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'''Harry S. Truman,''' (1884-1972) a [[liberal]] [[Democrat]] from [[Missouri]], was the president of the United States from 1945-1953, taking over when [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] died in April 1945.  He made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to force Japan's surrender. Angered at the Soviet Union's seizure of eastern Europe, he moved away from FDR's [[détente]] to a policy of [[containment]], reinforced by the Truman Plan (1947) to resist Communist subversion, the [[Marshall Plan]] (1948–51) to rebuild and modernize western Europe's economies, and the [[NATO]] military alliance of 1949.  Truman, advised by [[Dean Acheson]] and the State Department, set the policies to oppose the Soviet Union as the [[Cold War]] began.

'''Harry S. Truman,''' (1884-1972) a [[liberal]] [[Democrat]] from [[Missouri]], was the president of the United States from 1945–1953, taking over when [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] died in April 1945.  He made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to force Japan's surrender. Angered at the Soviet Union's seizure of eastern Europe, he moved away from FDR's [[détente]] to a policy of [[containment]], reinforced by the Truman Plan (1947) to resist Communist subversion, the [[Marshall Plan]] (1948–51) to rebuild and modernize western Europe's economies, and the [[NATO]] military alliance of 1949.  Truman, advised by [[Dean Acheson]] and the State Department, set the policies to oppose the Soviet Union as the [[Cold War]] began.

Ignoring Asia, he later saw America's close ally China fall to the anti-American Communists under [[Mao Zedong]] in 1949; the US and China fought each other to a draw during the undeclared [[Korean War]], 1950-53. Truman fired his top general, [[Douglas MacArthur]], during this conflict and saw his popularity plunge.  

Ignoring Asia, he later saw America's close ally China fall to the anti-American Communists under [[Mao Zedong]] in 1949; the US and China fought each other to a draw during the undeclared [[Korean War]], 1950–53. Truman fired his top general, [[Douglas MacArthur]], during this conflict and saw his popularity plunge.  

As World War II ended, the massive problem of reconverting the 45% of the economy devoted to war production baffled Truman. Listening to liberal advisers, he refused to end extremely unpopular price controls, and was unable to stop a massive wave of strikes in major industries in 1945-46. Voter dissatisfaction to the Republican capture of Congress in 1946; with Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] as the conservative Republican spokesman, Congress repealed many of the wartime restrictions on business and lowered taxes. Taft rewrote the labor laws in the [[Taft-Hartley Act of 1947]], balancing the rights of unions, management and the public interest; it became law over Truman's signature and remains in effect.  

As World War II ended, the massive problem of reconverting the 45% of the economy devoted to war production baffled Truman. Listening to liberal advisers, he refused to end extremely unpopular price controls, and was unable to stop a massive wave of strikes in major industries in 1945–46. Voter dissatisfaction to the Republican capture of Congress in 1946; with Senator [[Robert A. Taft]] as the conservative Republican spokesman, Congress repealed many of the wartime restrictions on business and lowered taxes. Taft rewrote the labor laws in the [[Taft-Hartley Act of 1947]], balancing the rights of unions, management and the public interest; it became law over Truman's signature and remains in effect.  

Truman began with very high popularity ratings, but they plunged to the lowest on record. Democrats were unable to stop his renomination in 1948, but the far left nominated FDR's vice president [[Henry A. Wallace]], and southern conservative Democrats nominated Dixiecrat [[J. Strom Thurmond]]. Observers almost unanimously expected victory for the Republican candidate, Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey]], liberal from New York.  Total astonishment greeted Truman's stunning election victory, as he reassembled the [[New Deal Coalition]] for the fifth consecutive victory, pulling in on his coattails a Democratic Congress.

Truman began with very high popularity ratings, but they plunged to the lowest on record. Democrats were unable to stop his renomination in 1948, but the far left nominated FDR's vice president [[Henry A. Wallace]], and southern conservative Democrats nominated Dixiecrat [[J. Strom Thurmond]]. Observers almost unanimously expected victory for the Republican candidate, Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey]], liberal from New York.  Total astonishment greeted Truman's stunning election victory, as he reassembled the [[New Deal Coalition]] for the fifth consecutive victory, pulling in on his coattails a Democratic Congress.

=====Conservatives and liberals=====

=====Conservatives and liberals=====

In general, conservatives and liberals alike have applauded and supported the a-bomb decision because it shortened the war, and prevented hundreds of thousands or millions of casualties. The New Left or "revisionist" interpretation argues that the bomb was not necessary to end the war and that no invasion was necessary. They have no evidence to support that argument. They do have fragments of evidence that give weak support to the argument that one American goal was to intimidate the Soviet Union. The revisionists believe the US should have stayed friends with the Soviets, and that Truman was guilty for starting the Cold War (which they consider a bad thing). Morally the revisionists assume the USA was no better or worse than the Soviets—admitting to Soviet atrocities, they argue that socialism was morally superior to capitalism, which itself was a great evil the US intended to spread.  In terms of the bomb, Secretary of State James Byrnes did make some offhand references to influencing Moscow, but his comments did not reflect the policy of the State Department or White House, and certainly not those of Stimson, who was by far the most important decision-maker.

