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Harry Truman
Harry Truman was the 33rd President of the United States (from 1945 to 1953). Major historical events happened during his term, including the use of the atomic bomb against Japan and the end of World War II.
1,077 Questions
How did the Foraker Act benefit the US?
The Foraker Act benefited the US because it acquired a new territory from it, Puerto Rico. The Foraker Act was enacted in 1900.
Truman removed General MacArthur from command due to a disagreement between them over the use of Nuclear Weapons on China after China attacked the UN Army in North Korea. The debate became too public and Truman had to assert his position as Commander in Chief.
Why was the Truman Doctrine proclaimed in 1947?
More clearly than any earlier act, the Truman Doctrine proclaimed that the United States had embarked on a new foreign policy. This new policy of containment would have profound effects on American society and culture. Its immediate aim was to prevent the Soviet Union from moving beyond the line it had reached in Eastern and Central Europe. By 1947 the Truman administration viewed the Soviet Union as powerful, totalitarian, and aggressive, much like Germany and Japan in the 1930s, and believed it must be contained by a policy of firmness and strength.
Two developments appeared to stand in the way. First, the nation had reduced its military force to well below two million people, less than a sixth of those in uniform in 1945. Second, the nation seemed to be slipping back into isolationist attitudes that had prevailed in the 1930s, including hostility toward spending money on foreign affairs. Elections in 1946 had turned control of Congress over to Republicans determined to slash the federal budget.
Crisis in Greece, 1947
At this juncture, the regimes in Greece and Turkey were in trouble. Communist-led revolutionaries in Greece, aided by Communist-controlled Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Albania, challenged the recently restored monarchy. Turkey's problems stemmed directly from the Soviet Union, which was pressuring the Turks for a share in control of the outlet from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. These two situations threatened to become a crisis, as the British, weakened by the war and their collapsing empire, informed the U.S. State Department in late February that they could no longer help the Greek and Turkish regimes. The British government asked the United States to step in so that the Soviets would not gain control. American diplomats on the scene as well as State Department and military leaders in Washington feared that Communist victories in Greece and Turkey would open the door for Soviet expansion into the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Western Europe.
With his White House staff eager to improve his image, Truman moved quickly. Meeting with leaders of the Republican-controlled Congress, he and his foreign policy team argued for an American response. Concerned about a hostile reaction to new spending, Arthur Vandenberg, the powerful chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, advised the president to explain the administration's position to Congress and the public in a dramatic way. Truman agreed, as did Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson, his top adviser on the issue.
Truman's Speech
On March 12, 1947, the president made a strongly worded speech to Congress. He described the world situation as grave but maintained that the Greek government could win its civil war if it received aid. He argued that the United States was the only nation that could supply it. Linking his proposal with World War II, he portrayed world history as now dominated by a struggle between free and unfree ways of life. American policy, he declared, should "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressure." Suggesting that this could be done "primarily through economic and financial aid," he asked for $400 million for Greece and Turkey. These ideas were the main elements of what was quickly labeled the Truman Doctrine.
Truman encountered opposition but triumphed over it. Critics, some of them still confident that the United States and the Soviet Union could be friends, decried the departure from a policy of opposition to intervention in remote places and doubted that the threat justified the move. Some charged that the doctrine would weaken the United Nations and prop up weak, undemocratic regimes in Greece and around the world. These critics warned that the costs would be greater than American resources could support and would damage the American economy. Some warned also that the new policy would lead to war with the Soviet Union. Responding effectively, the administration worked closely with leaders in Congress, including Vandenberg, who argued that the doctrine was "worth trying as an alternative to another 'Munich' [the surrender in 1938 by the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy to Adolf Hitler's demand for a portion of Czechoslovakia] and perhaps another war." Acheson promised that the United States would appraise each situation as it arose, not automatically intervene. In April and May, Congress went along, with nearly all Democrats and most Republicans voting for what the president had proposed. Mounting fears of Communism had overwhelmed concerns about government spending.
