet Union, battled American Communists and fellow travelers like Wallace, and supported the purge of Communists from the [[CIO]] labor unions. Truman agreed with the ADA and moved left after 1946.<ref>Steven M. Gillon, ''Politics and Vision: the ADA and American Liberalism, 1947-1985'' (1987).</ref>   

[[Image:MAC-A1953.JPG|thumb|left|380px]]

[[Image:MAC-A1953.JPG|thumb|left|380px]]

===NSC-68===

===NSC-68===

The top-secret [[NSC-68]] policy paper was the grounds for escalating the Cold War, especially in terms of spending on rearmament and building the hydrogen bomb. The integration of European defense was given new impetus by continued U.S. support of NATO, under the command of General Eisenhower. Truman committed the US to contain Communist expansion in Vietnam, where the Communists under [[Ho Chi Minh]] were trying to overthrow the French colonial regime. The State Department insisted that France give more autonomy to the Vietnamese. The US paid for about 80% of the French war costs. The problem was that the French were more interested in preserving their grandiose empire, and less interested in stopping Communism, while the US opposed colonial empires and saw Communism as the great threat to world peace and stability.

The top-secret [[NSC-68]] policy paper was the grounds for escalating the Cold War, especially in terms of spending on rearmament and building the hydrogen bomb. The integration of European defense was given new impetus by continued U.S. support of NATO, under the command of General Eisenhower. Truman committed the US to contain Communist expansion in Vietnam, where the Communists under [[Ho Chi Minh]] were trying to overthrow the French colonial regime. The State Department insisted that France give more autonomy to the Vietnamese. The US paid for about 80% of the French war costs. The problem was that the French were more interested in preserving their grandiose empire, and less interested in stopping Communism, while the US opposed colonial empires and saw Communism as the great threat to world peace and stability.

Following NSC-68, Truman's last four budgets saw expenditures on national security quadruple from $13 billion in 1950 to $50 billion in 1953.  

Following NSC-68, Truman's last four budgets saw expenditures on national security quadruple from $13 billion in 1950 to $50 billion in 1953.  

[[Image:Mess1952.jpg|thumb|320px|Truman can't see the corruption all around him, according to this conservative editorial cartoon by Lute Pease in 1952]]

[[Image:Mess1952.jpg|thumb|320px|Truman can't see the corruption all around him, according to this conservative editorial cartoon by Lute Pease in 1952]]

===1952 election===

===1952 election===

On the political front, revelation of scandals in the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]], in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and even the White House<ref>Truman's wife accepted an expensive deep freeze appliance in 1945; with General Vaughan as the fixer, the donor was given special privileges in Europe.</ref> opened the administration to attack.  

On the political front, revelation of scandals in the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]], in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and even the White House<ref>Truman's wife accepted an expensive deep freeze appliance in 1945; with General Vaughan as the fixer, the donor was given special privileges in Europe.</ref> opened the administration to attack.  

He died on December 26, 1972.  

He died on December 26, 1972.  

==Evaluations==

==Evaluations==