In general, conservatives and liberals alike have applauded and supported the a-bomb decision because it shortened the war, and prevented hundreds of thousands or millions of casualties. The New Left or "revisionist" interpretation argues that the bomb was not necessary to end the war and that no invasion was necessary. They have no evidence to support that argument. They do have fragments of evidence that give weak support to the argument that one American goal was to intimidate the Soviet Union. The revisionists believe the US should have stayed friends with the Soviets, and that Truman was guilty of starting the Cold War (which they consider a bad thing). Morally the revisionists assume the USA was no better or worse than the Soviets—admitting to Soviet atrocities, they argue that socialism was morally superior to capitalism, which itself was a great evil the US intended to spread.  In terms of the bomb, Secretary of State James Byrnes did make some offhand references to influencing Moscow, but his comments did not reflect the policy of the State Department or White House, and certainly not those of Stimson, who was by far the most important decision-maker.

Vice President Truman had been kept uninformed about the atomic bomb; he had little interest in military affairs and his chief military aide, General Harry Vaughan, was a drinking buddy likewise unfamiliar with what was happening in the war. Truman therefore relied entirely on his Secretary of War, [[Henry Stimson]].  At Potsdam he approved the atomic bomb targets selected by Stimson and, on the way home, he authorized the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later.

Vice President Truman had been kept uninformed about the atomic bomb; he had little interest in military affairs and his chief military aide, General Harry Vaughan, was a drinking buddy likewise unfamiliar with what was happening in the war. Truman, therefore, relied entirely on his Secretary of War, [[Henry Stimson]].  At Potsdam he approved the atomic bomb targets selected by Stimson and, on the way home, he authorized the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later.

====How the decision was made====

====How the decision was made====

==1948 election==

==1948 election==

[[Image:HST-left-right-1948.jpg|thumb|325px|1948 editoial cartoon shows farmer Truman trying to go down the middle while Wallace tells the Democratic donkey to Haw! (go left) and Thurmond tells it to Gee! (go right).]]

[[Image:HST-left-right-1948.jpg|thumb|325px|1948 editorial cartoon shows farmer Truman trying to go down the middle while Wallace tells the Democratic donkey to Haw! (go left) and Thurmond tells it to Gee! (go right).]]

As the presidential election of 1948 approached, no one thought Truman could be reelected.  Truman's policies had alienated left right and center, but the party had no real alternative.  Neither Roosevelt nor Truman had groomed a likely successor.  Party leaders considered asking [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] to run, but he refused. Liberals led by Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota inserted a strong civil rights plank in the platform, causing a walkout of the deep South. Truman was renominated by default, with Barkley as the vice-presidential candidate.  Truman thrilled the convention by announcing his plan to call the Republican-controlled Congress back into special session to "ask them to pass the laws to halt rising prices, to meet the housing crisis--which they say they are for in their platform." When this special session accomplished little, as Truman expected, it gave the president a chance to attack the "Do Nothing" Congress.

As the presidential election of 1948 approached, no one thought Truman could be reelected.  Truman's policies had alienated left right and center, but the party had no real alternative.  Neither Roosevelt nor Truman had groomed a likely successor.  Party leaders considered asking [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] to run, but he refused. Liberals led by Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota inserted a strong civil rights plank in the platform, causing a walkout of the deep South. Truman was renominated by default, with Barkley as the vice-presidential candidate.  Truman thrilled the convention by announcing his plan to call the Republican-controlled Congress back into special session to "ask them to pass the laws to halt rising prices, to meet the housing crisis--which they say they are for in their platform." When this special session accomplished little, as Truman expected, it gave the president a chance to attack the "Do Nothing" Congress.