Success and Its Aftermath
The doctrine soon achieved its immediate objectives. The Greek government defeated the rebels, and Turkey built up its military forces and effectively resisted Soviet pressure. These successes offered encouragement for later interventions.
The three months from February to May 1947 were a pivotal moment in American history. During this time the United States, by developing and accepting the Truman Doctrine, made a large and significant change in its role in the world. "The epoch of isolation and occasional intervention is ended," The New York Times declared during the national debate. "It is being replaced by an epoch of responsibility." Truman's leading biographer, Alonzo Hamby, noted a half-century later: "What Truman promised was a long engagement with the wider world in the interest of defending democracy against totalitarianism�. The Truman Doctrine had been the call to arms of the Cold War" (pp. 387, 401). The United States had entered a new kind of conflict, marked by an arms race, a Red Scare, major wars in Korea and Vietnam, global polarization, and, ultimately, the defeat of Communism.
Did the Truman doctrine work during the Korean war?
Yes the Truman Doctrine was a success. It prevent the spread of Communism into Turkey and Greece by providing $400 million in and and by sending troups to fight back. Yes the Truman Doctrine was a success. It prevent the spread of Communism into Turkey and Greece by providing $400 million in and and by sending troups to fight back.
African American Sailors were integrated into the armed forces with President Truman signing
Executive Order 9981, 26 July 1948
The Women's Armed Forces Integration Act of 30 July 1948 enabled Navy and other military women
to serve as regulars or reservists
What was the message of Truman doctrine?
expressed support for peoples around the world resisting Communism. Truman announced this broad principle when he requested economic aid for Greece and Turkey to resist Communist insurgents. Truman saw economic aid as a way to prevent Communist parties (either homegrown or encouraged from the outside) from taking root in both countries, especially Greece. The Truman Doctrine was an important early step in escalating the cold war.
To rebuild the prosperity and stability of war-torn Europe.
What did Harry Truman do in his free time?
Truman was president all of 1950-51 and 52.
During this time, North Korea invaded South Korea. AUN force, mostly Amercan, attempted to defend South Korea and regain lost ground. China entered the war on the side of North Korea. Truman replaced MacArthur, the chief of US military operations and the war dragged on, hurting the Democrats in the 1952 election.
In 1952, Truman ordered federal seizure of steel mills whose workers were threatening to strike. After two months the supreme courts ruled that this seizure was unconstitutional and negated the order.
After Truman left office in January, 1953, he retired to his home in Independence, Mo but stayed active in the Democratic party and campaigned for Democratic candidates. In 1954 he almost died from a drug reaction following emergency gall bladder surgery.
Who commanded troops in th Korean war and opposed president trumans war strategy?
The American five-star General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur, commanded the United Nations forces during the Korean War. MacArthur was sacked and relieved of duty in a controversial move by the Truman Administration. MacArthur actions and potential intentions in escalating the War into the People's Republic of China were seen as threatening civilian control of the military.
Was Harry S. Truman apart of the allied powers or axis powers?
Harry Truman became the new President of the United States when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died just before the War in Europe ended during World War II in 1945. The US was on the side of the Allies like Great Britain and France. Truman was famous for ending the War in the Pacific when he ordered the droppings of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagaski, two major cities in Japan, to end World War II and give the victory to the Allies.
Why was the Truman Doctrine important?
Under the Truman Doctrine, the U.S. offered military aid to countries such as Greece and Turkey that were fighting communism inside their borders.
Did Harry S. Truman serve in the army in World War 1?
From 1905 to 1911, Truman served in the Missouri National Guard. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, he helped organize the 2nd Regiment of Missouri Field Artillery, which was quickly called into Federal service as the 129th Field Artillery and sent to France. Truman was promoted to Captain and given command of the regiment's Battery D. He and his unit saw action in the Vosges, Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne campaigns. Truman joined the reserves after the war, rising eventually to the rank of colonel. He sought to return to active duty at the outbreak of World War II, but Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall declined his offer to serve.
What life events motivated Harry S. Truman to become president?
