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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 took 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 strategic course for America's early conduct of the [[Cold War]].

'''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 took 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.