[[Chiang Kai-shek]], America's wartime ally and head of the Nationalist forces in China, was caught between two wars—a war on China by Japan and a war with Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists. The U.S. policy was to avoid a civil war and to threaten to withhold additional aid to the Nationalists unless they worked out a compromise. No compromise was possible, and Truman refused to send in combat troops to fight the civil war.  General George Marshall, who spent a year in China as Truman's emissary, testified that combat aid might have prevented a Communist victory, but General David Barr's military mission to China was specifically instructed not to supply this kind of assistance.<ref>Military Situation in the Far East, Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, 82nd Congress (Washington, 1951), p. 558.</ref> General Albert C. Wedemeyer recommended this approach in his report on his 1947 fact-finding mission, but Marshall personally suppressed the report.<ref>Tang Tsou, ''America's Failure in China, 1941-1945'', Chicago 1964, pg. 457.</ref> Chiang believed that the [[Truman Doctrine]] to [[Containment|contain]] the spread of [[International Communism]] directed from Moscow would be extended to China, and ordered an offensive as soon as word of the new policy reached him.<ref>Richard C. Thornton, ''China:  A Political History, 1917-1980'',  Boulder CO 1982, pg. 208.</ref>   

[[Chiang Kai-shek]], America's wartime ally and head of the Nationalist forces in China, was caught between two wars—a war on China by Japan and a war with Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists. The U.S. policy was to avoid a civil war and to threaten to withhold additional aid to the Nationalists unless they worked out a compromise. No compromise was possible, and Truman refused to send in combat troops to fight the civil war.  General George Marshall, who spent a year in China as Truman's emissary, testified that combat aid might have prevented a Communist victory, but General David Barr's military mission to China was specifically instructed not to supply this kind of assistance.<ref>Military Situation in the Far East, Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, 82nd Congress (Washington, 1951), p. 558.</ref> General Albert C. Wedemeyer recommended this approach in his report on his 1947 fact-finding mission, but Marshall personally suppressed the report.<ref>Tang Tsou, ''America's Failure in China, 1941-1945'', Chicago 1964, pg. 457.</ref> Chiang believed that the [[Truman Doctrine]] to [[Containment|contain]] the spread of [[International Communism]] directed from Moscow would be extended to China, and ordered an offensive as soon as word of the new policy reached him.<ref>Richard C. Thornton, ''China:  A Political History, 1917-1980'',  Boulder CO 1982, pg. 208.</ref>   

[[Dean Rusk]], Assistant Secretary of State in charge of the Far Eastern Division, said on May 18, 1951 what the critics had been saying,

[[Dean Rusk]], Assistant Secretary of State in charge of the Far Eastern Division, said on May 18, 1951, what the critics had been saying,

{{Cquote|The independence of China is gravely threatened. In the Communist world there is room for only one master. . . . How many Chinese in one community after another are being destroyed because they love China more than they love [[Soviet Russia]]? The freedoms of the Chinese people are disappearing. Trial by mob, [[democide|mass slaughter]], banishment to [[slavery|forced labor]] in [[Manchuria]] and Siberia. . . . The peace and security of China are being sacrificed by the ambitions of the Chinese conspiracy. China has been driven by foreign masters into an adventure in foreign aggression.}}

{{Cquote|The independence of China is gravely threatened. In the Communist world there is room for only one master. . . . How many Chinese in one community after another are being destroyed because they love China more than they love [[Soviet Russia]]? The freedoms of the Chinese people are disappearing. Trial by mob, [[democide|mass slaughter]], banishment to [[slavery|forced labor]] in [[Manchuria]] and Siberia. . . . The peace and security of China are being sacrificed by the ambitions of the Chinese conspiracy. China has been driven by foreign masters into an adventure in foreign aggression.}}

The [[Korean War]] began at the end of June 1950 when North Korea, a Communist country, invaded South Korea, which was under U.S.  protection. Without consulting Congress Truman ordered General [[Douglas MacArthur]] to use all American forces to resist the invasion. Truman then received approval from the United Nations, which the Soviets were boycotting. UN forces managed to cling to a toehold in Korea, as the North Koreans outran their supply system. A counterattack at Inchon destroyed the invasion army, and the UN forces captured most of North Korea on their way to the Yalu River, Korea's northern border with China. Truman defined the war goal as [[rollback]] of Communism and reunification of the country under UN auspices.<br />

The [[Korean War]] began at the end of June 1950 when North Korea, a Communist country, invaded South Korea, which was under U.S.  protection. Without consulting Congress Truman ordered General [[Douglas MacArthur]] to use all American forces to resist the invasion. Truman then received approval from the United Nations, which the Soviets were boycotting. UN forces managed to cling to a toehold in Korea, as the North Koreans outran their supply system. A counterattack at Inchon destroyed the invasion army, and the UN forces captured most of North Korea on their way to the Yalu River, Korea's northern border with China. Truman defined the war goal as [[rollback]] of Communism and reunification of the country under UN auspices.<br />

Contrary to some reports, this did not begin due to  U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson's speech to the National Press Club on January 12, 1950. He did not expressly exclude South Korea from the defense perimeter, but rather define more clearly what territories were the direct responsibility of the U.S. as opposed to those which were under the broader protection of the U.N. as a whole.<ref>https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/korea/large/documents/pdfs/kr-3-13.pdf</ref>