The first time he was president was not because he wanted to be, but because it was forced upon him when President Franklin Roosevelt died. He was vice-president at the time and was immediately sworn into office. The second time he ran to be president was mainly, because he knew he could help the citizens of Amercia in that rough period. The first time he was president was not because he wanted to be, but because it was forced upon him when President Franklin Roosevelt died. He was vice-president at the time and was immediately sworn into office. The second time he ran to be president was mainly, because he knew he could help the citizens of Amercia in that rough period.
Did Harry S. Truman wear a hat a lot?
Born on a midwestern farm, Harry S. Truman served in World War One and after the war he returned to Kansas City and went in the clothing store business as a haberdasher. The business eventually failed and Truman enter local politics. A haberdasher is a person who sells clothing and small items commonly used with clothing, such as ribbons and buttons, and hats. You can read a complete biography of Truman on Wikipedia. MrV
How did President Harry Truman react to North Korean invasion of South Korea?
President Truman ordered American troops moved from Japan to South Korea.
On the other hand... Imagine that Truman had NOT dropped the bomb(s). What would have happened. An enemy, which had attacked the United States, was refusing to surrender and refusing to make guarantees that it would not try to take over the Pacific again. Japan wanted to just pull back, hope the the Allies would let them build up again, and try again, learning from their previous mistakes. The Allies didn't want to fight that war again, and demanded that Japan surrender. Under Japanese terms, surrender would only have happened when an Allied soldier held a sword to the throat of the Emperor. At the end of the war, the Japanese knew that they had lost. They were holding out for better terms of surrender. They knew that the Allied forces would loose about a million soldiers if we attempted to attack Japan, and they knew that the American soldiers would have a serious problem killing all of the women, children and old people who would be using swords, pitchforks, handguns and whatever weapon they could find. But we would have been forced into such a battle if the Japanese refused to surrender. It is estimated that dropping the two atomic bombs killed fewer of the Japanese than would have died in a military invasion. If we HAD invaded Japan, would Truman have been later tried for treason for allowing a million soldiers die once it was found out that he could have won the war by dropping two bombs and without killing any more Allied soldiers? He was faced with a terrible dilemma. But he had to be loyal to HIS people. If Truman had not used "the bomb" it would have been a national disgrace when it was discovered that he had secretly spent over a billion of dollars to create a weapon that might have stopped the war sooner.
What was Harry S. Truman dislikes?
President Truman did do good things. But, my number one "pet peeve" about him was his involvement with the Korean War. I would rather the US had never gone to Korea. It was a brutal and senseless war that is actually still on today. We only called a truce at the end of the war. That is why there is still US military personnel there and North Korean Forces there. There is actually a building on the line in which a Korean soldier stands on one side and a South Korean or American Soldier stands on the other side. And this is inside the building. My father sad that war was worse than the war in Europe when he served in World War 2. I have heard other Korean War Vets say the same thing.
What president desegregated the military by executive order?
July 26, 1948 President Harry S Truman issued Presidential Order 9981. This brought to an end segregation in the armed forces. The transition took a while but was completed withing a few years.
What did Harry Truman do in World War one?
In 1950, President Harry S. Truman committed US military forces to the United Nations military effort and named Gen. Douglas MacArthur Commander of the U.N. forces. The war ended up in a stalemate and an agreement was signed after two years of fighting. He was president from 1944 to 1952, when Dwight Eisenhauer was elected.
Harry Truman died of cardiovascalar failure at the age of 88.
Who was the US President at the end of World War 2?
Harry S Truman was US president at the end of World War 2 in 1945.
Harry Truman
President Harry S. Truman removed what man as commander of United Nations forces in Korea?
General Douglas MacArthur was removed by US President Harry S Truman as commander of the UN forces in Korea for insubordination on April 11, 1951.
Who led America to victory in World War 2?
The President of the US for all but the last 5 months of the war was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He died and was succeeded by his Vice President Harry Truman, who made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan.
The military leaders included chief of staff General George Marshall, General Dwight D. Eisenhower (European commander-in-chief) and General Douglas MacArthur (Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific).