Contrary to some reports, this did not begin due to  U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson's speech to the National Press Club on January 12, 1950. He did not expressly exclude South Korea from the defense perimeter, but rather define more clearly what territories were the direct responsibility of the U.S. as opposed to those which were under the broader protection of the U.N. as a whole.<ref>https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/korea/large/documents/pdfs/kr-3-13.pdf</ref> Omar Bradley blamed Truman and Acheson in his memoir ''A General's Life''.<ref>A General's Life, pg. 528</ref>

[[Image:KOREA50.JPG|thumb|380px]] Omar Bradley blamed Truman and Acheson in his memoir A General's Life<ref>A General's Life, pg. 528</ref>

Late in 1950 China intervened unexpectedly, drove the UN forces all the way back to South Korea.  The fighting stabilized close to the original 38th parallel that had divided North and South. MacArthur wanted to continue the rollback strategy but Truman arrived at a new policy of containment, allowing North Korea to persist. Truman's dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur in April 1951 sparked a violent debate on U.S. Far Eastern policy, as Truman took the blame for a high-cost stalemate with 37,000 Americans killed and over 100,000 wounded.  

Late in 1950 China intervened unexpectedly, drove the UN forces all the way back to South Korea.  The fighting stabilized close to the original 38th parallel that had divided North and South. MacArthur wanted to continue the rollback strategy but Truman arrived at a new policy of containment, allowing North Korea to persist. Truman's dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur in April 1951 sparked a violent debate on U.S. Far Eastern policy, as Truman took the blame for a high-cost stalemate with 37,000 Americans killed and over 100,000 wounded.  

==Retirement==

==Retirement==

Truman returned to his home in Independence, Missouri. He devoted himself to creating the Truman Library there; it was dedicated in July 1957 and is a part of the National Archives. With a staff of assistants he wrote his memoirs in two well-received volumes, gave many interviews, and intervened occasionally in Democratic national politics on behalf of liberal candidates such as [[Adlai Stevenson]].

Truman returned to his home in Independence, Missouri. He devoted himself to creating the Truman Library there; it was dedicated in July 1957 and is a part of the National Archives. With a staff of assistants, he wrote his memoirs in two well-received volumes, gave many interviews, and intervened occasionally in Democratic national politics on behalf of liberal candidates such as [[Adlai Stevenson]].

He died on December 26, 1972.  

He died on December 26, 1972.  

==Evaluations==

==Evaluations==

Already by the 1960s he had become a hero to liberals and Democrats, nostalgic over the successes of the [[New Deal Coalition]] that sputtered and collapsed in the 1960s. Even Republicans came to forget the nasty days and celebrated Truman as the hero of the underdogs and the man who rebuilt Europe through the Marshall Plan and stood up to Communism through NATO.

Already by the 1960s, Truman had become a hero to liberals and Democrats, nostalgic over the successes of the [[New Deal Coalition]] that sputtered and collapsed in the 1960s. Even Republicans came to forget the nasty days and celebrated Truman as the hero of the underdogs and the man who rebuilt Europe through the Marshall Plan and stood up to Communism through NATO.

Truman's reputation among scholars has gone from very low when he left office, to high after 1990. He is now widely considered to have been a tough-minded, decisive, and effective leader who ably guided the nation through the perilous waters of the early Cold War and whose policy of containment essentially laid the foundations for American "victory" in that prolonged conflict in 1989. For many historians, the down-to-earth Midwesterner now merits consideration as one of the greatest American presidents. In recent years presidential aspirants of both parties have claimed Truman as their own, especially if their election chances seem as hopeless as Truman's did in 1948. His reputation has been bolstered by scholarly biographies by Ferrell (1994), Hamby (1995), and especially McCullough's Pulitzer prize-winning popular biography (1992). The in-depth analysis by Leffler (1992), cautiously praised the Truman administration's essential wisdom in handling a myriad of problems.   

Truman's reputation among scholars has gone from very low when he left office, to high after 1990. He is now widely considered to have been a tough-minded, decisive, and effective leader who ably guided the nation through the perilous waters of the early Cold War and whose policy of containment essentially laid the foundations for American "victory" in that prolonged conflict in 1989. For many historians, the down-to-earth Midwesterner now merits consideration as one of the greatest American presidents. In recent years presidential aspirants of both parties have claimed Truman as their own, especially if their election chances seem as hopeless as Truman's did in 1948. His reputation has been bolstered by scholarly biographies by Ferrell (1994), Hamby (1995), and especially McCullough's Pulitzer prize-winning popular biography (1992). The in-depth analysis by Leffler (1992), cautiously praised the Truman administration's essential wisdom in handling a myriad of problems.